Poet laureate and Wordsworth died. Edward Gibbon condemned the position's artificial approach to poetry: The salary has varied, but traditionally includes some alcohol. Ben Jonson first received a pension of 100 marks, and later an annual "terse of Canary wine". Dryden had a pension of £300 and a butt of Canary wine. Pye received £27 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". The current annual salary is £5,750. The present laureate is Carol Ann Duffy, appointed in May 2009. The United Kingdom
Poet laureate followed by Carl Sandburg (1962 - 1967), and Gwendolyn Brooks (1968 - 2000), all with lifetime appointments. The post is now a four-year renewable award. The Illinois poet laureate since 2003 has been Kevin Stein. The position was created July 1, 1999 by Subchapter 303.89 of the Iowa Code with a two-year renewable term. Marvin Bell was Iowa's first poet laureate, from 2000-2004. Mary Swander was the poet laureate of Iowa as of April 2016. The city of Takoma Park Poet Laureate program, established in 2005, honors the achievements of a local poet, encouraging a wider appreciation of poetry and