poet laureate

noun

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Definition of poet laureate

plural poets laureate or poet laureates

1 : a poet honored for achievement

2 a : a poet appointed for life by an English sovereign as a member of the royal household and formerly expected to compose poems for court and national occasions

b : a poet appointed annually by the U.S. Library of Congress as a consultant and typically involved in the promotion of poetry

3 : one regarded by a country or region as its most eminent or representative poet

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Recent Examples of poet laureate from the Web

Smith is in her second term as poet laureate, a post appointed by the Library of Congress.

— Fox News, "US poet laureate Smith tells graduates to be guided by love," 1 June 2018
Hughes, who went on to serve as poet laureate of Britain for 14 years, died of a heart attack in 1998.

— michael schaub, latimes.com, "Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes rarities garner big bids in London auction," 21 Mar. 2018
Her term as the first city poet laureate, an idea introduced by Councilman David Mann, is ending at the end of March.

— sharon coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "City poet: Avondale 'murdered by medicine' with Children's Hospital vote," 4 Jan. 2018
There has been quite a bit of good poetry written over the last 20 years in this country, and Smith — who since June 2017 has also served as the United States poet laureate — has produced among the most original of it.

— New York Times, "In Her New Work, a Public Poet Balances the Personal and Political," 26 Apr. 2018
Speakers are Robert and Mary Bagg, authors of a Wilbur biography; Suzanna Tamminen, editor of the Wesleyan University Press; former Wilbur student William Blakemore; former state poet laureate Marilyn Nelson; and poet Clare Rossini.

— carole goldberg, courant.com, "Write Stuff: Vegas Tenold To Talk About Covering Neo-Nazis, Ray Allen To Sign Copies Of His Memoir," 21 Mar. 2018
The city of Cincinnati's poet laureate said poetry should reflect truth and be talked about.

— sharon coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "City poet: Avondale 'murdered by medicine' with Children's Hospital vote," 4 Jan. 2018
Has there been a children’s ambassador and a poet laureate who have worked together?

— maria russo, New York Times, "Tracy K. Smith and Jacqueline Woodson Talk Reading, Race and Spreading the Gospel of Literature," 19 Apr. 2018
There was a major ceremony involving the Bishop of London, Coleridge family members, and even the poet laureate of England.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Casket Rediscovered in Former Wine Cellar," 18 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'poet laureate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.