Monday, September 18, 2006

First Children's Poet Laureate in U.S.

From U.S. Newswire, I just read this:

The Poetry Foundation will inaugurate the nation's first Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, as part of the third annual Pegasus Awards ceremony in Chicago on Sept. 27.

The Children's Poet Laureate award will be given to a living American writer in recognition of a career devoted to writing exceptional poetry for the young child. The award aims to raise the general public's awareness that children have a natural receptivity to poetry written specifically for them which, when nurtured, can grow into a lifelong love for poetry.


What great news! I confess I had not ever thought about whether or not there was a poet laureate for children in this country. Now that I'm thinking about it, I definitely think there should be one. Glad it will come to be. I wonder who's being considered? Is Jack Prelutsky still alive? (I think so...)

How about Nikki Grimes? She'd be great.

2 comments:

Erin said...

That's awesome! And I love Jack Prelutsky. The other name seem familiar but only vaguely... Maybe we read some of her stuff in school.

Beth said...

I've only really begun reading "recent" children's poets in the past couple of years, and Nikki Grimes has become one of my favorites. She's African American and really has done some wonderful work. I've reviewed a few of her books for Epinions -- we especially like her treasury of Christmas poems called "Under the Christmas Tree."

I couldn't see that there's an actual list of nominees anywhere, bur I'd definitely put both Grimes and Prelutsky on a short list of living children's poets worthy of such an honor!