Britain Seeking a New Laureate

Until the appointment of Andrew Motion in 1999, the position of Poet Laureate in the United Kingdom was a job that lasted a lifetime. But Motion has it for a fixed 10-year term, which ends next year, and the search for his successor has already begun.

from The Guardian (UK):
“Nominations invited as hunt for next poet laureate begins,” by Alison Flood
“Andrew Motion must be breathing a sigh of relief: the hunt for his successor as poet laureate began today, as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a wide-ranging consultation with ‘the poetry sector.’ The public is also being invited to make suggestions for his replacement.... This is the first time the public has been consulted about the poet laureateship.”

from BBC News:
“Public to help pick poet laureate”
“The reign of Andrew Motion, the first laureate to be appointed for a fixed 10-year term, runs out next year. The government will seek advice on a replacement from academics, poetry specialists and the public. Motion told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row his successor would be ‘jerked into a more-or-less public life.’”

from The Times (UK):
“Who will be the new Poet Laureate?,” by Phillip Collins
“One view is that this time, surely, whoever wins should be a she. The previous 19 holders of the post have all been men — and in Carol Ann Duffy, Wendy Cope, Lavinia Greenlaw, Jackie Kay, Fleur Adcock and Ruth Padel, there is no shortage of suitable candidates. But there is a bigger question, too, and it is this: what is the point of the Poet Laureate and why do we need one at all?”

Related resources:
Poets Laureate, a brief history
Poets Laureate of the U.S.A., a Net-annotated list

Our profiles of recent U.S. Poet Laureates
Kay Ryan (2008-2009)
Charles Simic (2007-2008)
Donald Hall (2006-2007)
Ted Kooser (2004-2006)
Louise Glück (2003-2004)
Stanley Kunitz (2000-2001)
Robert Pinsky (1997-2000)