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A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events. The term dates back to the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England, though analogous appointments date back to ancient Greece and (in Padua) to Albertino Mussato.

Over a dozen national governments continue the tradition today.

Background[link]

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,^[1] 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.^[2] For lack of detailed knowledge on Roman precedents, these ceremonies took on the character of doctoral candidatures.^[3]

It has since become widespread, both in fact and as a metaphor. The word laureate or laureated thus came in English to signify eminence or association with glory (cf. Nobel laureate). Laureate letters were 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.

Poets Laureate by country[link]

Canada[link]

The Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate is appointed as an officer of the Library of Parliament. The position alternates between an English and French speaking laureate each term. Candidates must be able to write in both English and French, must have a substantial publication history (including poetry) displaying literary excellence and must have written work reflecting Canada, among other criteria.

The first ever Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate was awarded to George Bowering in 2002. In 2004, the title was transferred to Pauline Michel and in 2006 to John Steffler. His term ended on December 3, 2008 and Pierre DesRuisseaux was named the new laureate on April 28, 2009. In December, 2011, Fred Wah was named Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada.

Dominican Republic[link]

Poets Laureate of Dominican Republic include: Pedro Mir (1984).

Ethiopia[link]

Poets Laureate of Ethiopia include: Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin.

Germany[link]

Poets Laureate of Nazi Germany include: Hanns Johst from 1935 to 1945.

India[link]

Sripada Krishnamurty Sastry was the first poet laureate of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Tamil Nadu

Kannadasan was the poet laureate of Tamil Nadu at the time of his death.

Ireland[link]

The title Saoi, equivalent to Poet Laureate in Ireland but including artists and writers distinguished in other aspects of literature, may be held by up to 7 members of Aosdana at any given time. Holders include: dramatist Brian Friel and poet Seamus Heaney.

Netherlands[link]

The unofficial Poet Laureate of Netherlands is currently: Ramsey Nasr as Dichter des Vaderlands (Poet of the Fatherland). Gerrit Komrij was the first Dichter des Vaderlands. The title isn't officially designated but was created by Dutch media.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand[link]

New Zealand has only had an official poet laureate for a few years. Originally sponsored by Te Mata vineyards and known as the Te Mata Estate Poet Laureate, the award is now administered by the National Library of New Zealand and the holder is officially called New Zealand Poet Laureate. The post is held for two years. Unlike the butt of sack traditionally offered to English poets laureate, New Zealand offers a Tokotoko, which is a carved wooden ceremonial orator's staff.

The first holder of the title was Bill Manhire who held the post of Poet Laureate from 1998–99. Other former Poets Laureate include, Hone Tuwhare (2000–01), Elizabeth Smither (2002–03), Brian Turner (2004–05), Jenny Bornholdt (2006–07), Michele Leggott (2008–09) and Cilla McQueen (2009–11). The current poet laureate is Ian Wedde (2011–2013).^[4][5]

Nigeria[link]

Poets Laureate of Nigeria include: Obo Aba Hisanjani.^{[citation needed]}

Saint Lucia[link]

Poets Laureate of Saint Lucia include: Derek Walcott.^{[citation needed]}

United Kingdom[link]

From the more general use of the term "poet laureate" arose its restriction in England to an official office of Poet Laureate, attached to the royal household. King James I essentially created the position as it is known today for Ben Jonson in 1617, although Jonson's appointment does not seem to have been made formally. The office was a development from the practice in earlier times when minstrels and versifiers formed part of the king's retinue. Richard Cœur-de-Lion had a versificator regis (English: king's poet), Gulielmus Peregrinus (William the Pilgrim), and Henry III had a versificator named Master Henry. In the fifteenth century, John Kay, a versifier, described himself as Edward IV's "humble poet laureate".

No single authentic definitive record exists of the office of Poet Laureate of England. According to Wharton,^{[citation needed]} King Henry I paid 10 shillings a year to a versificator regis. Geoffrey Chaucer (1340–1400) was called Poet Laureate, being granted in 1389 an annual allowance of wine. W. Hamilton describes Chaucer, Gower, Kay, Andrew Bernard, John Skelton, Robert Whittington, Richard Edwards and Samuel Daniel as "volunteer Laureates".

