Laureates

When I tell people that I'm a poet, they often ask me if my ambition is to be Poet Laureate. It's like they see some sort of poetic hierarchy in place, and think that naturally I would want the CEO spot. Of course, poets aren't all that interested in Laureate laurels. Perhaps because they realize it's mostly a figurehead position. And there's not much money in it.

The position carries an award of $35,000 and a $5,000 travel allowance. It usually lasts a year, though poets are sometimes reappointed.
--New York Times, June 14, 2006

Not exactly enough to set the soul on fire.

I'm thinking about Laureates today because the Library of Congress is choosing Donald Hall to replace Ted Kooser as Poet Laureate. Hall is generally described as a New England poet in the mold of Robert Frost. I guess it's an improvement.