Simon Armitage CBE will be the new Poet Laureate, taking over from Carol Ann Duffy. Simon Armitage likes to write about modern life and contemporary issues.

The post of Poet Laureate has existed for hundreds of years and was originally for life. Now the post is held for ten years. Officially an appointment made by the monarch that is part of the Royal Household, the Poet Laureate is expected to do some writing related to important national events.

Britain’s first Poet Laureate was John Dryden (lived from 1631-1700) and the laureate list has included such famous names as William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Sir John Betjeman and Ted Hughes. However there are some less well known names on the list as well. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of Nahum Tate or Colley Cibber and could not tell you what kind of poetry has been composed by Alfred Austin or Robert Bridges. So, I decided to have a look at some of these less well known writers. The results of my research will be found in my section Fact Bites.