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Hall, The Conquering Hero

Donald Hall (pictured here) has been appointed the new poet laureate of the United States of America, following Ted Kooser's two-year appointment.

That's mainly good news. It might be even better and more productive if the laureates were given at least four years, like American presidents, to ply their trade - they practically shuffle off before the ink is dry.

Though, in a fast-paced multicultural democracy like America, two years may be a long time in any revolving door, even one leading to a garden of verses. On that note, when can we expect to see more women as laureates?

Hall is a very good and influential anthologist, as well as being an accessible poet in the key of Robert Frost, though his politics apparently skew somewhat to the left of that canny faux-farmer. I have three of his classic anthologies here beside me now, which did much to build trans-Atlantic bridges now all gone the way of the one at Kwai: Contemporary American Poetry (Penguin Books, 1962); The New Poets of England and America (Meridian Books, 1957 - co-edited with Robert Pack and Louis Simpson, with an Introduction by Frost!); and American Poetry: An Introductory Anthology (Faber & Faber, 1969).

England's laureate, Andrew Motion, has said recently he will step down in 2009, after ten years in the post. Motion has been the best laureate of the 20th century, it seems to me, and many others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Hall

http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/264

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/books/14poet.html?hp&ex=1150344000&en=1aca3b325c00a10b&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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Comments

Greg Santos said…
I agree, two years is way too short a time to be a poet laureate. It seems that just when they just start to get comfortable, it's time to pass the torch.
Also, in response to your comment about the need to see more women laureates, let's not forget about Pauline Michel, Canada's Parlimentary Poet Laureate.
She's reintroduced the Poems of the Week -started by George Bowering during his post- which will continue until the end of her term in November. Keep up the good work, I always enjoy returning to your site. Cheers!

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Information/about/people/poet/index.asp?lang=e¶m=4&id=1
Wed Jun 21, 05:00:00 am 2006
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