John Skelton studied at the University of Oxford in the early 1480s and was advanced to the degree of "poet laureate" in 1488, when he joined the court of King Henry VII to tutor the future Henry VIII. The title of laureate was also conferred on him by the University of Louvain in 1492 and by the University of Cambridge in 1492–3.^{[citation needed]} He soon became famous for his rhetoric, satire and translations and was held in high esteem by the printer William Caxton, who wrote, in the preface to The Boke of Eneydos compyled by Vargyle (Modern English: The Book of the Aeneid, compiled by Virgil) (1490):

But I pray mayster John Skelton, late created poete laureate in the unyversite of Oxenforde, to oversee and correct this sayd booke.

The title of Poet Laureate, as a royal office, was first conferred by letters patent on John Dryden in 1670, two years after Davenant's death. The post then became a regular institution. Dryden's successor Shadwell originated annual birthday and New Year odes. The poet laureate became responsible for writing and presenting official verses to commemorate both personal occasions, such as the monarch's birthday or royal births and marriages, and public occasions, such as coronations and military victories. His activity in this respect has varied according to circumstances, and the custom ceased to be obligatory after Pye's death. The office fell into some contempt before Southey, but took on a new lustre from his personal distinction and that of Wordsworth and Tennyson. Wordsworth stipulated, before accepting the honour, that no formal effusions from him should be considered a necessity; but Tennyson was generally happy in his numerous poems of this class.

On Tennyson's death there was a considerable feeling that no possible successor was acceptable, William Morris and Swinburne being hardly suitable as court poets. Eventually, however, the undesirability of breaking with tradition for temporary reasons, and thus severing the one official link between literature and the state, prevailed over the protests against allowing anyone of inferior genius to follow Tennyson. It may be noted that abolition had been similarly advocated when Warton and Wordsworth died. Edward Gibbon had condemned the position's artificial approach to poetry:

From Augustus to Louis, the muse has too often been false and venal: but I much doubt whether any age or court can produce a similar establishment of a stipendiary poet, who in every reign, and at all events, is bound to furnish twice a year a measure of praise and verse, such as may be sung in the chapel, and, I believe, in the presence, of the sovereign. I speak the more freely, as the best time for abolishing this ridiculous custom is while the prince is a man of virtue and the poet a man of genius.

— Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Chapter LXX (footnote)

The salary has varied, but traditionally includes some alcohol. Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks, and later an annual "terse of Canary wine". Dryden had a pension of £300 and a butt of Canary wine. Pye received £27 instead of the wine. Tennyson drew £72 a year from the Lord Chamberlain's department, and £27 from the Lord Steward's "in lieu of the butt of sack".

The present British Poet Laureate is Carol Ann Duffy, appointed poet laureate in May 2009.

Scotland

The Edinburgh Makar was traditionally seen as the unpaid equivalent of a poet laureate, tasked with representing and promoting poetry in Scotland. Since 2004, the Scottish Parliament has appointed an official Scots Makar, from the Makars of the various cities. On 16 February 2004, Professor Edwin Morgan was appointed to both the Edinburgh post and the national role. On his death he was succeeded (in January 2011) by Liz Lochhead.^[6]

Wales

Wales has had a long tradition of poets and bards under royal patronage, with extant writing from mediæval royal poets and earlier. An office of National Poet for Wales was established in April 2005. The first holder, Gwyneth Lewis, was followed by Gwyn Thomas

United States of America[link]

The United States Library of Congress has since 1937 appointed an official Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress until 1984. An Act of Congress changed the name of the position in 1985 to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. A number of the American states' legislatures have created official government positions which are occupied by Poets Laureate who are prominent either locally, nationally, or sometimes both.

Laureates receive a US$35,000 stipend and are given the responsibility of overseeing an ongoing series of poetry readings and lectures at the library, and a charge to promote poetry. No other duties are specified, and laureates are not required to compose for government events or in praise of government officials. However, after the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001, the Poet Laureate then in office, Billy Collins, was asked to write a poem to be read in front of a special joint session of Congress. Collins wrote "The Names" which he read on September 6, 2002, which is available in streaming audio and video.^[7] When the $35,000 stipend was originally instituted, the amount was quite large and was intended to allow the poet laureate to abandon worries about earning a living and devote his or her time entirely to writing poetry. That amount has remained the same over the years, so the intent of making it a nice living for a poet is no longer being fulfilled. Now it functions as a bonus for a poet who usually is teaching at a university and earns the bulk of his or her living that way.

