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The Poet Laureate of New Jersey (statutorily known as ''New Jersey William Carlos Williams Citation of Merit'') was an honor presented biennially by the Governor of New Jersey to a distinguished New Jersey poet. Created in 1999, this position existed for less than four years and was abolished by the legislature effective July 2, 2003. When the New Jersey State Legislature created the laureate position, the bill provided specifically for the creation of an award named in honor of twentieth-century poet and physician William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) who resided in Rutherford, New Jersey. However, the legislature recognized that the award's recipient would "be considered the poet laureate of the State of New Jersey for a period of two years. Before the position was abolished, only two poets, Gerald Stern and Amiri Baraka, had been appointed as the state's poet laureate. The legislature's bill was signed into law by Governor Christine Todd Whitman. It was expected that the award's recipient—the poet laureate—would "engage in activities to promote and encourage poetry within the State and shall give no fewer than two public readings within the State each year." In this respect, New Jersey's poet laureate was similar to the position of Poet laureate in other American states and in several other countries. However, a public reading in September 2002 by the state's second laureate, Newark-based poet Amiri Baraka of his poem "Somebody Blew Up America" was met with harsh criticism by the public and news media. The poem which explores terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 was considered to be violent, incendiary and anti-Semitic, and the ensuing controversy ignited a political firestorm. Because of Baraka's defiant refusals to apologize or resign as poet laureate and that there was no mechanism within the law to remove him, the position was abolished by the legislature and Governor James E. McGreevey in 2003. ==Establishing the position (1998–2000)== On December 10, 1998, Assemblyman Richard H. Bagger and Assemblyman Leonard Lance introduced legislation in the New Jersey General Assembly to establish an award called the ''New Jersey William Carlos Williams Citation of Merit'', "which the Governor will present biennially to a distinguished New Jersey poet."〔New Jersey Legislature. ("An Act establishing the New Jersey 1 State William Carlos Williams Citation of Merit for distinguished New Jersey poets, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation" ) A.2417 (1998). Retrieved December 25, 2013.〕〔New Jersey Legislature. ("Senate State Government, Banking and Financial Institutions Committee Statement to Assembly Committee Substitute for Assembly, No. 2714" ) (1999). Retrieved December 25, 2013.〕 The award was named to honour William Carlos Williams (1883–1963), a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and physician who practiced medicine in his birthplace of Rutherford, New Jersey.〔〔Casey, Phil, ("Poet Williams Dies of Stroke: Works in 40 Volumes Likened to Chekhov Physician First Linked to Subversives" ), ''The Washington Post, Times Herald'', March 5, 1963, B4. Retrieved February 19, 2014.〕〔Mariani, Paul L., ''William Carlos Williams: A New World Naked'' (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1981), passim.〕 According to the bill, the person receiving this award would receive a $10,000 honorarium and be considered the poet laureate of the State of New Jersey.〔〔 This legislation, designed as Assembly Bill No. 2714, passed the General Assembly on March 29, 1999 with 72 votes in favour, 2 votes opposed. The bill was passed by the New Jersey State Senate on June 21, 1999 with a vote of 39 in favour and none opposed.〔Note that The New Jersey State Legislature does not provide distinct web addresses for its transactions on specific bills, however, at (http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp ) click on "Bills 1998–1999" and search for "A2714" for vote tallies and historical information regarding its passage.〕 The bill was signed into law by Governor Christine Todd Whitman on October 4, 1999.〔State of New Jersey. (P.L. 1999, c. 228 "An Act establishing the New Jersey William Carlos Williams Citation of Merit, supplementing Title 52 of the Revised Statutes and making an appropriation" ) (1999). Upon enactment, this bill's provisions were codified as New Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.) 52:16A-26.9. Retrieved December 25, 2013.〕 The statute provided that every two years, a panel of four persons from New Jersey "who are either distinguished poets or persons who represent a range of stylistic approaches in the field of poetry" and chosen by "the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, in consultation with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts" would convene to select candidates for the position for the consideration of the state's governor.〔 An incumbent poet laureate would be the fifth member of the panel that selected his successor.〔 The governor alone would appoint the poet laureate by presenting him or her with the ''New Jersey William Carlos Williams Citation of Merit''.〔 Pursuant to statute, the state's poet laureate would serve for a term of two years in which the person appointed would be required to "engage in activities to promote and encourage poetry within the State and shall give no fewer than two public readings within the State each year."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Poet Laureate of New Jersey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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