Via the Detroit News:

Philip Levine, a former Detroit autoworker and product of Detroit Public has been named the U.S. Poet Laureate for 2011-12.

Levine, 83, who graduated from Central High School (1946) and Wayne State University (1950), left Detroit in the 1950s to study in Iowa. While he has lived for years in Fresno, Calif., his poetry often has been anchored in the city of his birth and his working-class Jewish roots.

Levine will be the 18th poet laureate and was chosen by the Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington. "His plainspoken lyricism has, for half a century, championed the art of telling 'The Simple Truth' — about working in a Detroit auto factory, as he has, and about the hard work we do to make sense of our lives," said Billington in a statement.

Poetry can be celebrated the year-round, but especially so in April. Established in April 1996, National Poetry Month brings together poets and booksellers, literary organizations and publishers to celebrate the importance of poetry and its vital place in American culture. We at the Canton Public Library would like to participate by showcasing our many poetry resources in this Special Multimedia Collection.

All Time Great Poets

From classical favorites to modern poets, this selection features great poets through the ages. Here are some of our favorite poets. We hope some of yours are here, too.

Blake, William (1757-1827): Blake was one of the great lyric poets. His early work was in a classical style and his later work was marked by the romantic style made popular by Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen ; edited with notes by Vivien Jones — Austen’s powers of subtle discrimination and shrewd perceptiveness is revealed in "Pride and Prejudice". She is able to convey such a complex message using a simple, yet witty, style.

On the road : the original scroll by Jack Kerouac ; edited by Howard Cunnell ; introduction by Howard Cunnell, Penny Vlagopoulos, George Mouratidis, and Joshua Kupetz — On The Road, the most famous of Jack Kerouac's works, is not only the soul of the Beat movement and literature, but one of the most important novels of the century.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë ; edited with an introduction and notes by Stevie Davies — An evergreen book that one can read again and again.

The famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger has died at his New Hampshire home, his literary representative said in a statement. He was 91 years old. He was best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. Salinger's other works included Nine stories and Franny and Zoey.