What does the poet laureate do? Well I’ll tell you. When they called me to tell me that I was the poet laureate, as soon as I got done crying — which I did profusely — the Director of the Poetry Foundation said, “Your responsibilities will be light.” And he lied.
No not really, I’m teasing. He said you have to give two major talks in two years. And I’ve gone beyond that, I’ve given four, two at the Poetry Foundation, I gave a TED Talk at the Poetry Foundation, and then I talked up there another time, and then I spoke at the Poet’s House in New York, and I spoke less than a month ago at the Folger Shakespeare Library.