GOOD MORNING WORLD
Last night before the Super Bowl we caught up on some Sunday news. I like Chris Wallace. I think he is one of the more trustworthy news people on television today. I liked his father Mike Wallace as well. Mike Wallace was tenacious and honest if nothing else. I believe Chris has those same qualities. We DVR him as he is on our local channel at 9AM and we are in church.
He has a segment called ‘Power Player of the Week’. It is usually someone of interest that we may not know. It is also usually interesting. It was yesterday as he highlighted Natasha Trethewey, Current Poet Laureate. Do you know that America has a poet Laureate? Do you know what a poet Laureate is?
I love poetry. One year for Christmas I asked for a book of poetry. I found it in our library and wanted my own copy. It was called, The Best Loved Poems of the American People’. It is now dog-eared! In my library/office I have a couple of shelves dedicated to books of poetry that I own.
As you know I am a 60s gal and knew of the hippy poets of the era. I liked very few. None of it made much sense to me. Some seemed like stringing words to make an effort and mean nothing. Rod McKuen is my favorite 60s poet. And of course you can give me Robert Frost any day. I believe his simplicity is my all time favorite. He was one of America’s Poet Laureates.
From Wikipedia:
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government, or conferring institution, who is often expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. It was a very ancient tradition, dating back to the first days of classical civilization, to associate laurel[1] with proficiency in arts and poetry, or with victory.[2] The Italians Albertino Mussato andFrancesco Petrarca were the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age[citation needed], respectively in 1315 and 1342. In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. In modern times, the title may also be conferred by an organization such as the Poetry Foundation, which has a designated Children’s Poet Laureate.[3] Other examples are the Pikes Peak Poet Laureate,[4] which is designated by a “Presenting Partners” group from within the community; the Minnesota Poet Laureate chosen by the League of Minnesota Poets (est. 1934);[5] the Northhampton Poet Laureate[6] chosen by the Northhampton Arts Council,[7] and the Martha’s Vineyard Poet Laureate chosen by ten judges representing the Martha’s Vineyard Poetry Society.
Today, over a dozen national governments continue the poet laureate tradition.
In ancient Greece the laurel was sacred to the god Apollo, and was used to form a crown or wreath of honour for poets and heroes. This custom, first revived in Padua for Albertino Mussato,[8] was followed by Petrarch‘s own crowning ceremony in the audience hall of the medieval senatorial palazzo on the Campidoglio on the 8th of April 1341.[9] Because the Renaissance figures who were attempting to revive the Classical tradition lacked detailed knowledge of the Roman precedent they were attempting to emulate, these ceremonies took on the character of doctoral candidatures.[10]
As the concept of the poet laureate has spread, the term “laureate” has come, in English, to signify recognition for preeminence or superlative achievement (cf. Nobel laureate). Laureate letterswere once the dispatches announcing a victory. The term laureate became associated with degrees awarded by European universities (the term baccalaureate for the degree of bachelor reflects this idea). As a royal degree in rhetoric, poet laureate was awarded at European universities in the Middle Ages. The term might also refer to the holder of such a degree, which recognized skill in rhetoric, grammar and language.
General Information about our Poet Laureate:
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/about_laureate.html
The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation’s official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.
The Poet Laureate is appointed annually by the Librarian of Congress and serves from October to May. In making the appointment, the Librarian consults with former appointees, the current Laureate and distinguished poetry critics. The position has existed under two separate titles: from 1937 to 1986 as “Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress” and from 1986 forward as “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.” The name was changed by an act of Congress in 1985.
The Laureate receives a $35,000 annual stipend funded by a gift from Archer M. Huntington. The Library keeps to a minimum the specific duties in order to afford incumbents maximum freedom to work on their own projects while at the Library. The Laureate gives an annual lecture and reading of his or her poetry and usually introduces poets in the Library’s annual poetry series, the oldest in the Washington area, and among the oldest in the United States. This annual series of public poetry and fiction readings, lectures, symposia, and occasional dramatic performances began in the 1940s. Collectively the Laureates have brought more than 2,000 poets and authors to the Library to read for the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature.
Some information about our current Poet from the same website:
Natasha Trethewey, Current Poet Laureate
On June 7, 2012, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington today announced the appointment of Natasha Trethewey as the Library’s Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry for 2012-2013. Natasha Trethewey was born in Gulfport, Mississippi on April 26, 1966. She is the author of four poetry collections and a book of creative non-fiction. Her honors include the Pulitzer Prize and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2012, she was appointed the State Poet Laureate of Mississippi.
Trethewey, the 19th Poet Laureate, will take up her duties in the fall, opening the Library’s annual literary season with a reading of her work on Thursday, September 13 in the Coolidge Auditorium. Her term will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Library’s Poetry and LiteratureCenter and the 1937 establishment of the Consultant-in-Poetry position, which was changed by a federal law in 1986 to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.“Natasha Trethewey is an outstanding poet/historian in the mold of Robert Penn Warren, our first Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry,” Billington said. “Her poems dig beneath the surface of history—personal or communal, from childhood or from a century ago—to explore the human struggles that we all face.”
I love poetry. I have even attempted some in my day. One time I sent my husband a poem written on multiple sheets of toilet paper rolled up to look like a scroll. It seemed a good idea at the time. Wonder if I still have it??? I do have all of the letters I wrote him I think??? Hmmmm…perhaps I will look one day. Perhaps I could write my blog all in iambic pentameter??? Not today as I am…..
…..ONWARD TO MORE MISADVENTURE…
ktsquared 