It would be naïve to think authorship of a lovely volume of poetry is the sole qualification to be Missouri’s poet laureate. The stringent application form provided by Governor Jay Nixon’s appointments assistant Deborah Price office would likely disqualify hard-living poetry luminaries Allen Ginsberg, Shel Silverstein and Oscar Wilde, among others. In addition to the applicant’s Social Security Number, Drivers License Number and marital status and spouse’s full name, it asks whether the poet laureate prospect has ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation. And this: “Is there anything in your or your spouse’s background that might become an embarrassment to you if it were to become public? Please consider
carefully any letters to the editor, blog posts, etc., which you or your spouse may have authored, even anonymously.” So much for the Bergermeister’s army of confidential tipsters who might be poetically inclined. Here’s the kicker that gets to the real point of the inquisition with the last two words: “Please provide any other information, including information about other members of your family, which could suggest a conflict of interest or be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, the Board/Commission for which you are applying, or the Governor.”

5 Responses to “THE FINE PRINT OF APPLYING FOR MISSOURI POET LAUREATE”