America's Busiest Poet

On July 17, Kay Ryan became the 16th U.S. Poet Laureate. Just what is a poet laureate anyway? What do they do? Time Magazine's Sarah Fay took this recent changing of the guard to answer just those questions in a great article entitled, "America's Busiest Poet."

For a more historical perspective, check out "Poets Laureate: A Brief History" from Poetry Guides, Bob Holman & Margery Snyder.