By Micah MattixbrbrSay what you will about California governor Jerry Brownrsquo;s policy choices, but when it comes to his choice of poets, he has exceptional taste. On December 4, he announced his selection of Dana Gioia to succeed Juan Felipe Herrera as the statersquo;s poet laureate. Gioia, who served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts under President George W. Bush and currently teaches poetry and culture at the University of Southern California, says that one of his top goals as laureate is ldquo;to reach rural communities.rdquo; ldquo;It would be very easy for a California poet laureate to spend the majority of time in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, which are huge, culturally vibrant regions,rdquo; Gioia told me by e-mail. ldquo;I wonrsquo;t ignore those areas, but the majority of California is rural or agricultural. I want to start planning from the beginning how to reach those areas.rdquo; Gioia says he will begin by focusing on high schools and public libraries.
. . .
