If Only It Were Hip, Like Williamsburg

I go for Arts & Leisure, so the Significant Other had to call my attention to the New York Times cover story on the search for a poet laureate of Queens. Hal Sirowitz's term expired in December, and they still haven't found anybody to replace him, because they can't find somebody who (a) has lived in Queens at least five years and (b) wrote at least one poem in English about the borough. Or, rather, they can't find anyone who meets that standard and wants the title:

Yang Hao, a 41 year-old who lives in Bayside, is one of a few immigrant poets who has written about Queens. One of his poems, "Long Island Expressway," was published in The China Press, a Chinese-language newspaper, three years ago... Ishle Park, a young Korean American poet, is another voice of the new Queens. She writes in English, and has produced a number of poems about her native Flushing.

But neither of them has any interest in being identified with the borough. "For me, Queens is like a little suburban nightmare," Ms. Park said.

And you know she means it, because her home page bio says she lives "in New York City."