"This is a core sample
from the floor of the Sea of Mending"
- A Jar of Buttons by Ted Kooser*
Today marks the first day of National Poetry Month. It's about reminding you of some poems and poets that you shuffled aside with old school notebooks and discovering poetry that defies explanation. It's a cross section of who we are, who we wish we weren't, and who we want to be.
The Poet Laureate is appointed by the Librarian of Congress, not the president. As opposed to their British counterparts' lifetime appointment, American PoLaus serve one year terms.(Though several have served more than once.) The job is pretty much like poetry itself: whatever you want it to be. They are required to do one reading and one talk a year, but they largely determine their own job description. Some used it as an opportunity for outreach, some for readings, some didn't really do much of anything. But they all wrote poetry that transcends the barrier of time and relevantly reflects America.
*From The Poets Laureate Anthology
, published by W.W. Norton in association with the Library of Congress. Poem copyright Ted Kooser.
from the floor of the Sea of Mending"
- A Jar of Buttons by Ted Kooser*
Today marks the first day of National Poetry Month. It's about reminding you of some poems and poets that you shuffled aside with old school notebooks and discovering poetry that defies explanation. It's a cross section of who we are, who we wish we weren't, and who we want to be.
The Poet Laureate is appointed by the Librarian of Congress, not the president. As opposed to their British counterparts' lifetime appointment, American PoLaus serve one year terms.(Though several have served more than once.) The job is pretty much like poetry itself: whatever you want it to be. They are required to do one reading and one talk a year, but they largely determine their own job description. Some used it as an opportunity for outreach, some for readings, some didn't really do much of anything. But they all wrote poetry that transcends the barrier of time and relevantly reflects America.
*From The Poets Laureate Anthology
, published by W.W. Norton in association with the Library of Congress. Poem copyright Ted Kooser.
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