Is it time to abolish the post of Poet Laureate?

Present Continuous by Angela J. Phillip

Is honesty the lifeblood of art? Of poetry? You could say that's a silly question, but if you're the poet laureate, can you really be honest? Would you be? Could you make the truth - your real truth - balance inside your head against the truth you know they want to hear?

So who wants the job? Carol Ann Duffy has come to the end of her tenure, but who will follow her? Are there any takers? Wendy Cope, Benjamin Zephaniah and Imtiaz Dharker have all made it clear that they are not interested. They don't want to be told what to write although only Zephaniah has been open about why he doesn't want to do it. Apparently, he said, 'They oppress me, they upset me, and they are not worthy.' Good for Zephaniah! Andrew Motion said that the role damaged his work. (See the Guardian article Hunt for next poet laureate still on as Imtiaz Dharker says no to job.}

Lucian Freud painted a picture of the Queen and it provoked a storm because he didn't flatter her. He didn't compromise his vision. However, a picture is silent and interpretations can vary. On top of that, Lucian Freud was tougher than most of us. Words are usually more precise than pictures so a poet laureate would have to be careful. Very careful. All of the time.

Do you agree? And does the problem lie in the fact that you have to write on a subject that you might otherwise not have written about? No, I don't think so. Narrowing of choice usually makes life easier not harder. Or is it the fact that you're no longer free to say what you want? Ah, there's the rub. But now I've come to a conclusion and I'm assuming it's a no brainer and that you've come with me, so what should we do about it? How about abolishing the post?