LONDON — Britain on Friday awarded the role of national poet laureate to Carol Ann Duffy — the first woman to hold a post that has been filled by William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes.
Duffy, who once said "no self-respecting poet" should have to write verses about the wedding of Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, will be expected to produce poems for royal weddings, funerals and other state occasions.
A witty and popular writer whose work is widely taught in British schools, Duffy is also the first openly gay laureate.
Duffy, 53, said she had thought "long and hard" before accepting the high-profile job, which has a 10-year term. She said she'd given the final decision to her 13-year-old daughter.
"She said, 'Yes mummy, there's never been a woman,'" Duffy said.
The laureate is officially appointed by the queen on the advice of the government. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called Duffy "a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly."
Duffy has published more than 30 books — plays and children's stories as well as poems that mix accessible modern language with traditional forms such as the sonnet. Her work often displays a sly, feminist take on history and contains a strong vein of social commentary.
Her collections include "The World's Wife," verses that adopt the voices of female historical figures and of the wives of famous men. It includes the poem "Mrs. Darwin":
"7 April 1852/Went to the Zoo/I said to him — Something about that chimpanzee over there reminds me of you."
Last year, when the issue of youth knife crime was in the news, an exam board removed Duffy's poem "Education for Leisure" from an anthology for high school students. Poets and many teachers condemned the removal of the poem, which is written from the point of view of a disturbed individual and begins "Today I am going to kill something. Anything/ I have had enough of being ignored."
Britain's first official poet laureate was John Dryden, appointed in 1668, although the tradition is centuries older than that. Until 1999, laureates were appointed for life.
Duffy succeeds Andrew Motion, who was widely praised for expanding the laureate's role to become a national champion for poetry. His eight official poems were less well-received, however. His rap-style poem marking Prince William's 21st birthday in 2003 — which opened "Better stand back/Here's an age attack" — met with derision.
Duffy said she would take the royal aspect of the job seriously, but would not feel compelled to write a poem for every occasion.
"If I felt, in the event of a royal wedding, inspired to write about people coming together in marriage or civil partnership, I would just be grateful to have an idea for the poem," she told the BBC. "And if I didn't, I'd ignore it."
Duffy said she would give the annual salary of just over 5,700 pounds ($8,500) to the Poetry Society to fund a prize for the best collection published every year. The laureate traditionally also receives a "butt of sack" — about 600 bottles' worth of sherry, donated by the Sherry Institute of Spain.
"Andrew hasn't had his yet so I've asked for mine up front," Duffy said.