Happy about the new job: Dana with Doctor Gatsby. (Photo: Star Black)
I’ve wondered why Dana Gioia has never been California’s poet laureate. After all, he is a genuine California native, born in Hawthorne, a gritty little burg outside L.A. As former National Endowment for the Arts chair from 2003 to 2009, as a leading poet who has won a number of awards, as a provocative critic, and as a champion of poetry (and indeed all the arts), who could better serve in the role?
Wonder no more: Gov. Jerry Brown today announced the appointment of Dana, who is the Judge Widney Professor of Poetry and Public Culture at the University of Southern California.
Champion of Poetry Out Loud
Dana just sent me an email to let me know of his appointment. His statement to the Book Haven: “I’m honored by this appointment. It’s hard for me to describe how much I love California. My life has taken me to many other places – Boston, New York, Washington – but in every case there came a point when I decided to quit and come back home. I can’t imagine anything more meaningful than to represent my art in my place.”
The office of the California poet laureate was created in 2001 to inspire an appreciation for the art of poetry throughout the state. During his two-year term, Gioia will provide public readings in classrooms, board rooms and other places. What else does he plan to do? I asked him: “It would be very easy to spend my time as laureate in a few big cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. But California is a big and diverse state. Most of it is rural. I want to visit as much of the state as possible. I especially want to focus on the high schools and public libraries. Those are the great civic institutions of literacy.”
Stanford’s 2007 commencement speaker (Photo: L.A. Cicero)
We’ve written about Dana before: read about his last collection of poems, Pity the Beautiful here, and on his recent essay about poet Dunstan Thompson here, and on whether America is getting dumber here, and a few words on his mentor Elizabeth Bishop here, and on receiving the Laetare Medal here, among other places.
“Dana will bring the voice of a native son of California to his new role,” Craig Watson, director of the California Arts Council, said in a statement. “And he’ll also help our state’s young people learn to explore and develop their own voices — just as he did when he created the Poetry Out Loud high school recitation program while at the NEA — a program which has greatly impacted California’s young people for ten years.” (We wrote about Dana and Poetry Out Loud here.)
His newest collection of poetry, 99 Poems: New & Selected will be out in March.
He two-year appointment succeeds Juan Felipe Herrera, who is now the U.S. Poet Laureate. Now, I’ve always wondered why Dana Gioia wasn’t made the U.S. poet laureate…
December 4th, 2015 at 11:41 pm
In a week that needed it, this is just plain heartening news.
December 5th, 2015 at 2:37 pm
This is sad albeit typical news. Have been waiting to hear who would become the next poet laureate. Gioia is an entirely political choice. Again very sad. It would be interesting for state officials to mention who the other people were who were actually considered for the position.
December 5th, 2015 at 5:38 pm
Guess I can’t agree with you on this one, Jason. I have a lot of trust in Jerry Brown. Not to mention Dana Gioia.
December 5th, 2015 at 6:36 pm
Burg, girlie, not berg.
December 5th, 2015 at 6:40 pm
Ach! Fixed!