Editing Poet laureate (section)

==== United States ====
[[File:Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate, close-up.jpg|thumb|Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States]]
[[File:Amanda Gorman with Tracy K Smith - 2017 crop.jpeg|thumb|Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.]]
{{Main|United States Poet Laureate}}
{{Further|List of U.S. state poets laureate}}

The [[Library of Congress|United States Library of Congress]] appointed a [[Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress|Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress]] from 1937 to 1984. An Act of Congress changed the name in 1985 to ''[[Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress]]''.

Poets laureate receive a US$35,000 stipend and are given the responsibility of overseeing an ongoing series of poetry readings and lectures at the library, and a charge to promote poetry. No other duties are specified, and laureates are not required to compose for government events or in praise of government officials. However, after the [[September 11 terrorist attacks]], then poet laureate Billy Collins was asked to write a poem to be read in front of a special joint session of Congress. Collins wrote "The Names", which he read on September 6, 2002, and which is available in streaming audio and video.<ref name="pbs">{{cite web |date=September 6, 2002 |title=POETRY: THE NAMES |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/poems/july-dec02/names_9-06.html# |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002182454/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/poems/july-dec02/names_9-06.html |archive-date=2 October 2002 |access-date=28 December 2019 |publisher=pbs.org}}</ref>  The original intent of the stipend was to provide poets laureate with a full income, so that they could devote their time entirely to writing poetry. The amount has not been adjusted for [[inflation]] and is now considered a moderate bonus intended to supplement a poet's already existing income.

Poets laureate of the United States include [[Ada Limón]], [[Joy Harjo]], [[Tracy K. Smith]] and [[Juan Felipe Herrera]]. [[Amanda Gorman]] was the United States's first [[National Youth Poet Laureate]] appointed in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hawgood |first=Alex |date=2017-11-03 |title=Meet Amanda Gorman, America's First Youth Poet Laureate (Published 2017) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/03/style/amanda-gorman-first-youth-poet-laureate.html |access-date=2021-01-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

A number of American state legislatures have also created an office of poet laureate. The holders may be locally or nationally prominent. The U.S. states of [[New Jersey]], [[Massachusetts]], and [[Pennsylvania]] do not have positions, while [[South Dakota]] and [[South Carolina]]'s positions are currently vacant.<ref name="usstateplrgloc">{{cite web |title=State Poets Laureate A Resource Guide |url=https://guides.loc.gov/united-states-state-poets-laureate/current |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>