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November 21, 2011

Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Wife Beaten By UC-Berkeley Police During Occupy Protest 
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Robert Hass, the former poet laureate of the United States, has revealed
that police recently beat him and his wife during an Occupy protest at
the University of California, Berkeley. The 70-year-old Hass says his
wife was shoved in the chest and knocked down by an officer shortly
after speaking to a young officer about the importance of non-violence.
Moments later, an officer whacked Hass hard in the ribs twice and once
across the foreman. Video from the protest shows the beatings occurred
shortly after Hass urged police officers not to hurt the students

Robert Hass, UC Berkeley professor of poetry and poetics: “Use your
head. Use your head. There’s no reason to hurt these people. There is
no reason to hurt these...Use your head. Nobody here wants to hurt you.
We’re not going to hurt you.”

Robert Hass is a professor of poetry and poetics at UC Berkeley. He
served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He was
awarded the 2007 National Book Award and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize.



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