U.S. Poets Laureate: Philip Levine was named the 18th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry of the United States.^[8] Levine will succeed W.S. Merwin, who was the country's seventeenth Poet Laureate. Former Poets: Kay Ryan, Charles Simic, Ted Kooser, Louise Glück, Billy Collins, Rita Dove, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Frost, Karl Shapiro, Allen Tate, Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wilbur, Joseph Brodsky, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Hass, Donald Hall, Robert Pinsky (three terms), Mark Strand, Audre Lorde and Maxine Kumin, among others.

District of Columbia

Minnesota

The State of Minnesota has appointed a Poet Laureate since 2007. The first appointee to the position was Robert Bly. In 2011, Bly was succeeded by Joyce Sutphen.

Utah

The state of Utah has appointed a Poet Laureate since 1997. The first Poet Laureate was David Lee who was appointed from January 24, 1997 to December 2002. Followed by Kenneth W. Brewer from January 24, 2003 to March 15, 2006. The third Poet Laureate was Katharine Coles from October 27, 2006 to May, 2012. Currently the Utah Poet Laureate is Lance Larsen, appointed May 3rd by Governor Gary Herbert.

Virginia

The commonwealth of Virginia has appointed a Poet Laureate since December 18, 1936. The first Poet Laureate was Carter Warner Wormeley; he was appointed for life. The appointments made from 1942 until 1992 were for one year at a time, many were for more than one term. In 1992, the appointment was increased to a two-year term, and beginning in 1998 the appointments were made from list of nominees presented by the Poetry Society of Virginia; which was established at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1923.^[9]

Colorado

The State of Colorado appointed one of the most widely known Poets Laureate of the late 20th century, singer/songwriter John Denver. ^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Poet Laureate of Canada
• Map of Canadian Poets Laureate
• Poets Laureate of South Africa
• List of U.S. Poets Laureate
• Poets Laureate for the Commonwealth (state) of VIRGINIA, United States of America via The Poetry Society of Virginia
• Poets Laureate for the Commonwealth (state) of VIRGINIA, United States of America via The Library of Congress, Washington DC
• Poet Laureate of Winona, Minnesota (2009 - )

Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) is a hip hop duo with Vinnie Paz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Jus Allah from Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and former producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999 the New Jersey rapper Jus Allah (James Bostick) joined the group to record the second studio album by JMT, Violent by Design but left shortly after for reasons that remain unexplained. The track "The Rebuilding" (2006) marked his unofficial return to JMT since the split, but made a full fledged return aside Vinnie Paz for the sixth studio album, A History of Violence (2008). In September 2011, Vinnie Paz officially announced the departure of Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind from the group, because "his heart wasn't in making JMT records anymore".^[1]

DJ Kwestion is also a part of the group, mainly scratching choruses on the turntable. Kwestion (or Kwes) is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion was a replacement for JMT's previous tour DJ, Drew Dollars, who is no longer affiliated with the group.

JMT has collaborations with both regional MCs and rap veterans, including GZA, Kool G Rap, 7L & Esoteric, Sean Price, Ras Kass, Canibus, Percee P, Killah Priest, Immortal Technique, Virtuoso, Louis Logic, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, and Ill Bill. The group has sold over 250,000 albums in the United States and 450,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently.^[2]

History[link]

Amber Probe EP and Psycho-Social LP[link]

JMT officially debuted with the Amber Probe EP.

"The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, And Electro-Magnetic Manipulation Of Human Consciousness" known as "The Psycho-Social" for short was released under Babygrande Records and is JMT's first full length LP. It featured 12 tracks and 6 bonus tracks. It is considered JMT's most groundbreaking and influential album.

Five Perfect Exertions EP and Violent By Design[link]

Prior to the release of their first LP, Vinnie Paz had conceived the idea of forming a rotating, collaborative super-group of underground East Coast artists called the Army of the Pharaohs (AotP). ^[3] 1998 saw the first result of these efforts in The Five Perfect Exertions EP. The release featured Virtuoso, 7L & Esoteric, Chief Kamachi and Bahamadia as well as Vinnie Paz himself. The EP was later remixed for JMT's next LP, Violent by Design (2000), albeit without Chief Kamachi's verse.

