Arthur Sze named first Asian American poet laureate

Arthur Sze has been named the 25th U.S. poet laureate, becoming the first Asian American to hold the post.

“Distinctly American”: The Library of Congress announced Sze’s selection on Sept. 15. His term, which starts on Oct. 9, will open with a free public reading at the Coolidge Auditorium in Washington, D.C. He succeeds Ada Limon in the one-year, renewable term intended to raise national appreciation for the reading and writing of poetry.

In a statement, Acting Librarian of Congress Robert Randolph Newlen praised Sze’s “distinctly American” poetry and its “great formal innovation.” Like Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Newlen said, Sze “forges something new from a range of traditions and influences — and the result is a poetry that moves freely throughout time and space.” In announcing the honor, officials also highlighted his 2024 Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry, awarded for lifetime achievement.

A lifetime of achievement: Born in New York City in 1950 to Chinese immigrant parents, Sze left MIT as a sophomore and transferred to UC Berkeley to pursue poetry. Today, he has authored 12 collections — including Pulitzer Prize finalist “Compass Rose” (2014), National Book Award winner “Sight Lines” (2019) and Bollingen Prize for American Poetry for Lifetime Achievement winner “Into the Hush” (2025) — and has published translations such as “The Silk Dragon II” (2024). His poems have also appeared in major journals and in 15 languages. Sze spent decades teaching, notably at the Institute of American Indian Arts, including work on Native American reservations, at a school for the deaf and in prisons. He also served as the first poet laureate of Santa Fe.

Why this matters: Sze’s appointment represents national recognition of an Asian American voice with a longstanding presence in American letters. Commenting on the news, former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass lauded him as “one of the most important Asian American poets in the country.”

Sze, for his part, welcomed the honor: “As the son of Chinese immigrants … I never would have guessed that so many decades later I would receive this recognition.” He emphasized that poetry “helps us slow down, deepen our attention, connect and live more fully.” Looking ahead, he says he will make translation a central focus — assembling an anthology, including translations from Indigenous languages he has worked with, and producing resources for schools and workshops to invite broader participation.