Pianist Herbie Hancock made Harvard Professor of Poetry The legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock has been made Professor of Poetry at Harvard University. The 73-year-old composer will deliver six lectures under the title The Ethics of Jazz, starting in February. Previous professors of poetry include poets T S Eliot and Robert Frost, and composers Leonard Bernstein and John Cage. Hancock told BBC Radio 5 live's Up All Night: "I'm not going to attempt to present myself as an expert... What I'll be talking about mainly is my own experience.