The LP was originally titled "Nyugha Reincarnation of the Hologramic Christ"^{[citation needed]}. Vinnie Paz became noticeably more aggressive, abandoning his cosmic, paranoid rhyme style from The Psycho-Social CD for more violent lyrics. The LP also introduced Jus Allah, a founding member of JMT who had left for college but dropped out a short while after. A self-proclaimed five-percenter, Jus was present on every non-AotP track on Violent by Design as JMT's unofficial third member. Most of the lyrics in Violent By Design show Jus and Paz describing exaggerated ways of killing people as well as their metaphorical superhuman powers. Typically, they do this by combining themes of hardcore/gangsta rap with mythological or fantasy imagery.

The list of guest artists on this album was also their longest, including Mr. Lif, Planetary of OuterSpace, Louis Logic, Diamondback, Philip King Rappah,Coffee Gangsta Child L-Fudge, B.A. Barakus, J-Treds, Killa Sha, C-Baz and Tragedy Khadafi, plus a couple of odd phone-call interludes by Mr. Len.

During the course of Violent by Design's 1999–2000 recording period, Paz changed his alias to Vinnie Paz, inspired by the boxer of the same name. The reason for this has been reported to be the result of a short-lived rivalry instigated by fellow Philly underground rapper iCON the Mic King. Vinnie Paz decided to settle on his new moniker in order to prevent any further confusion.^[4] It was also around this time that he formally declared himself to be a follower of Islam, alluding to this fact several times on record.

Visions of Gandhi[link]

In late 2001, JMT was made an offer by Babygrande Records founder Chuck Wilson to sign a deal. Jus Allah's uncertainty caused him to leave the group on good terms. Stoupe and Vinnie Paz closed their homegrown Superegular label and migrated to Babygrande. Before his White Nightmare EP on Virtuoso's "Omnipotent Records" label, Jus was somewhat isolated from the entire Philadelphia underground scene; the two sides wouldn't talk to each other for over three years. Virtuoso was also estranged from JMT and AOTP for his support of Jus, among other reasons.^{[citation needed]}

Mid-2003 saw the release of JMT's third LP, Visions of Gandhi. In an interview, Vinnie Paz said the title was inspired by Foxy Brown's verse in Nas's song "Affirmative Action", and expresses the need for a prominent figure of non-violent social change such as Gandhi in a post-9/11 world.^[5]

Stoupe, now supplied with a professional studio in New York, also expanded his variety of production, incorporating grand orchestral samples and a stronger Latin feel. In response, some longtime fans felt let down by Vinnie Paz's lyricism and delivery, as well as the abundance of slick, upbeat loops adopted by Stoupe^{[citation needed]}. Nevertheless, the album helped expand the group's audience as its popularity and commercial success continued to grow.

Legacy of Blood and Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell[link]

A little over a year later, JMT continued their creative streak with Legacy of Blood, this time intentionally keeping guest artists to a minimum. Carrying with them their lessons from Gandhi, Stoupe and Vinnie tried to strike a balance between the past two albums. Vinnie Paz also added a more personal aspect to his lyrics, most notably in the last song "Before the Great Collapse".

In February, 2005, Babygrande officially announced that Jus Allah had signed on to the label after reconciling with his former partners. Babygrande released his long-awaited debut LP, All Fates Have Changed, in May of that year. However, after a dispute with label CEO Chuck Wilson soon after the album's release, Jus left Babygrande and denied any new association with JMT.

In March, 2006, a reunited Army of the Pharaohs released The Torture Papers LP. The crew now consisted of Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild of Outerspace, King Syze, Faez One, Reef the Lost Cauze, and new Jedi Mind Tricks hype-man Des Devious. This time, however, Virtuoso and Bahamadia were not featured and are no longer associated with the Army.

