The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. 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. The Poet Laureate for 2011 - 2012 is Philip Levine.
Philip Levine was named poet laureate of the United States by the Library of Congress in August 2011 at the age of 83, making him one of the oldest laureates in history. A former auto worker in Detroit, Mr. Levine is best known for his big-hearted Whitmanesque poems about working-class Americans.
He is the author of about 20 collections of poetry, including “The Simple Truth,” which won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, and “What Work Is,” which won the National Book Award in 1991.
Read the National Book Foundation interview by Diane Osen, 1996 (?) Levine won the National Book Award in 1980 for Ashes and again in 1991 for What Work Is.
Philip Levine passed away on February 14, 2015, at 87.