poet laureate

Books
Arts

Academy of American Poets receives its largest-ever donation

12:05pm January 31, 2024

by Neda Ulaby

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded two grants totaling more than $5.7 million to support the organization's Poet Laureates as well as a national alliance of organizations promoting poetry.

Denise Lajimodiere speaks at the Minnesota Children's Book Festival in Red Wing, Minn., on Sept. 18, 2021. This week, Lajimodiere became the first Native American state poet laureate in North Dakota's history.

Denise Lajimodiere is named North Dakota's first Native American poet laureate

1:40pm April 07, 2023

by The Associated Press

A citizen of the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians, Lajimodiere has written several award-winning books of poetry and is an expert on the history of Native American boarding schools.

Arts

Academy of American Poets Receives $4.5 Million Grant

6:05pm January 30, 2020

by Elizabeth Blair

The grant, thought to be the largest-ever from a philanthropic institution for poetry, will enable the academy to fund its Poets Laureate Fellowship program for the next three years.

Books
Arts

In 'An American Sunrise,' Joy Harjo Speaks With A Timeless Compassion

9:50am August 14, 2019

by Craig Morgan Teicher

The poet laureate's collection tells a tale of a fierce and ongoing fight for sovereignty, integrity, and basic humanity. It's a plea that Americans take responsibility for what's done in our names.

The new poet laureate of the United States, Tracy K. Smith, visits the Library of Congress Poetry and Literature Center in Washington, D.C., last month.

Tracy K. Smith, New U.S. Poet Laureate, Calls Poems Her 'Anchor'

8:23am June 14, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

The Pulitzer Prize-winning poet says she plans to use her new role to meet people who don't read poetry ... yet, anyway. She believes poetry can be a resource for people in fraught or isolating times.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott rankled the judges of the Prime Minister's Literary Award with a last-minute announcement. Judge Les Murray later called Abbott's pick a "stupid and pretentious book."

Books
Arts

Book News: Australian Prime Minister's 'Nasty' Move Sparks Lit-Prize Furor

7:31am June 19, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Tony Abbott reportedly overruled a panel judging Australia's top fiction award, picking Richard Flanagan to share the prize. And one judge — famed poet Les Murray — isn't happy.

Juan Felipe Herrera won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2008 for his collection Half of the World in Light.

Books
Arts

Juan Felipe Herrera Named U.S. Poet Laureate

7:20pm June 10, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Already California's poet laureate, the prolific Chicano writer bears an enduring fascination for his native state — and a passion for teaching that's likely to shape his time in the new role.

Politics & Government

Johnston County Poet Named State Laureate

5:44pm December 22, 2014

North Carolina has a new poet laureate. Gov. Pat McCrory has tapped Shelby Stephenson of Benson for the post.

Donald Hall is a former U.S. poet laureate and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2010.

Books
Arts

At 86, Poet Donald Hall Writes On, But Leaves Verse Behind

5:36pm December 06, 2014

by NPR Staff

The former U.S. poet laureate says he can't write poetry any more, but still has some prose in him. In a new book, Essays After Eighty, he considers his art, his beard and his experience growing old.

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