Poets Laureate of the U.S.A.

Who are all the poets who have served the Library of Congress as Consultant (the old title) or Poet Laureate Consultant (the new title)? Learn more about the lives and works of these distinguished artists through the resources listed below.

1937-1949

• Joseph Auslander 1937-41: His sonnet, “To My Despoiler”
• Allen Tate 1943-44: His essay on writing poetry, “Narcissus As Narcissus”
• Robert Penn Warren 1944-45
• Louise Bogan 1945-46
• Karl Shapiro 1946-47
• Robert Lowell 1947-48
• Leonie Adams 1948-49
• Elizabeth Bishop 1949-50

1950s

• Conrad Aiken 1950-52: First to serve two terms
• William Carlos Williams: Appointed to serve two terms in 1952 but did not serve.
• Randall Jarrell 1957-58
• Robert Frost 1958-59
• Richard Eberhart 1959-61: “A Student’s Memories of Richard Eberhart,” by David Graham

1960s

• Louis Untermeyer 1961-63: His poems “Prayer,” “Summons” and “On the Birth of a Child” and “Reveille”
• Howard Nemerov 1963-64
• Reed Whittemore 1964-65
• Stephen Spender 1965-66
• James Dickey 1966-68
• William Jay Smith 1968-70: His “Epigrams”

1970s

• William Stafford 1970-71
• Josephine Jacobsen 1971-73
• Daniel Hoffman 1973-74
• Stanley Kunitz 1974-76
• Robert Hayden 1976-78
• William Meredith 1978-80

1980s

• Maxine Kumin 1981-82
• Anthony Hecht 1982-84
• Robert Fitzgerald 1984-85: Appointed and served in a health-limited capacity, but did not come to the Library of Congress
• Reed Whittemore 1984-85: Interim Consultant in Poetry 
• Gwendolyn Brooks 1985-86 
• Robert Penn Warren 1986-87: First to be designated Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry
• Richard Wilbur 1987-88
• Howard Nemerov 1988-90

1990s

• Mark Strand 1990-91
• Joseph Brodsky 1991-92
• Mona Van Duyn 1992-93
• Rita Dove 1993-95: Her poem, “Lady Freedom Among Us”
• Robert Hass 1995-97: Poems, translations, bibliography and articles about Hass’ work
• Robert Pinsky 1997-2000​: His Favorite Poem Project

2000s

• Stanley Kunitz 2000-2001​
• Billy Collins 2001-2003: His Poetry 180 Project to bring poetry into American high schools
• Louise Glück 2003-2004
• Ted Kooser 2004-2005: Excerpt from his book, The Poetry Home Repair Manual, Practical Advice for Beginning Poets
• Donald Hall 2006-2007: His reading of, “Poetry Across the Atlantic,” in a historic joint reading with U.S. Poet Laureate Hall and UK Poet Laureate Andrew Motion
• Charles Simic 2007-2008
• Kay Ryan 2008-2010: Her poems, audio readings and podcasts

2010s

• W.S. Merwin 2010-2011
• Philip Levine 2011-2012
• Natasha Trethewey 2012-