“Van Duyn, born in Waterloo, Iowa, received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a master’s from the University of Iowa. There were six women Consultants in Poetry, but Van Duyn was the first woman Poet Laureate. From 1947-67, she co-edited and co-published Perspective: A Quarterly of Literature. Her poetry collection, Near Changes, earned her the 1991 Pulitzer Prize. Other honors include the 1971 National Book Award for To See, To Take, and the 1971 Bollingen Prize.”

–Library of Congress Poets Laureate page