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
Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate that precluded politicking, lobbying, or collusion. Following a year-long judging process – Lee H. McCormack was selected as the island's first Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate in July 2012. A jury of ten qualified literary judges from representatives of the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society, island libraries, writers, and poetry groups made the selection. Mr. McCormack was one out of a field of twenty-six participating poets. Each poet submitted five of their finest poems to the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society. The poems were then copied and distributed to the judges without identifying marks except for a number assigned to each poet. All