This week on My Poetic Side we take a look at the new US Poet Laureate.
New US Poet Laureate Named
The author and translator Arthur Sze has been named as the new US poet laureate.
The announcement was made by the Library of Congress on Monday this week, during a time when they are under fire from the Trump administration and face challenges to both their leadership and mission.
Sze, who is 74 and a much-honoured author, has been appointed to a 1-year term. He has written 12 poetry collections and is also a recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the library which he received last year. He will succeed the current poet laureate Ada Limon who has been in the position for three years, and will join the likes of Louise Gluck, Joy Harjo and Billy Collins who have previously held the title.
In a recent interview, Sze mentioned some of the misgivings he had about taking up the position when he had originally been approached. He was concerned about the level of responsibilities that came with the role as well as the upheaval caused by the firing in May of the librarian of Congress. However, in the end he decided to accept the position, believing it is the perfect opportunity to really give something back to poetry.
He will take up the position during what will be a tumultuous year for the library, which is 200 years old. The non-partisan institution is home to a significant archive of books published in the US. The librarian of Congress was fired after conservative activists accused her of creating a “woke” agenda, a criticism that President Trump is known to back and which has resulted in a number of sweeping changes to important cultural institutions across the country. The ousting of Hayden was widely criticised by both the wide literary community and former poet laureates.
Serving laureates are forbidden from taking a political position. However, this tradition was ignored by Collins who was public in his objections to the push for war with Iraq during George W Bush’s term as president.
The acting librarian who was announced on Monday praised Sze whose poetic influences range form the ancient poets of China to Wallace Stevens. The official title that Sze will have for the position is “Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry”. This came about following the 1985 renaming of a He position, which was established in 1937 as “Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress”. He will be expected to act as a poetry ambassador and
Previous initiatives have included Robert Pinsky’s Favourite Poem Project, , and Limón’s You Are Here, which saw a number of poetry installations at national parks all over the country.
Sze is hoping to focus on a passion that he has had for over 50 years; translations of poetry and how often the words used in many published translations are either not quite accurate or are dated and antiquated resulting in a loss of the original poetry through translation. Through his own translations of ancient poetry, Sze learnt to write his own poetry, something which helped to deepen his appreciation of the art.
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