LA’s new Poet Laureate

This morning, Mayor Villaraigosa announced the appointment of the first poet laureate for the city of Los Angeles, Eloise Klein Healy. I’ve never met her, as far as I know. But she did serve on the judging panel that awarded my first book the PEN book award. So, obviously, I’m predisposed to applaud the decision. But even putting that aside, her name has become synonymous with the LA poetry scene, such as it is (her presence on the PEN panel further testifies to that fact). As such, she’s a logical choice. Los Angeles is situated, both physically and mentally, on the margins of inhabitable space, and its poets have largely embraced that marginality. And if there is one attribute that unifies the disparate elements of the LA poetry scene, it surely is the respect for poetry as activism and the understanding that a poet is more than simply a person who writes poetry. And from what I know of Eloise Klein Healy’s work, she seems to embody that position.

When I first heard that LA was looking for a poet laureate, I reflexively put together an expected shortlist in my head. It was, indeed, a very short list, for not many LA poets have much recognition outside the city—or even within the city. There’s Carol Muske Dukes at USC (?), but she recently served as the state laureate, so I would think that would take her out of the running. Timothy Steele lives in LA, as far as I know, but I don’t think his poetry is indelibly associated with the city. Dana Gioia grew up in Hawthorne and recently took a post at USC—but he was head of the search committee. Stephen Yenser at UCLA has published books of poetry and critical analysis, and curates the wonderful Hammer reading series—but he’s probably seen as too much of an academic to represent LA’s counterculture reputation. David St. John comes to mind, Harryette Mullen. Elena Karina Byrne is another of those names like Eloise Klein Healy that seems to pop up whenever LA poetry is discussed. Charles Harper Webb at CSULB is well known for his brand of stand-up poetry. More than that, though, I’m kind of at a loss. The news reports said that the laureate search committee reviewed 40 applications, and that they presented three finalists for the mayor to choose from. I’m real curious to know who they are—and whether our new poet laureate can find some way to channel their collective energy.