Laureate later an annual "terse of Canary wine." To Pye an allowance of £27 was made instead of the wine. Tennyson drew £72 a year from the Lord Chamberlain's department, and £27 from the Lord Steward's in lieu of the "butt of sack." Laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for winners of the Nobel Prize, Gandhi Peace Award and the Student Peace Prize. In ancient Greece, the laurel ("Laurus nobilis") was sacred to Apollo and as such sprigs of it were fashioned into a
United States Poet Laureate Poetry and Literature. Each consultant has brought a different emphasis to the position. Maxine Kumin started a popular series of poetry workshops for women at the Library of Congress. Gwendolyn Brooks met with elementary school students to encourage them to write poetry. Joseph Brodsky initiated the idea of providing poetry in airports, supermarkets and hotel rooms. Rita Dove, considered the first activist poet laureate, brought together writers to explore the African diaspora through the eyes of its artists, championed children's poetry and jazz with poetry events and read at the White House during Bill Clinton's first state dinner. Robert Hass