Library of Congress names Southern writer Charles Wright as 20th poet laureate of US

WASHINGTON – The Library of Congress has chosen Southern writer Charles Wright to serve as the next U.S. poet laureate beginning this fall.

He began writing poetry while he was stationed in Italy with the U.S. Army, inspired by the work of Ezra Pound.

In announcing the selection, Librarian of Congress James Billington says Wright is a master of the “meditative, image-driven lyric.”

The 79-year-old Wright succeeds another Southern poet, Natasha Trethewey.

Wright has written 24 collections of poetry. His work has won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award.