Lightning Rods for the Muse: America’s Recent Poet Laureates

Back in high school English class, you probably learned how poets spoke for their time—how the literature of the day reflected all that was happening politically, culturally, spiritually and economically.

Who’s speaking for us today? In this four-week course, we’ll take a look at the three most recent U.S. poet laureates: Ada Limón, Joy Harjo and Tracy K. Smith. The fourth week will focus on the present Colorado poet laureate Andrea Gibson. Each week, we’ll read their poems, watch video of them reading, and let their work help us leap into conversation. No previous experience or even appreciation for poetry is necessary.

Appointed annually by the librarian of Congress, the official job description of the Poet Laureate is to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry. But the Poet Laureate, who is selected by a committee that includes the current Laureate and distinguished poetry critics, is someone who represents the prevailing poetry aesthetic.

What do your laureates have to say about you? And what do you think of them? And what, in fifty years, will high school students have to say about how these poets spoke to our time here on this planet, in this country?

Guiding you on this journey through the Laureates is Western Slope poet laureate emeritus Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. Her master’s degree is in English Language and Linguistics, and for 10 years, she directed the Telluride Writers Guild. She has written a poem a day for several years, and her poems have been featured in O Magazine and on A Prairie Home Companion. Her books include The Unfolding, All the Honey, Hush and Naked for Tea.  Visit her website, www.wordwoman.com for writing exercises and essays on the art of writing.

Photo: Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate, at the Library of Congress. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.