Poet laureate Facts for Kids

A depiction of Torquato Tasso from a German encyclopedia, 1905. Note the laurel crown.

A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by the government of a country. He or she is responsible for writing poems for special occasions in that country, for example a coronation or military victory.

The first official Poet Laureate was Ben Jonson in 1619. There are also Poets Laureate in the United States, Canada, and New Zealand.

The Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom is Carol Ann Duffy. She was appointed Poet Laureate on 1 May 2009 to take the place of Andrew Motion. She is the first British woman Poet Laureate.

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Toronto's Poet Laureate George Elliott Clarke who later became Parliamentary Poet Laureate of Canada
Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin of Ethopia
Mohammad-Taqi Bahar poet laureate of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar.
Derek Walcott of Saint Lucia
Hadrawi of Somalia
Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer of England
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1908-1892 Poet Laureate lived here
Edwin Morgan, first Makar or National Poet for Scotland
Joy Harjo, Poet Laureate of the United States
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, and National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.
Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of California and later of the United States
Luis Rodriguez, Los Angeles Poet Laureate)
Genea Brice, Jeremy Snyder, and D.L. Lang, poets laureate of Vallejo.
John Denver was named poet laureate of Colorado in 1974
Amiri Baraka, the second and final poet laureate of New Jersey
Kealoha Poet laureate of Hawaii
John Prine posthumously received the title of honorary poet laureate of Illinois
Frank X Walker, poet laureate of Kentucky
Patrick Donnelly, Poet Laureate of Northampton, MA.
Robert Bly was the first poet laureate of Minnesota
Alicia Ostriker, New York State Poet Laureate
Nathan Brown, Poet Laureate of Oklahoma, 2013
Yolanda Wisher Poet Laureate of Philadelphia
Jack Elliott Myers was poet laureate of Texas in 2003
Ella Higginson, first Poet Laureate of Washington

Poet laureate facts for kids

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See also