Being the poet laureate is the highest honor a poet can receive in this country. You get $35,000 and a beautiful office in the Library of Congress. (Kay Ryan just became the newest laureate, tasked with "bringing poetry to the forefront of the American consciousness.") It's not as idyllic as it seems, though. Time talks to past laureates and finds out that it's mostly a huge pain in the ass, full of e-mails and networking and people making demands on your time.