The fifth Jedi Mind Tricks album, titled Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, was released on September 19, 2006. The release coincided with the beginning of the album's supportive tour, which kicked off in New York City's Time Square. The album was widely acclaimed, unlike the group's two previous albums, which both received mixed reviews. A large part of the acclaim was due to the album's lyrical and musical diversity, both missing from their previous efforts. The album featured the single "Heavy Metal Kings" with Ill Bill, the Shara Worden-assisted "Razorblade Salvation", and the storytelling track "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" with R.A. The Rugged Man. A day after the release of the album, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks did an interview with The Breakdown, a show on ItsHipHop.tv where he discussed the album and his thoughts on Jus Allah.

In early 2006, rumors spread that the group had reunited with estranged member Jus Allah, and that he would be featured on Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell, but no collaboration appeared. However, on September 20, 2006 a newly-recorded Jedi Mind Tricks/Jus Allah collaboration, produced by Brods, titled "The Rebuilding" appeared online. Jus is also planning to release his second album, The Colossus, in the summer of 2007. In a January 2007 interview Paz stated that Jus will be featured on the group's upcoming sixth album, titled A History of Violence.^[4] Jus Allah, Doap Nixon and Demoz were added to the AotP roster in 2007, and will contribute verses to the group's second studio album Ritual of Battle, scheduled for release on September 25, 2007. Also, in summer 2008, Jedi Mind Tricks' Label, Babygrande, will be releasing a JMT DVD. "With a 12+ year career under their belt and a continually growing rabid fan base, the history of Jedi Mind Tricks has never been officially documented…until summer 2008, “Divine Fire: The Story of Jedi Mind Tricks DVD,” promises an insightful excursion into the roots of an underground empire." This is from Babygrande's Newsletter.

Reunion with Jus Allah and A History of Violence[link]

In an interview conducted in September 2007 on the Art of Rhyme website, Jus Allah announced that he has rejoined Jedi Mind Tricks.^[6] In the interview he states that "I'm back in the group [and that] I'm focused on... putting out the next Jedi Mind Tricks album... a History of Violence." A History of Violence (album) was released on November 11, 2008. This album would be the last JMT album released on Babygrande Records.

Enemy Soil, Violence Begets Violence, and the departure of Stoupe[link]

After a long time dispute with Babygrande Records, JMT decided to part ways and form their own record label entitled Enemy Soil. Enemy Soil features artists such as JMT, Reef the Lost Cauze, Dutch (the side group of Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind), and Army of the Pharaohs.

Vinnie Paz released his first solo album Season of the Assassin (album) on June 22, 2010. Jus Allah is in the works of releasing his second solo album entitled MMA (Meanest Man Alive). Stoupe released the album for his group, Dutch, (which features Liz Fullerton on vocals) entitled A Bright Cold Day (album) on June 8, 2010. Army of the Pharaohs released their third album as well entitled The Unholy Terror on March 30, 2010.

It was announced that JMT would be creating a new title called Violence Begets Violence. This album marks the first album without Stoupe behind production. Vinnie Paz stated in a blog on the JMT website that Stoupe has lost the inspiration for Hip-Hop and decided to focus on other things in his career, such as his sidegroups, and that Stoupe would not be producing any of the tracks on the new JMT album. Vinnie Paz stated that there is no conflict between the two and if Stoupe wants to be part of the next album, Paz would welcome him back.^[7] JMT has since gotten numerous producers to fill in the slot and released a new single from the album entitled "Target Practice". The new album was released on October 25, 2011.

Public opinions on piracy[link]

At the same day as Violence Begets Violence was released, a post at the official Jedi Mind Tricks Facebook page addressed copyright infringements and the early leaked album online. An upset Vinnie Paz condemned downloading the leaked copy calling it an act of stealing.^[8]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs/Singles[link]

Compilations[link]

Jus Allah discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Jedi Mind Tricks website
• Official Babygrande website
• Official CrackSpace page

Natasha Trethewey during book signing at the University of Michigan

Natasha Trethewey (b. 1966) is an American poet who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her 2006 collection, Native Guard.^[1] She is currently the Poet Laureate of Mississippi.^[2]

Trethewey was born in Gulfport, Mississippi.^[3] She earned the A.B. in English from the University of Georgia, an M.A. in poetry from Hollins University, and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (1995).^[4] In May 2010, Hollins University awarded Trethewey with a Doctor of Letters honoris causa during the university's 168th Commencement Exercises. In December 2007, she received the same honor from Delta State University in her native Mississippi. She holds the Phillis Wheatley Distinguished Chair in Poetry at Emory University.^[5]

