First female Poet Laureate named

Carol Ann Duffy has been named as the new Poet Laureate. She is the first woman to be appointed in the 341-year history of the post. Duffy, 53, who is best known for her collection The World's Wife, is also the first Scot to be named Laureate. The poet told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour she had thought "long and hard" about taking the appointment. "I look on it as a recognition of the great woman poets we have writing now," she said. "I've decided to accept it for that reason."
 
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: "She is a truly brilliant modern poet who has stretched our imaginations by putting the whole range of human experiences into lines that capture the emotions perfectly." Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said Duffy "has achieved something that only the true greats of literature manage". The reigning monarch chooses the Laureate on the advice of the government. Part of Duffy's responsibilities over the next 10 years will be to write works commemorating royal events, a role her predecessor, Motion, has said he found "very difficult".

Duffy was allegedly ruled out of the running for the Laureate post in 1999 because Tony Blair thought her sexuality might not play well in Middle England. In 2002 she was made a CBE. Her work is taught in schools at GCSE and AS level.