“I started writing poems as a response to that great loss, much the way that people responded, for example, after 9/11,” she told the AP. “People who never had written poems or turned much to poetry turned to it at that moment because it seems like the only thing that can speak the unspeakable.”
—Natasha Trethewey, Emory University Writing Professor, Named 19th U.S. Poet Laureate
I need to get a hold of some of her poetry. I love studying the Civil War and I’m fascinated with the way poets/writers/human beings relate personal tragedy to tragedies from history. Also she’s younger than unusual, which is especially interesting to a young writer like me.
On a completely separate note, I love the fact that this position exists within the U.S. government. At some point someone realized the beautiful power of words and poetry. That’s truly splendid.
Katelyn Garmong 