The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry 2007
Published
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PRESS SECRETARY TO THE QUEEN
The Queen has approved the award of Her Majesty's Gold Medal for Poetry for the year 2007 to James Fenton.
Biography
James Fenton was born in Lincoln in 1949 and won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry while studying at Oxford University. He has published numerous books and translations, including The Memory of War (1982), Children in Exile (1983), Out of Danger (1994), Selected Poems and a history of the Royal Academy of Art (of which he is Antiquary) in 2006. He has also worked as a political journalist, drama and literary critic, war and foreign correspondent, and columnist. He was Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1994 to 1999 and his poetry has won him numerous awards.
History of the Gold Medal for Poetry
The Gold Medal for Poetry was instituted by King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield. Recommendations for the award of the Medal are made by a committee of eminent men and women of letters, under the chairmanship of the Poet Laureate (Professor Andrew Motion). The announcement of the award is made today, the probably birth date of Shakespeare in 1564.
The Medal is given for a book of verse published by someone from the United Kingdom or a Commonwealth realm. The obverse of the medal bears the crowned effigy of The Queen. The idea of the reverse, which was designed by the late Edmund Dulac, is "Truth is emerging from her well and holding in her right hand the divine flame of inspiration - Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty".
Related content
The Royal Family and Space
The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh attend a Royal Academy of Arts Award ceremony
12 October 2016The Winners: The Queen's Awards for Enterprise 2016
Announcement of new appointments to the Order of the Thistle
Announcement of the recipient of The Queen's Medal for Music 2009
The Queen appoints former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, as GCVO
Photographic portraits of The Queen by Annie Liebovitz: Publication arrangements
A speech by The Queen at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
I know that the renewal of this famous and much-cherished landmark has been a long-held aspiration.
A speech by The Queen at the Children's Literature Garden Party
We have been reminded that this magic of our childhoods - the characters, the stories, the imagination of it all - is an enduring and essential part of our culture.
State Banquet in Singapore, 17 March 2006
The links between Britain and Singapore are as strong as ever, and our future relationship is bright indeed.
Opening of the new colonnade of Sydney Opera House, 13 March 2006
It was universally agreed that the Opera House was something more than a performing arts centre, more than a great work of architecture.
The Queen's New Year's Honours List 2006: The Royal Victorian Order
Birthday Honours List 2005: Recipients of the Royal Victorian Order
State Banquet, President of Italy, 15 March 2005
We in Britain today are enthusiastic admirers of Italian culture, Italian fashion and Italian food.