The Changing Role of the Poet Laureate
Thursday 12th November
10.30-12.30 pm
(Michael Wilson)
DAY TALK £10.00 PER PERSON

Join Michael for a gentle stroll through four hundred years of English literacy history. We will examine the changing role of the Poet Laureate, from John Dryden to Simon Armitage in the present day. We’ll be naming the good poets, shaming the downright Bad, and name-dropping many in between.
We will seek to answer to questions like:
Which Laureate wrote the immortal words of Dido’s Lament for Henry Purcell?
Of which Laureate did Bryon say oh! cease thy varies song! A bard may chant too often, and too long!?
Which Laureate said (of the poems he wrote to fulfil his Laureate duty) that ‘no other writing that i’ve undertaken of any kind, has been so difficult...’? 
What does the Poet Laureateship have in common with the Eurovison song contest?
How has the role changed in the last few decades... and where might it be heading next?