Poets write poems--should they write lots of poems? Should they try to publish everything they write? How many books should a poet publish to be considered a success?
Donald Hall, the current Poet Laureate of the United States, has made poetry his life. And like most poets, he has written numerous essays about poetry, including the state of poetry, the decline of poetry, and just generally how he feels about poetry.
One of his most famous poems is "My Son, My Executioner" which dramatizes the paradox of birth and death. He has published over twenty books of poetry and about that many in prose and children's books.
So this Poet Laureate can speak to poetry issues with some authority. And he has some definite ideas about what poets should do and how they should do it. Now as Poet Laureate he had a forum to influence the art and how it is perceived. It will be interesting to see exactly how he accomplishes the main purpose of the laureate position, that of promoting poetry.
See my article "Donald Hall on Ambition" to find out just what has to say about the proper relationship between poets and ambition.
