Two vacancies were filled this week. Whoopi Goldberg was hired by The View, and Charles Simic was named poet laureate of the United States. Google news confirms common sense about which story is more interesting to people: 516 new stories on The View and 165 on our new poet laureate. The View stories were also longer, filled with more detail, reporting and speculations. Most of the stories on Simic published around the country were shorter edits of an already short wire story. Of course, even people who don't watch The View (like me) know that Goldberg will replace the controversial Rosie O' Donnell. Meanwhile, even people who read poetry may not know -- without looking it up -- who Simic's predecessor was (Donald Hall).
Unlike in England, where being poet laureate is a coveted honor (the poet writes verse for occasions of state), in the United States the job seems more to entail working at promotion of the art. According to the official government Web site on the responsibilities of our poet laureate: "During his or her term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry." So, in the United States a poet laureate need not actually write any poems. Rather he or she serves as "official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans." Yet, since being established in 1986 during the Reagan administration, only one of the 15 people chosen for the post was born after World War II. Simic, no exception, was born in 1938. As a result, rather than "lighting rods," the position has been known for its gray-haired eminences.
Of course, no one in elected office really wants all that lip service about taking the pulse of the country or being a lightning rod from poets. Shortly before the United States invaded Iraq, a poetry reading had been scheduled at the White House. When it became clear a number of poets planned to use the occasion to speak out against the impending war, the event was canceled. No one seemed to notice.
Certainly, even on a slow day, The View gets more attention from Americans than they will give to poetry all year. Can you name all the hosts of The View, past and present? Can you count on the fingers of one hand the number of living poets you've read? Even the United States government seems embarrassed to have a poet laureate. The Web site makes a point of noting that a private citizen funded the money with which the poet laureate is paid $35,000 a year (as if there would otherwise be a public outcry that so much were being wasted on poetry).
Of course, we don't have any other art that designates a government ambassador to the people of the United States. Why do we need one for poetry? It is a curious fact -- yet certainly not interesting enough that it will ever come up on The View.