Robert Frost: America’s Poet and American Politics

About

When: Thursday, November 12, 2026, reception 5:00 to 5:30, panel discussion 5:30 to 7:00 pm Where: Duane Physics G130 (DUAN G130) In-person registration Virtual registration

About the Event: In this discussion, panelists will examine the life and legacy of Robert Frost, as it intersects with American politics. Frost is arguably the most recognizable American poet in the world, yet his career has been marked by a complex relationship with American politics. As the United States’ first Poet Laureate, the first poet to read at a presidential inauguration, and one of JFK’s cultural emissaries to the USSR, Frost saw himself as wielding poetic power in the service of American civic life at home, and American “soft power” abroad. This panel will explore the role of poetry and the arts in civic life, asking what role poetry might have in shaping the virtues of a citizen.

Earlier that day, join us for an lunch conversation on Frost with Robert Hass (student event). Details and RSVP here.

Panelists: Robert Bernard Hass is Executive Director of the Robert Frost Society and Professor of English at PennWest University (Edinboro). He is the author of Going by Contraries: Robert Frost’s Conflict with Science and co-editor of The Letters of Robert Frost, and his poetry and criticism have appeared in Poetry, the Sewanee Review, and other journals.

Robert W. Crawford is Director of Frost Farm Poetry in Derry, New Hampshire, which includes the Hyla Brook Reading Series, the Frost Farm Poetry Conference, and the Frost Farm Poetry Prize. He was named the first Poet Laureate of Derry, New Hampshire, and is the author of two poetry collections, including the Richard Wilbur Award–winning The Empty Chair.

Joseph Bottum is the Benson Center’s Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy. A former literary editor of the Weekly Standard and editor of First Things, he is the author of numerous books spanning philosophy, literature, and American religion, including An Anxious Age and, most recently, the poetry collection This Far Country. He holds a PhD in philosophy from Boston College.

Martin Bickman is Professor of English at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he has taught since 1974. A scholar of American literature and education, he is the author of Minding American Education: Reclaiming the Tradition of Active Learning and Walden: Volatile Truths.

Moderator: Marissa Grunes is a literary scholar and science writer at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society. She holds a PhD in English Literature from Harvard University, and her writing on literature, science, and the environment has appeared in the Boston Review, Nautilus, and Atlas Obscura, among other publications.