Plymouth's First Poet Laureate...
Councillor Chaz Singh... Plymouth's incumbent Deputy Lord Mayor, has long been an enthusiastic supporter and follower of my work, along with long time friend David 'Davy' Saunders, the Town Crier,
Such is their enthusiasm for my work, in light of the fact I have produced all the recent civic poetry up to and including the recent 'City of Culture' bid poem, they have orchestrated a Facebook and media campaign to have me elected as Plymouth's first Poet Laureate! Citing my enthusiastic and international following and my well known pieces on the city itself as justification for their enthusiasm in selecting me as their preferred candidate...
A campaign which, while it has been running for some time and quietly gathering pace, is now particularly a propos given the city's recent bid for the 'City of Culture' in 2017. Whereon the fact the city is bereft of even its own municipal poet does not speak well of its cultural awareness.
Whilst we all accept that times are hard - the country's national poet laureate - a hugely prestigious position - is traditionally paid in cases of sherry... Hardly bank breaking in itself. Whilst a provincial laureate is likely to receive little more than the occasional invite to a civic jolly. Begging the question as to why the city fathers would let another half millennium go by without addressing this cultural oversight...