Bibliography[link]

• Domestic Work. Graywolf Press. 2000. ISBN 978-1-55597-309-4.  (Poetry)
• Bellocq's Ophelia. Graywolf Press. 2002. ISBN 978-1-55597-359-9. ^[4] (Poetry)
• Native Guard. Houghton Mifflin. 2006. ISBN 978-0-618-87265-7.  (Poetry)
• Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. University of Georgia Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-8203-3381-6.  (Poetry, essays, and letters)

Awards[link]

• 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry^[6]
• 2004 Fellowship from the Rockefeller Foundation for residency at the Bellagio Study Center
• 2003 Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
• 2001, 2003,^[3] 2007 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Book Prizes
• 2001, 2007 Lillian Smith Award for Poetry
• 2000 Bunting Fellowship for the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
• 1999 First Annual Cave Canem Poetry Prize for Domestic Work, selected by Rita Dove
• 1999 Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts

References[link]

External links[link]

• Faculty bio at Emory
• "Pulitzer Prize Winner Trethewey Discusses Poetry Collection". PBS Online News Hour. April 25, 2007. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june07/trethewey_04-25.html. 
• Natasha Tretheway on Southern Spaces
• Trethewey reading from The Native Guard in February 2006: Blackbird: An Online Journal of Literature and the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Volume 5, No. 1 (Spring 2006)
• Trethewey interview with Daniel Cross Turner for Waccamaw: A Journal of Contemporary Literature (Fall 2011) http://www.waccamawjournal.com/pages.html?x=324

Billy Collins
Collins at the Calabash Literary Festival in St. Elizabeth's, Jamaica, May 2010.
Born	(1941-03-22) 22 March 1941 (age 71) New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	Professor, Poet, Author, Anthologist
Nationality	American

Billy Collins (born William James Collins March 22, 1941) is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003.^[1] He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida. Collins was recognized as a Literary Lion of the New York Public Library (1992) and selected as the New York State Poet for 2004-2006.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Collins was born in New York City to William and Katherine Collins. Katherine Collins was a nurse who stopped working to raise the couple's only child. Mrs. Collins had the ability to recite verses on almost any subject, which she often did, and cultivated in her young son the love of words, both written and spoken. Billy Collins attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains and received a B.A. (English) from the College of the Holy Cross in 1963; he received his M.A. and Ph.D in English from the University of California, Riverside. His professors at Riverside included Victorian scholar and poet Robert Peters.^[2][3] In 1975 Collins founded The Mid Atlantic Review with his good friend and co-editor, Michael Shannon.^[4]

Career[link]

Collins in La Jolla, San Diego, 2008

Collins is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College in the Bronx, where he joined the faculty in 1968 and has taught for over thirty years. Additionally, he is a founding Advisory Board member of the CUNY Institute for Irish-American Studies at Lehman College. He also has taught and served as a visiting writer at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York as well as teaching workshops across the U.S. and in Ireland. Collins is a member of the faculty of SUNY Stonybrook Southampton College, where he teaches poetry workshops. Collins was named U.S. Poet Laureate in 2001 and held the title until 2003. Collins served as Poet Laureate for the State of New York from 2004 until 2006. Collins has been named Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Winter Park Institute in Winter Park, Florida, an affiliate of Rollins College. He is on the editorial board at The Alaska Quarterly Review, not actively involved since 2000.^[5][6] He is on the advisory board at the Southern Review, and is similarly named in other journals.

As U.S. Poet Laureate, Collins read his poem The Names at a special joint session of the United States Congress on September 6, 2002, held to remember the victims of the 9/11 attacks.^[7] Though, unlike their British counterparts, U.S. poets laureate are not asked or expected to write occasional poetry, Collins was asked by the Librarian of Congress to write a poem especially for that event. Collins initially refused to read "The Names" in public, though he has read it two times in public since 2002. He vows not to include it in any of his books, refusing to capitalize in any way on the 9/11 attacks. However, "The Names" was included in the The Poets Laureate Anthology, put out by the Library of Congress, for which Collins wrote the foreword. The only published version of "The Names," it contains a number of regrettable typographical errors. As Poet Laureate, Collins instituted the program Poetry 180 for high schools. Collins chose 180 poems for the program and the accompanying book, Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry-- one for each day of the school year. Collins edited a second anthology, 180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every Day to refresh the supply of available poems. The program is online, and poems are available there for no charge.^[8]

