The previous poet laureate , Gerald Stern , said that he advocated for Baraka 's selection because he " thought it was important for the black community to get recognition . " ''Slate.com '' political reporter David Weigel said that McGreevey 's selection of Baraka " was a no-brainer — he was a sort of icon , and a major figure within a constituency McGreevey counted on " . At a ceremony in August 2002 , Baraka warned McGreevey that the decision to appoint him as poet laureate might be a mistake because of his controversial views , saying " You 're gon na catch hell for this " . After Baraka 's death in January 2014 , McGreevey said , " I named him poet laureate because I appreciated his art , his intelligence and his creative energy . I 've always had great personal affect ( ion ) for him and recognized him as a gifted creative force . " On September 20 , 2002 , Baraka incited a public controversy with a public reading of his poem " Somebody Blew Up America " in front of 2,000 people at the September 2002 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival held in Stanhope , New Jersey . He was briefly booed by the audience . This poem , written in October 2001 , was read at the festival — held one year after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center — and was later published in his 2003 collection '' Somebody Blew Up America and Other Poems . '' This poem , and the collection in which it was included , is described by one critic as " one more mark in modern Black radical and revolutionary cultural reconstruction . " Princeton University poetry professor Craig Dworkin , said that he did not like the poem , but added " I do like the sense that a poet can be disturbing and not necessarily comforting or consensus-building . " Immediately after its public reading , the poem met with harsh criticism by literary critics , politicians , and the public . The poem is highly critical of racism in America , and includes angry depictions of public figures such as Rudolph Giuliani , Trent Lott , Clarence Thomas , Condoleezza Rice , Colin Powell and Ward Connerly . It was also considered anti-Semitic because of lines claiming Israel 's involvement in the World Trade Center attacks , and supporting the theory that the United States government knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance . Who knew the World Trade Center was gon na get bombed Who told 4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers To stay home that day Why did Sharon stay away ? ... Who know why Five Israelis was filming the explosion And cracking they sides at the notion In comments a week after this reading , Baraka was quoted by New Jersey 's largest newspaper '' The Star-Ledger '' : " The Israelis knew about it just like Bush knew about it , just like the Germans knew about it , just like the French knew about it . Bush could n't hope for a better legitimization of his trying to make the Middle East a gas station . " Despite this , Baraka denies that his poem is anti-Semitic pointing to the accusation in the poem 's text which he claims is directed only against Israelis rather than Jews as a people . The Anti-Defamation League denounced the poem as antisemitic and have pointed to several examples of a long pattern of anti-Semitism in his work and public statements though Baraka and his defenders defined his position as Anti-Zionism
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Poet Laureate of New Jersey