Arts

29 Apr 09

Christopher Ricks, the current Professor of Poetry, will be succeeded by one of the three candidates

Nominations for the next Professor of Poetry are closing at 4pm today, leaving high expectations of one of the most closely fought contests in years.

Ruth Padel, Derek Walcott and Arvind Mehrotra are all in the running for the prestigious position, following in the footsteps of Matthew Arnold, WH Auden and Seamus Heaney.

Members of Convocation must now visit the Examination School in person between10am and 4pm on May 16 to vote for their preferred candidate. The nominee with the most votes will succeed the acclaimed academic Christopher Ricks, who steps down from his five-year term of office at the end of September.

Poetry has been firmly in the spotlight this year as the position of Poet Laureate is expected to be announced this week as Andrew Motion also steps down from his role after ten years.

The duties of the Professor of Poetry include giving a public lecture each term and the Creweian Oration at the University's honorary degree ceremony every other year. The elected professor is one of the judges for the Newdigate Prize, the Chancellor's English Essay Prize, and the prize for an English poem on a sacred subject, and generally encourages the art of poetry in the University.

Dr Sally Mapstone, chair of the English Faculty Board, said: ‘The high level of interest in the Professorship of Poetry in Oxford, in the UK, and across the world indicates how much poetry matters to people and how much relevance this chair still has. With three strong candidates, it looks like the election may be a close run thing on the day.

‘We hope that as many members of Convocation (graduates of the University) will come to Oxford on the day to vote in the Examination Schools - where most of them will have sat their examinations in the past. There is a good chance too that the Proctors will be able to announce the result on the day, so we are in for an exciting 16th of May.'