California writer @TheAmandaGorman became the youngest poet in American history to speak at a presidential inauguration.
The inaugural reading of a poem started with Robert Frost and John F Kennedy. We don’t think it was done before then. That’s why we post the list of the inaugural poets which is different from the dead poets laureate list.
Many of the states in the United States have established the post of poet laureate to which a prominent poet residing in the respective state is appointed. The responsibilities of the state poets laureate are similar to those of the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and the equivalent Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in the United States, to make public appearances at poetry readings or literary events, and to promote awareness of poetry within their geographical region.
As of 2017, 46 states and the District of Columbia have poets laureate, although a few are presently vacant. The terms can vary in length from state to state. Most states appoint a poet laureate for a one- or two-year term, fewer to several years, and some states appoint a poet to lifetime tenure. Two states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, previously had such posts but abolished them in 2003. Michigan had a single poet laureate from 1952–1959. There has never been an official State Poet Laureate in Massachusetts. While Idaho does not have a post of "poet laureate", per se, the state appoints a "Writer in Residence", which can be held by a novelist or poet.
https://poets.org/inaugural-poems-history
Image - AP
