Robert Hayden Post Office

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to echo the gentleman from Kansas in expressing support for S. 3639 for the naming of the post office after Robert Hayden.

My colleague stated well his career. He did publish nine different collections of poetry, including the very well-reviewed ``Heart-Shape in the Dust,'' ``Figures of Time,'' and ``A Ballad of Remembrance.''

His writings leaned on his own study of American history, exploring the complexities of the Black American experience and situating it within the broader context of the development of the American story.

In 1976, Hayden made history when he became the first African American to be appointed as a consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress.

He passed away in 1980 in Ann Arbor.

I urge all my colleagues to honor the life of Robert Hayden and his career in literature by naming a post office in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after this distinguished writer.

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