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
Laureate na nÓg Laureate na nÓg Laureate na nÓg is a position awarded in Ireland once every two years to a distinguished writer or illustrator of children's books. It was set up by the Arts Council of Ireland in 2010. It is intended "to engage young people with high quality children's literature and to underline the importance of children's literature in our cultural and imaginative life". Siobhán Parkinson was the first Laureate. Niamh Sharkey (Niamh Ní Shearcaigh) is the incumbent Laureate na nÓg. Siobhán Parkinson, described by "The Irish Times" as "one of Ireland's foremost children's writers", was announced as the first holder