California
Current Laureate:
Al Young
Start of Term:
May 12, 2005
Position History:
The unofficial position of poet laureate was established with the appointment
of Ina Donna Coolbrith on June 30, 1915. The official position of Poet Laureate
of California was created by Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) under Assembly
Bill 113, and was signed in 2001 by Governor Gray Davis. While the unofficial
position carried a lifetime appointment, current laureates are appointed to two-year
terms. After Quincy Troupe resigned from the position in 2002 for falsifying
information on his resume, the position remained vacant until the appointment
of Al Young by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 12, 2005.
Additional information on the history of the position and the
appointment of Quincy Troupe as the first official laureate can
be found online through a press
release from California Arts Council.
Previous Laureates:
Ina
Donna Coolbrith (1915-1928)
Henry Meade Bland (1929-1931)
John
Steven McGroarty (1933-1944)
Gordon W. Norris (1953-1961)
Charles B. Garrigus (1966-2000)
Quincy Troupe (2002)
Additional information on previous California poets laureate can be found online
through the Ready
Reference Files of the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.
Further Resources:
Publications
by Al Young in the Library's online
catalog.
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