Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom The British Poet Laureate is an honorary position appointed by the monarch of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Prime Minister. The role does not entail any specific duties, but there is an expectation that the holder will write verse for significant national occasions. The origins of the laureateship date back to 1616 when a pension was provided to Ben Jonson, but the first official holder of the position was John Dryden, appointed in 1668 by Charles II. On the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who held the post between November 1850
North Carolina Poet Laureate the guidelines of the resolution. These guidelines, which detailed the office's appointment requirements and made them gender-neutral, would be non-binding. The office-holder becomes an "ambassador of N.C. literature" and is free to create his or her own long-term projects. The position requires the laureate to participate in various literary activities across the state, working with "schools, community groups, and the press." The North Carolina Poetry Society also has the poet laureate select the winner of the Poet Laureate Award. The poet laureate receives a stipend of $10,000 and clerical assistance from the NC Arts Council. The following is a list