On a related great Shake Out sidenote, the news was misunderstood by a couple of my out-of-country, non-English speaking relatives last night. They thought Los Angeles was really hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and called up to make sure everything was ok.

In really important news, USC professor Carol Muske-Dukes is the new California poet laureate! The Californian outlines the position as this:

“The California poet laureate works in conjunction with the California Arts Council to bring the poetic arts to Californians and to California students who might otherwise have little opportunity to be exposed to poetry. Before 2001, the position was unofficial and honorary, conferred by the legislature and held for a lifetime. The poet laureate position was officially created by AB 113 by Assemblymember Fran Pavley and signed into law in 2001. Under this legislation, the California Arts Council solicits nominations for the position and then recommends four candidates to the governor. From these nominees the Governor chooses the poet laureate and he or she is confirmed by the Senate. ”

I’ve never read anything by Muske-Dukes but I know AH has. Maybe she’ll point us in the direction of the best our new laureate has to offer?