Poet Laureate - Philip Levine

A new poet laureate has been announced by the Library of Congress! Philip Levine, often called the "workingman's poet", received the honor yesterday and will act as "the nation's official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans." According to the piece in the New York Times,

Over the years Mr. Levine’s subject matter hasn’t changed much — he remains a distinctly urban poet — but his line has lengthened, and his edge has softened. Many of his poems these days are narrative, anecdotal elegies for that vanished working-class world, and as in the title poem of his Pulitzer-winning volume, he finds depths of beauty in the simplest of pleasures — food, for example:

Can you taste
what I’m saying? It is onions or potatoes, a pinch
of simple salt, the wealth of melting butter, it is obvious,
it stays in the back of your throat like a truth
you never uttered because the time was always wrong ...

Check out a few of our newest poet laureate's works at the Morton Grove Public Library!

News of the World By Levine, Philip 2011-02 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780375711909 Check the Library's Catalog In this "characteristically wise" ("The New York Times Book Review)" collection from one of our most celebrated poets, Philip Levine brings us finely made, powerfully telling imagery from the worlds of hand, heart, and mind. …More

What Work Is By Levine, Philip 1992-04 - Knopf Publishing Group 9780679740582 Check the Library's Catalog Winner - 1991 National Book Awards for Poetry A collection of poems culled from the poet's twelve earlier books includes such pieces as 'Fear and Fame,' 'Coming Close,' 'Every Blessed Day,' and the title poem. Reprint. …More