The Christian Science Monitor is also wondering about how Merwin will handle the (relatively) new expectation that the Poet Laureate also be an activist and cheerleader for poetry.

However, the author, poet Elizabeth Lund, is far more sanguine about Merwin’s prospects.

She is absolutely correct that his lifetime credentials as an advocate and activist for social and environmental justice are impeccable.

But I still wonder whether an octagenarian who lives more than 2000 miles away from the lower forty-eight can fulfill the role I now want our Poet Laureate to take in public life.