Rebekah Bobbitt Johnson National Prize for Poetry for Lifetime Achievement winner Arthur Sze speaks with Poetry and Literature Center Head Rob Casper at the Library of Congress, December 5, 2024. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.
Author and translator Arthur Sze has been named the 25th U.S. Poet Laureate.
According to NPR, Sze will take over from Ada Limón, the current U.S. Poet Laureate, on October 9. His job will be to help the U.S. gain a greater appreciation for the reading and writing of poetry.
The 74-year-old, according to the Lit Hub, is the author of 12 books of poetry.
The New York Times describes Sze as an “observational poet, whose work is grounded in nature and imagery.” He spent many hours translating Chinese poems, which helped him hone his craft.
“When you read a poem, you don’t need to feel like you get it all at once,” Sze said, in an interview with the New York Times. “The best poems communicate through sound and rhythm and musicality. And as you read and reread, the poem emerges.”
In a statement, Sze said he was honored to be named the next poet laureate.
“As the son of Chinese immigrants, and as a sophomore who decided to leave MIT to pursue a dream of becoming a poet, I never would have guessed that so many decades later I would receive this recognition,” Sze said per the Lit Hub.
Article originally published by the non-profit Asian American Media Inc .