The Poet Laureate of New Jersey position was created on October 4, 1999. Gerald Stern

Gerald Stern

Gerald Stern is an American poet. His work became widely recognized after the 1977 publication of Lucky Life, which was that year's Lamont Poetry Selection, and of a series of essays on writing poetry in American Poetry Review. He has subsequently been given many prestigious awards for his...

 was appointed first New Jersey poet laureate on April 17, 2000, by Governor Christie Whitman. The second poet laureate, Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka

Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism...

 was dismissed after reading his poem "Somebody Blew Up America" at the September 2002 Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival. Some thought the poem was antisemitic and that it supported the theory the that the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance (see 9/11 advance-knowledge debate

9/11 advance-knowledge debate

The 9/11 advance-knowledge debate is the ensemble of discussions about whether institutions or individuals other than the perpetrators had foreknowledge of the September 11 attacks and should have taken action to try to prevent them....

), based on the following lines:

"Who knew the World Trade Center was gonna get bombed. Who told 4,000 Israeli workers at the Twin Towers. To stay home that day. Why did Sharon stay away?

Governor Jim McGreevey

Jim McGreevey

James Edward "Jim" McGreevey is an American Democratic politician. He served as the 52nd Governor of New Jersey from January 15, 2002, until he resigned from office at 11:59 pm on November 15, 2004. His term was set to expire on January 17, 2006...

 asked for Baraka to resign, but he refused, stating that the poem was intended to be critical of Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

, and militarism

Militarism

Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....

, not of Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

. Because there was no way to legally remove a poet laureate, on October 17, 2002, a bill was introduced to the New Jersey Senate

New Jersey Senate

The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...

that eliminated the position entirely only three years after it was created.