What is a Poet Laureate?
"The official title of the poet laureate is "Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry." This title was established by an act of Congress on December 20, 1985 (Public Law 99-194). From 1937 to December 20, 1985, the position was titled "Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress."
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry is the current title of the position formerly known as the Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Although the positions are considered equivalent, the term "poet laureate" should be reserved only for those poets who occupied the position under its current title, which was created in 1985...
Over the years, the position gradually placed less emphasis on developing the Library's collections and more on organizing local poetry readings, lectures, conferences, and outreach programs."
"History of the Position." Library of Congress. Congress.gov, https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-history/. Accessed 02 April 2024.
"Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed Ada Limón as the 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress on July 12, 2022 and reappointed her for a historic two-year second term on April 24, 2023. Limón’s second term will begin in September 2023 and conclude in April 2025.
Ada Limón was born in Sonoma, California, in 1976 and is of Mexican ancestry. She is the author of six poetry collections, including “The Carrying” (Milkweed Editions, 2018), which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry; “Bright Dead Things” (2015), a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award; “Sharks in the Rivers” (2010); “Lucky Wreck” (Autumn House, 2006); and “This Big Fake World” (Pearl Editions, 2006). She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University and is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women."
"Poet Laureate: Current Poet Laureate." Library of Congress. Congress.gov, www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/. Accessed 02 April 2024.
