Robert Hass Named Poet Laureate Of U.S.

New York Times Robert Hass has been named the poet laureate of the United States by James Billington, the librarian of Congress. Hass, the author of the poetry collections “Field Guide,” “Praise” and “Human Wishes,” succeeds Rita Dove, whose second one-year term as poet laureate ends this month.

“It’s a daunting honor,” said Hass. “On the one hand, I’m quite pleased, and on the other I’m fearful of the distraction. I think Joseph Brodsky (the poet laureate in 1991) said that the job is ill-paid, ill-defined and irresistible.”

The post of poet laureate was created in 1937 to provide the librarian of Congress with advice on the library’s poetry collection, but in recent years it has come to be regarded as a platform for raising national awareness of the importance of poetry and the written word.

Laureates receive a salary of $35,000. By design, their duties are loosely defined except for the requirement that they give a reading of their work at the Library of Congress upon assuming the job, deliver an address upon stepping down and organize literary programs at the library. Hass, 54, will open the library’s annual literary series on Oct. 12.