Queen honours poet Porter

Porter says the Queen's Medal honours poetry itself

The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry 2002 will be awarded to Australian poet Peter Porter, Buckingham Palace has revealed.

The palace's announcement comes as the nation celebrates both St George's Day and the birthday of William Shakespeare.

Mr Porter, 73, is expected to collect his medal in the summer, accompanied by the Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion.

Poet Laureate Andrew Motion recommended Porter

Recommendations for the honour have been made by the poet laureate since 1933, when the award was instituted by King George V at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, Dr John Masefield.

The medal is not awarded every year - but one has been given in about half of the years since 1933.

Other poets who have been honoured include WH Auden, Siegfried Sassoon, John Betjeman, RS Thomas, Robert Graves, Stevie Smith and Ted Hughes.

It's amazing to think that I'm getting it at the age of 73, and WH Auden got it at 29

Peter Porter

Originally, the award was open only to UK poets, but in 1985 the scope was extended to include people from the Commonwealth.

Mr Porter told News Online that the award was not only good for him, but also good for poetry itself.

Like a work undertaken pro bono publico - for the public good - the Queen's Medal was given "pro bono poetico", he said.

"It gives the art itself a little more status.

"It's a recognition of the fact that writing poetry is one of the great gifts of the English-speaking peoples.

Mr Porter commented: "It's amazing to think that I'm getting it a the age of 73, and WH Auden got it at 29."

Betjeman: Poet laureate and Queen's Medal recipient

Mr Porter was born in Brisbane in 1929 and has been writing poetry since he left school.

He came to England in 1951, and worked as a clerk, bookseller and an advertising writer while developing his literary career.

In 1968, he became a full-time poet, journalist, reviewer and broadcaster.

In 1983, he won the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize for his first collection, and in 1988 he won the Whitbread Poetry Award for the collection the Automatic Oracle.

In recent years he has divided his time between Britain and his home country.