Not exactly poetry in motion

Editorial by Burlington Times-News, July 17, 2014.

A lot of fire-breathing discontent emerged this past week over a still-smoldering issue that is once more emblematic of the political and cultural divide among us these days.

We give you, the poet laureate flap.

Come again?

Sigh.

Yes, we are aware the state has bigger issues to tie itself in knots over than the lack of due diligence Gov. Pat McCrory used in selecting the state’s poet laureate, a two-year ceremonial position that pays a stipend of between $5,000 and $15,000. The poet laureate conducts workshops and readings. Largely, the person chosen promotes poetry, poets and the arts.

The trouble is it’s a position that is supposed to reward achievement in that particular field. Most if not all of the seven previous poets laureate for North Carolina were award-winning and widely published writers. There is also a standard format set by the N.C. Arts Council for selecting someone for the position.

Neither of those things occurred last week when McCrory selected Valerie Macon from among the nominees his staff submitted for poet laureate. The Fuquay-Varina state employee in Health and Human Services is a self-published poet with two small books she paid to produce herself. She’s not widely known in the state or South, but that’s no deal-breaker. After all, only a handful of poets are major celebrities at any given point in time. But among those in the state who follow poetry, she’s a mystery.

McCrory said on Wednesday he had very little to do with the selection process, he merely picked a name without looking too hard at the rйsumй, apparently. And really, there’s no good reason for the governor to burn valuable time on such a task. On the other hand, it also appears to be part of an ongoing problem when it comes to how McCrory has selected people for far more important state positions as well. He has a checkered history when it comes to appointments to a variety of state jobs.

McCrory made one sound point in defending the selection. As an outsider in the literary milieu, Macon, also an advocate for the homeless, could possibly bring a fresh voice and conceivably make poetry more accessible for people across the state. That part, however, will remain unknown. She resigned Thursday night in the middle of this minor controversy.

In one way, we agree with McCrory, new perspectives are a positive in any endeavor. And even writers who criticized the choice praised Macon’s dedication to her cause and vowed to support her as poet laureate before her resignation.

Where McCrory veered into a ditch is in not only bypassing the protocol for making the choice, but also being unaware than any existed at all. Frankly, his staff should be providing him this kind of information. And the idea of opening a position created to reward distinguished work in a particular field to those who don’t quite measure up seems roughly akin to asking a journalist to conduct heart surgery because he or she wrote a story about it a few times.

For her part, Macon was dragged through a media spotlight she probably didn’t deserve. That’s a shame. She vowed to do the best she can to promote poetry in North Carolina. No matter who’s in the position, the state could use more beauty wherever it can find it.

And McCrory? He said he is focusing on jobs and education, which is what he should be doing. We just hope he’s getting better information in those areas than he did in this particular one.