Kay Ryan: U.S. poet laureate today

[Skip Zilla]

Quoted from the Library of Congress Web Guide for Kay Ryan:

On July 17, 2008, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington announced the appointment of Kay Ryan as the 16th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. On making the appointment, Dr. Billington said, "Kay Ryan is a distinctive and original voice within the rich variety of contemporary American poetry. She writes easily understandable short poems on improbable subjects. Within her compact compositions there are many surprises in rhyme and rhythm and in sly wit pointing to subtle wisdom."

Here's a sample of her work:

Bad Day

Not every day
is a good day
for the elfin tailor.
Some days
the stolen cloth
reveals what it
was made for:
a handsome weskit
or the jerkin
of an elfin sailor.
Other days
the tailor
sees a jacket
in his mind
and sets about
to find the fabric.
But some days
neither the idea
nor the material
presents itself;
and these are
the hard days
for the tailor elf.

[Connie Weber]

How wonderful. I love this poem. One to use in class, too, asking kids to find a way to think of a day for a creature, imaginary or real. Please, please, more poems by her! Which book would be the best start?

[Skip Zilla]

Kay Ryan's poem Bad Day is included in an online collection provided by the Library of Congress titled Poetry 180: A Poem a Day for American High Schools. This is a wonderful collection. For more of Kay Ryan's poems, probably the best thing to do is to go to the links provided in the initial post and look for poems of hers available at various Web sites.

Here's a link to LoC's Poetry Home. Great!