California Poet Laureate The California Arts Council administers the nomination process for the California Poet Laureate, who is appointed by the Governor. The Poet Laureate is charged with encouraging a new generation of poets to take up the mantle of creative expression and bringing poetry to students who otherwise would have little opportunity to be exposed to it. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Carol Muske-Dukes California’s poet laureate on November 13, 2008. Muske-Dukes is the author of seven books of poetry and four novels, and has been a National Book Award finalist and nominee for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Muske-Dukes is a professor of English at the University of Southern California (USC), where she founded the graduate program in literature and creative writing in 1999 and served as director of the program until 2002. She is a regular critic for the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times book reviews. As the California Poet Laureate, Muske-Dukes created, as her official project, the virtual “Magic Poetry Bus Driver’s Guide,” offering techniques for learning and loving poetry. The Guide will be printed and distributed as a handbook for students in California’s public schools.
Carol Muske-Dukes
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