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
New Zealand Poet Laureate 1999–2001 Laureate. Based on the tradition of the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom receiving a "butt of sack", the New Zealand Poet Laureate also receives a stipend of wine from Te Mata Estate. New Zealand Poet Laureate The New Zealand Poet Laureate is a poet appointed by the National Library of New Zealand to represent New Zealand's community of poets, to promote and advocate for poetry, and to produce a number of published works during their two-year tenure as laureate. The Poet Laureate for New Zealand was not originally appointed by a government agency, but by a commercial company.