Resolution on a Poet Laureate for Rutgers University

Background

The idea of a poet laureate began in the Fourteenth Century when the poet was expected to write poems on various special occasions; that is and has been a tradition in many countries, states and cities. In the United States, however, the Poet Laureate is not expected to perform such duties. Appointed annually by the Library of Congress, the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry offers a reading and lecture at the Library, and may organize a poetry project that reaches across the country, but as the Library of Congress indicates, "The Library of Congress keeps to a minimum the specific duties of the poet laureate in order to afford incumbents maximum freedom to work on their own projects while at the Library."

In W. H. Auden's poem on W. B. Yeats' death, one line is that "poetry makes nothing happen." Poetry transcends ordinary, material life and reaches for what we sometimes call the soul. Poetry offers meditative moments that stop the inexorable momentum of time to give us pause to reflect, to feel, to ponder.

Resolution

Whereas; the university rightly celebrates its scientists who contribute to the health and welfare of people, athletes who enhance the prestige of the university, and artists and writers who contribute to the well-being of people at the university and at large;

Whereas; the poet laureates compose poems that raise consciousness to a greater appreciation of arts and poetry;

Therefore be it resolved that Rutgers University celebrate the arts by creating a post for a faculty (TT/NTT/PTL) member to be the Poet Laureate of the University.

The New Brunswick Faculty Council calls upon New Brunswick Chancellor and the University President to take the necessary actions to create the proposed position.