Professor of Poetry
The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual, high-profile academic appointment, now normally held for five years. It carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time position, with a small stipend.
It is filled by election, with an electorate restricted to M.A.'s of the university. The elections typically attract media attention, and involve campaigning by proponents of quite diverse candidates (who are not subject to same restriction - anyone may stand). In practice both poets and academics are chosen.
The chair was endowed in 1708.
Holders of the position
