SOURCE: "A New Poet Laureate at Home with Dante, the Internet and Sometimes Both," in The New York Times, March 28, 1997, pp. C3.

In the following essay, Blumenthal provides an overview of Pinsky's life and career, reporting his response to being named poet laureate of the United States.

Robert Pinsky, a prize-winning poet who bridges Dante and the Internet, has been named the nation's next poet laureate. The selection is being announced today by the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, who cited Mr. Pinsky's mastery of computers as well as his translations and "his own probing poetry."

Like the last 8 of his 38 predecessors, the 56-year-old Mr. Pinsky will also carry the title of consultant in poetry, but there are few statutory duties for the pay ($35,000) outside of organizing several literary programs, readings and talks. Laureates, however, have used their two-year platform since 1937 to foster poetry in schools, workshops...