In 1997, Collins recorded The Best Cigarette, a collection of 34 of his poems, that would become a bestseller. In 2005, the CD was re-released under a Creative Commons license, allowing free, non-commercial distribution of the recording. He also recorded two of his poems for the audio versions of Garrison Keillor's collection Good Poems (2002). Collins has appeared on Keillor's radio show, A Prairie Home Companion, numerous times, where he gained a portion of his large following. In 2005, Collins recorded Billy Collins Live: A Performance ^[9] in New York City. Collins was introduced by his friend, actor Bill Murray.

Billy Collins has been called "The most popular poet in America" by the New York Times.^[10] When he moved from the University of Pittsburgh Press to Random House, the advance he received shocked the poetry world — a six-figure sum for a three-book deal, virtually unheard of in poetry.^[11] The deal secured for Collins through his literary agent, Chris Calhoun of Sterling Lord Literistic, with the editor Daniel Menaker, remained the talk of the poetry world, and indeed the literary world, for quite some time.^[12]

Over the years, the U.S. magazine Poetry has awarded Collins several prizes in recognition of poems they publish. During the 1990s, Collins won five such prizes. The magazine also selected him as "Poet of the Year" in 1994. In 2005 Collins was the first annual recipient of its Mark Twain Prize for Humor in Poetry. He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Foundation for the Arts and in 1993, from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

One of his most critically acclaimed works, "Fishing on the Susquehanna in July" ^[13] has been added to the preserved works of the United States Native American literary registry as being deemed a culturally significant poem.

Awards and honors[link]

• 1983, Fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts
• 1986, Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts
• 1991, National Poetry Series publication prize - winner, Questions About Angels
• 1992, New York Public Library 'Literary Lion'
• 1993, Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
• 1994, Poetry Magazine - Poet of the Year
• 1995, Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, Academy of American Poets - shortlist, The Art of Drowning
• 2001, American Irish Historical Society Cultural Award
• 2001–2003, US Poet Laureate
• 2004–2006, New York State Poet Laureate^[14]
• 2005, Mark Twain Award for Humor in Poetry

Poetry collections[link]

• Pokerface (1977)
• Video Poems (1980)
• The Apple That Astonished Paris. University of Arkansas Press. 1988. ISBN 978-1-55728-024-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=LcwWbWcOGQAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. ; University of Arkansas Press, 2006, ISBN 978-1-55728-823-3
• Questions About Angels (1991)
• The Art of Drowning University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995, ISBN 978-0-8229-5567-2
• Picnic, Lightning (1998)
• Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes (2000)
• Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems. Random House. 2001. http://books.google.com/books?id=_uxrn_B6nQIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. ; reprint Random House, Inc., 2002, ISBN 978-0-375-75519-4
• Nine Horses. Random House, Inc.. 2002. ISBN 978-1-58836-278-0. http://books.google.com/books?id=6MYci63f-yoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• The Trouble with Poetry. 2005. http://books.google.com/books?id=dtMhdlM_q48C&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. ; reprint Random House, Inc., 2007, ISBN 978-0-375-75521-7
• She Was Just Seventeen (2006)
• Ballistics. 2008. ISBN 978-1-4000-6491-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=lTiSa7Oxvd8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• "Horoscopes for the Dead" (2011) ISBN 978-1-4000-6492-2

Editor[link]

• Billy Collins, ed. (2003). Poetry 180. Random House, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-8129-6887-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=ssxHjRNX9-QC&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Billy Collins, ed. (2005). 180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every Day. Random House, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-8129-7296-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=LBD3cfm2_dcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=billy+collins#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
• Billy Collins, ed. (2010). Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds. Illustrator David Sibley. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-15084-2. 

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Billy Collins

• Collins online resources at the Library of Congress
• Billy Collins profile at PoetryFoundation.org
• Billy Collins profile at poets.org
• George Plimpton (Fall 2001). "Billy Collins, The Art of Poetry No. 83". Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/482/the-art-of-poetry-no-83-billy-collins. 

