I never really thought of Charles Wright as a candidate for poet laureate, except for his advantage in the geographical proximity aspect. He lives in Charlottesville Virginia, about a two hour drive from Wash DC. It's also possible that his colleague in the creative writing dept at the University of Virginia (Rita Dove, a former PLOTUS) might have recommended Wright to the Librarian of Congress.
I attended a reading he gave at the Library of Congress, curated quite a number of years ago by Stanley Kunitz. Can't say I learned or retained any thing in particular from that occasion. But now--thanks to your link, Max--I'll focus on what Wright might have incorporated from Ashbery.
Barry
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