Kay Ryan, award-winning poet, mountain bike rider and self-described "modern hermit," will soon be going to Washington.
The Library of Congress announced today that the lifelong Californian, whose compressed, metaphysical poetry has been compared to Emily Dickinson's, will succeed Charles Simic as the 16th U.S. poet laureate, starting in the fall. The appointment lasts for one year and comes with a $35,000 salary, plus $5,000 for travel, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said.