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Frank X Walker is an American poet from Danville, Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Kentucky. He completed an MFA in Writing at Spalding University in May 2003.

He has lectured, conducted workshops, read poetry and exhibited at over 300 national conferences and universities including the Verbal Arts Centre in Derry, Northern Ireland; Santiago, Cuba; University of California at Berkeley; University of Louisville; Notre Dame; Louisiana State University at Alexandria; University of Washington; Virginia Tech; Radford University; Appalachian State University; Old Dominion University^[1] and Emory and Henry College.

A founding member of the Affrilachian Poets,^[2] he is the editor and publisher of PLUCK!, the new Journal of Affrilachian Art & Culture.^[3]

Walker's poems have been converted into a stage production by the University of Kentucky Theatre department.^[4] His poems are anthologized in The Appalachian Journal, Limestone, Roundtable, and My Brothers Keeper.

Other new work appeared recently in Mischief, Caprice & Other Poetic Strategies (Red Hen Press), Tobacco (Kentucky Writers Coalition), Kentucky Christmas (University Press of Kentucky), Cornbread Nation III, Kudzu, The Kentucky Anthology: Two Hundred Years of Writing in the Bluegrass (University Press of Kentucky) and the Louisville Review.

Walker has served as founder/Executive Director of the Bluegrass Black Arts Consortium, the Program Coordinator of the University of Kentucky's King Cultural Center, and the Assistant Director of Purdue University's Black Cultural Center. He regularly teaches in writing programs like Fishtrap in Oregon and SplitRock at the University of Minnesota.^[5]

He currently serves as an Associate Professor in the department of English at University of Kentucky.

Personal life[link]

Frank X Walker is a loving father of his two kids, Nikki and D'Van, and also a grandfather to 5 children.

Awards[link]

• 2004 Winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award
• 2006 Thomas D. Clark Literary Award for Excellence, Actors Theatre's Keeper of the Chronicle Award
• 2005 Recipient of a $75,000 Lannan Literary Fellowship in Poetry
• Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Fellowship recipient

Work[link]

Poetry[link]

• When Winter Come: the Ascension of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2008. ISBN 978-0-8131-9184-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=70LKWJnBE0IC&pg=PA16&dq=Frank+X+Walker. 
• Black Box. Old Cove Press. 2005. ISBN 0-9675424-1-3. http://books.google.com/books?id=AloUjhvVqicC&pg=PP1&dq=Frank+X+Walker. 
• Buffalo Dance: the Journey of York. University Press of Kentucky. 2003. ISBN 0-8131-9088-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=dGhgiVx_HDIC&pg=PP1&dq=Frank+X+Walker. 
• Affrilachia. Old Cove Press. 2000. ISBN 0-9675424-0-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=XIOkAqBzhh8C&pg=PP1&dq=Frank+X+Walker. 

Anthologies[link]

• Keith Gilyard, ed. (February 1997). Spirit and Flame: An Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2731-9. 
• Tony Medina, Samiya A. Bashir, Quarishi Ali Lansana, ed. (2002). Role Call: A Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature and Art. Third World Press. ISBN 978-0-88378-238-5. 

Essay[link]

• Jay Allison, Dan Gediman, John Gregory, Nubar Alexanian, Viki Merrick, ed. (2006). "Frank X Walker". This I Believe. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-8050-8087-2. http://books.google.com/books?id=0ZvQ2UHaVMkC&pg=PA250&dq=Frank+X+Walker. 

Editor[link]

• America! What's My Name? The "Other Poets" Unfurl the Flag. Wind Publications. 2007. ISBN 1-893239-63-2. 
• Eclipsing a Nappy New Millennium. Haraka Press. 1998. ISBN 978-0-9664994-0-7. 

Video[link]

• Writing: Getting Ideas on Paper, PBS's GED Connection Series
• In Performance At the Governor's Mansion
• Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky.

Video Producer[link]

• Coal Black Voices: the History of the Affrilachian Poets, which received the 2002-2003 Jesse Stuart Award presented by the Kentucky School Media Association
• KY2NYC: Art/life & 9.11, exploring the effects of 9.11 on the arts community.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Author's website
• "Creative Solutions to Life's Challenges", Frank X Walker, This I Believe, NPR