Tuesday 11 June 2019

11.6.19 Sherry for the New Poet Laureate


Simon Armitage has been appointed the new English Poet Laureate and will visit Jerez soon to choose his Sherry and sign a butt which will be kept at the Consejo Regulador´s Bodega San Ginés. In a tradition dating back to 1668 the title of Poet Laureate was awarded by the monarch for poetic excellence and for life. The reward was a butt of Sack and occasionally a pension. Since 1999 it has been a 10 year appointment with a fixed payment of 5,750 and 600 bottles of Sherry of the poet´s choice.  Armitage, a 55 year old Yorkshireman who is professor of poetry at Leeds University, takes over the role from the first ever female Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. Once a label has been designed and the Sherry has been bottled, he plans to keep some and auction most of it to raise money for charity.





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