Herrera named US Poet Laureate

In the US, the Library of Congress has named Juan Felipe Herrera as the country’s next Poet Laureate, reports the New York Times. Herrera, who was Poet Laureate of California from 2012-2014, is the author of more than a dozen books of poetry and recently retired as a professor at the University of California. Congress librarian James Billington said in a statement: ‘I see in Herrera’s poems the work of an American original—work that takes the sublimity and largess of “Leaves of Grass” and expands upon it. His poems engage in a serious sense of play.’ The Poet Laureate is appointed for one year and receives a US$35,000 (A$45,240) salary and an office at the Library of Congress in Washington.

Category: International news