
Poets Laureate
A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, who is often expected to compose poems for special events and occasions.
The Italians Albertino Mussato (1315) and Francesco Petrarca (1342) were among the first to be crowned poets laureate after the classical age.
In Britain, the term dates from the appointment of Bernard André by Henry VII of England. Today the title may also be conferred by an organisation such as the Poetry Foundation, which has a designated Children's Poet Laureate.
The following national governments continue the poet laureate tradition.
- Canada
- Dominican Republic
- Ethiopia
- Germany
- India
- Tamil Nadu
- Iran
- Jamaica
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- North Korea
- Saint Lucia
- Somalia
- South Africa
- United Kingdom
List of U.S. states' Poets Laureate
Poets Laureate of England
Related GENi projects
Poets
War Poets