 Additionally, in 2006, Hirschman was appointed Poet Laureate of San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsom.In his Poet Laureate inaugural address, Hirschman envisioned creating an International Poetry Festival in San Francisco, reprising a great tradition from the City's literary past.In July 2007, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Hirschman and the San Francisco Public Library presented their first San Francisco International Poetry Festival.