Spike in sales for next poet laureate

Demand for her work jumped sharply Thursday upon the Library of Congress' announcement that she had been named the new U.S. poet laureate, a one-year term beginning in the fall. Her collections "The Niagara River," "Say Uncle" and "Elephant Rocks" hold the top three spaces on Amazon.com's list of best-selling poetry books, and are out of stock.

Meanwhile her publisher, Grove Press, said Thursday it was planning a new book, "New and Selected Poems."

Despite winning several awards, the 62-year-old Ryan was virtually unheard of before her appointment as laureate. A resident of Fairfax, Calif., she described herself in a recent interview with The Associated Press as a "modern hermit."