poet laureate

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The US Has a New Poet Laureate



The US
Has a New
Poet Laureate
Sep 15, 2025 7:09 AM CDT

The US Has a New Poet Laureate

Arthur Sze is appointed as the Library of Congress faces challenges

(Newser) - At a time when its leadership is in question and its mission challenged, the Library of Congress has named a new US poet laureate, the much-honored author and translator Arthur Sze. The library announced Monday that the 74-year-old Sze had been appointed to a one-year term, starting this fall. The...

Gerald Stern Wrote About Natural World and Pittsburgh
Poet Tied
Cosmos to
Physical World,
With Mockery
obituary
Oct 29, 2022 5:45 PM CDT

Poet Tied Cosmos to Physical World, With Mockery

Gerald Stern's honors include a National Book Award

(Newser) - Gerald Stern, one of the country's most loved and respected poets who wrote with spirited melancholy and earthly humor about his childhood, Judaism, mortality, and the wonders of the contemplative life, has died. He was 97. Stern, New Jersey's first poet laureate, died Thursday at Calvary Hospice in...

'Poet Who Connects' Gets Nod From Library of Congress

Ada Limon, 46, is nation's 24th poet laureate

(Newser) - The country's next poet laureate, Ada Limon, has long thought of her work as a public art form. "I grew up with poetry being in the community," says Limon, a native of Sonoma, Calif. "It wasn't supposed to just be something read on [the] page;...

Amanda Gorman Wants to Be President. But First, a Side Gig

Inauguration poet signs with IMG Models

(Newser) - Inauguration poet Amanda Gorman has signed with one of the world's biggest modeling agencies, meaning she's "literally putting the model in role model," as the Los Angeles Times puts it. The first National Youth Poet Laureate completed a deal with IMG Models , the talent agency representing...

Our Poet Laureate Has Been Named. It's Historic

Joy Harjo, 68, is first-ever Native American in the role

(Newser) - The first Oklahoman to ever be bestowed the title of US poet laureate has another distinction to brag about: She'll also be the first Native American to serve in the role when she takes over for Tracy K. Smith in the fall and becomes the 23rd Poet Laureate Consultant...

America's New Poet Laureate Has Big Plans

Tracy K. Smith wants to bring people together through poetry

(Newser) - Tracy K. Smith, the country's new poet laureate, would like to start a conversation. "A poem asks you to let go many of your assumptions, move away from your own certainties and to listen," says Smith, 45, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose appointment to a one-year term...

Meet America's New Poet Laureate

Philip Levine named to one-year post

(Newser) - Philip Levine has already won nearly every major prize for his poetry, including two Guggenheims and a Pulitzer, and now he's America's newest poet laureate. The Library of Congress named him to the one-year position today; he succeeds WS Merwin. Growing up, Levine hated "prissy" poetry, which...

Queen's Poet Savages Politicians in First Poem

(Newser) - Britain's poet laureates have been criticized for writing about humdrum events on the royal calendar. If her first effort is any indication, the new laureate—the first woman—has no such intentions. Carol Ann Duffy is ticked off about the nation's scandal over lawmakers' expense accounts, and she lets everyone...

Duffy Named First Female Poet Laureate

(Newser) - Carol Ann Duffy and her 13-year-old daughter agreed it was time for a woman poet laureate in Britain, the Times of London reports. Widely expected to accept the post, Duffy, 53, agreed today to take over from incumbent Andrew Motion in the name of "great women poets ... like Alice...

UK Set to Name First Female Poet Laureate

Blair had passed Duffy over fearing public wouldn't accept lesbian

(Newser) - The UK looks set to honor a woman as poet for the first time, the Independent reports, and an openly gay woman at that. At 53, Carol Ann Duffy is Great Britain’s most widely read poet, and might’ve already been named poet laureate but for former PM Tony...

Palestinian Poet Dead at 67
 Palestinian Poet Dead at 67
OBITUARY
Aug 10, 2008 7:56 PM CDT

Palestinian Poet Dead at 67

'Poet of resistance' depicted life under Israelis, supported and slammed PLO

(Newser) - Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish died yesterday from heart surgery complications in Houston at age 67, the Los Angeles Times reports. Considered Palestine’s unofficial poet laureate, Darwish penned the territory’s symbolic Declaration of Independence in 1988 and depicted life under Israeli rule in his work. "He was the...

An Outsider Becomes Poet Laureate
An Outsider Becomes Poet Laureate
Jul 17, 2008 7:54 AM CDT

An Outsider Becomes Poet Laureate

Kay Ryan, master of introverted verse, takes the national stage

(Newser) - Kay Ryan, a poet from Fairfax, Calif., with a reputation as an individualist, has been chosen as the nation's new poet laureate. The 62-year-old writer is known for her sly, concise verse that incorporates plays on words and uses intricate rhyme structures. Despite receiving many of the field's highest accolades,...

Surrealist Simic Named Poet Laureate

15th national bard known for his dark humor and irony

(Newser) - Charles Simic, a surrealist poet whose style gleams with dark imagery and ironic humor, will be named the United States' 15th poet laureate today. The 69-year-old, who replaces fellow New Hampshirite Donald Hall, has published more than 20 volumes of poetry as well as essay collections, translations and a memoir.

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