Poets Laureate, Men in Kilts

In the continuing AWP wrap-up, today I'll speak of seeing & hearing the Poets Laureate of the United Kingdom--Carol Ann Duffy--and of the United States--Philip Levine. They were a delight and had clearly been drinking. This isn't gossip: Duffy referred to her margarita (not as good as the ones back home), and Levine spoke of being wined and dined well in Chicago, and how nice it was that somebody else (AWP) was paying!

The alcohol is pertinent. While Levine gets an actual salary as Poet Laureate, Duffy claimed to be paid in sherry. She's not exactly joking. Even Wikipedia states that, in the U.K., "The salary has varied, but traditionally includes some alcohol." It goes on to call this sack or Canary wine--a "sack" or fortified wine from the Canary Islands or "Sherris sack" from Spain, which is sherry.

Carol Ann Duffy is Scottish, and just before I heard her read I was in a bar with some men in kilts. I praised them and found out they were about to play as the opening band for The Chieftains, a popular Celtic band originally from Dublin, Ireland. So Chicago was really hopping that night!

Ah, alcohol and poetry and men in kilts. That should get us over the Hump of the Week!

Escape Into Life is undergoing site maintenance. I'll resume poetry features and poetry blogging there next week.