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 – the first Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate (MV Poet Laureate) in the island's history was selected by a panel of ten literary judges organized under the auspices of the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society. The Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate (MVPL) is encouraged to work with island media; poetry organizations; towns, and schools to further the public's appreciation of poetry on a local and global basis. Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate The concept of the position of Martha's Vineyard Poet Laureate (MV Poet Laureate) was formally initiated in 2011 by the Martha's Vineyard Poetry Society. This was the first time in Martha's Vineyard