´óÏó´«Ã½

Carol Ann Duffy?! There was me thinking the most depressing news of the day would come from the Economics section.

So the reasons to celebrate ms Duffy's position as Poet laureate really have nothing to do with whether her poetry is good or not? Yes, she is a woman_ which is the reason why she is included in the dreaded Anthology for GCSE. Sad day, as far as i can see. if those who choose the poet laureate had bothered to look a little further in the Anthology, they would have found Seamus Heaney.
But then, why worry, since Ben Jonson, the real poets have never been chosen, or, if they were, they very sensibly turned the honour down.

Oh, my apologies. I have just discovered that Seamus Heaney turned down the offer. How wise of him.But it does not alter my opinion of the present move.

Any chance of getting a poet that makes people smile?

Carol Ann Duffy deserves this accolade. As an English teacher I always enjoyed using her poetry with pupils who responded very well to her work. Artistic Southwold.

I have a profound interest in poetry yet have never heard of her; why? Could it be due to the simple fact that the only way her name came to attention was due to some academic selecting it for an educational curriculum? If her poetry is so popular, why have those like myself never heard of her?

She is to be congratulated,
Upon recieving this respected role;
How will she make the most of it,
Without it taking a terrible toll?

Her integrity quite manifest,
In that she sends away significant stipends;
Unlike indebted greed-coated bankers,
Persisting in declaring demands for dividends.

In the difficult demands of her post:
Let us hope her attitudes and views
Also remain robust and honest,
Which royalty in vain attempt to abuse.

Open up the reds

lee to me freed land

Spread the red, spread her red

revved up and begged spread red

freed split land

er

Dear oh, dear Duparc. It is never wise to argue from the standpoint of one's own ignorance. The fact that you have never heard of Carol Anne Duffy does not mean she was not well known before being appointed Poet Laureate, merely that you didn't know her. In fact, she is one of this country's best known and quite rightly most highly regarded poets, not just in schools, but among all those who read and love poetry. The fact that sales of her books, published by one of the most successful commercial houses, are high enough for her to earn a comfortable living from her craft is testimony to that. Before making sneering comments about her work, Duparc, I advise you read some of it. Start with "Rapture" - a best seller in poetry terms - and if you, too, have any love for poetry you will not be disappointed.

oh yah it is absolutely reliable that her role will reflect the real picture she will be casting a point in time. poems are of benefit to members of the mushrooming soceity where it brings inspirations to the odds

pro active flora manslaughter

sun in a box Tokamak box

power future mans laughter

I've been following this story, and only today, from an American LGTB television journal, did I learn that Carol Ann Duffy is a lesbian. Yes, in her ´óÏó´«Ã½ profile, it mentions, in passing, that she lives with her 'partner', and guards her private life. The birth of her daughter is given ample coverage, yes. That fact that her daughter has two mothers, no.

How can young lesbian and gay people ever hope to find role models, if journalists continue to 'edit out' this information? I wish we were farther along, but the personal is still political. It's important for every LGTB person in the world to know that the newly-elected head of Iceland's government is an out lesbian. And it's important for every LGTB person in the world to know that the newly-appointed Poet Laureate of Great Britain is an out lesbian. Don't cheat us of our history, even as it is being made!

Nos12

Kirsty Wark clearly stated it on Newsnight Review and related it to a reason why she was passed over (via Blair)10 years ago.