Our Poet Laureate
This is new and interesting information for me. Now I guess I need to look up how and/or why laurel became associated with proficiency…
Originally posted on Cabin Fever Books Ltd.:
Recently, Derek Beaulieu, took over the reins of Poet Laureate, for the City of Calgary, from Kris Demeanour, who was Calgary’s first Poet Laureate. The term of office is 2014 to 2016.
But what IS a Poet Laureate?
The tradition of associating laurel with proficiency in the arts dates back to the classical age of civilization. In Greek mythology, Apollo is represented wearing a laurel wreath on his head. In ancient Greece wreaths were awarded to victors, both in athletic competitions, including the ancient Olympics, and in poetic meets.
The Italians revived the office of Poet Laureate in the early 1300’s and versificator Regis was a term used in England early in the 12th century when minstrels and versifiers formed part of the king’s retinue. Ben Jonson was fashioned as the first British Poet Laureate, but it was not official. The first Poet Laureate, as an official royal title in…
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