Poets laureate of the United States

Joseph Auslander (Auslander, Joseph) 1937–41¹

Allen Tate (Tate, Allen) 1943–44

Robert Penn Warren (Warren, Robert Penn) 1944–45

Louise Bogan (Bogan, Louise) 1945–46

Karl Shapiro (Shapiro, Karl) 1946–47

Robert Lowell (Lowell, Robert, Jr.) 1947–48

Léonie Adams (Adams, Léonie) 1948–49

Elizabeth Bishop (Bishop, Elizabeth) 1949–50

Conrad Aiken (Aiken, Conrad) 1950–52²

William Carlos Williams (Williams, William Carlos) —³

Randall Jarrell (Jarrell, Randall) 1956–58

Robert Frost (Frost, Robert) 1958–59

Richard Eberhart (Eberhart, Richard) 1959–61

Louis Untermeyer (Untermeyer, Louis) 1961–63

Howard Nemerov (Nemerov, Howard) 1963–64

Reed Whittemore (Whittemore, Reed) 1964–65

Stephen Spender (Spender, Sir Stephen) 1965–66

James Dickey (Dickey, James) 1966–68

William Jay Smith (Smith, William Jay) 1968–70

William Stafford (Stafford, William) 1970–71

Josephine Jacobsen (Jacobsen, Josephine) 1971–73

Daniel Hoffman (Hoffman, Daniel) 1973–74

Stanley Kunitz (Kunitz, Stanley) 1974–76

Robert Hayden (Hayden, Robert) 1976–78

William Meredith (Meredith, William) 1978–80

Maxine Kumin (Kumin, Maxine) 1981–82

Anthony Hecht (Hecht, Anthony) 1982–84

Robert Fitzgerald (Fitzgerald, Robert) 1984–85⁴

Reed Whittemore (Whittemore, Reed) 1984–85⁵

Gwendolyn Brooks (Brooks, Gwendolyn) 1985–86

Robert Penn Warren (Warren, Robert Penn) 1986–87⁶

Richard Wilbur (Wilbur, Richard) 1987–88

Howard Nemerov (Nemerov, Howard) 1988–90

Mark Strand (Strand, Mark) 1990–91

Joseph Brodsky (Brodsky, Joseph) 1991–92

Mona Van Duyn (Van Duyn, Mona) 1992–93

Rita Dove (Dove, Rita) 1993–95

Robert Hass (Hass, Robert) 1995–97

Robert Pinsky (Pinsky, Robert) 1997–2000⁷

Rita Dove (Dove, Rita), Louise Glück (Glück, Louise), and W.S. Merwin (Merwin, W.S.) 1999–2000⁸

Stanley Kunitz (Kunitz, Stanley) 2000–01

Billy Collins 2001–03

Louise Glück (Glück, Louise) 2003–04

Ted Kooser (Kooser, Ted) 2004–06

Donald Hall (Hall, Donald) 2006–07

Charles Simic (Simic, Charles) 2007–08

Kay Ryan 2008–

¹Auslander's term was not fixed.

²Aiken was the first to serve two consecutive terms.

³Williams was appointed in 1952, but he did not serve.

⁴Fitzgerald was ailing when he was appointed. He served in a limited capacity and did not go to the Library of Congress.

⁵Whittemore was interim consultant in poetry.

⁶Warren was the first to be designated Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry.

⁷Pinsky was the first to serve three consecutive terms.

⁸Dove, Glück, and Merwin were special bicentennial consultants.