That Laureate Thing

So the last random question threw up an interesting puzzle for me. Just how do Poet Laureates get chosen and who are they? Being British, I was wondering about Poet Laureates of the UK, so disinterested non Brits will just have to bear with me or find something else to do while I occupy myself with this idea.

I didn't actually get as far as 'who appoints these chaps?' because the first poet I looked at turned out to be so interesting. Ted Hughes was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 and remained so until his death in 1998, shortly after receiving The Order of Merit (a medal conferred by the Monarch for services to literature and culture, amongst other things).

His life started very beigely, up North. The youngest of three. His parents were grocers. However, his seemingly inauspicious life became something rather more typical of 'a great poet' once he hit adulthood. He was married to Sylvia Plath, the American Poet and Darling of The Feminist movement. They had known each other four months when they married in 1956. Seven years later she gassed herself. They had separated in 1962, having had two children together.

Rumours abounded in the press and amongst the followers of Plath that her death had been at Hughes hands. He never entered the discussion publicly. To make matters more sinister, Hughes lover, Assia Wevill, gassed herself and Shura, her four year old daughter by Hughes, six years later. Their relationship had deteriorated soon after Plath's death and Hughes had occupied himself with other lovers. Seemingly, not so much the tortured poet as the torture-to-be-around poet. He remarried in 1970. This marriage lasted until his death, despite continued affairs. I am wondering if this wife insisted on electrical appliances only!

Hughes poems, themselves, are very interesting, especially given the society and culture in which he was writing. His early poetry is rooted in nature - especially the savage nature of animals. Later, he relied heavily on the bardic tradition and mythic subjects. Largely Celtic, almost Native North American, his work was not conventional C of E material!

There are many website dedicated to Ted Hughes, showcasing some of his poetry or discussing the man. The following site has a small selection of his poetry and some very interesting discussion. http://ann.skea.com/THHome.htm

If this prattle has provoked you into wanting the details about Hughes, Poet Laureates, medals, monarches or anything really, I recommend Wikipedia.org, an excellent resource for any subject or topic.