Comment Central: The 10 worst smear campaigns

As I recall, it’s a new Oxford Professor of Poetry that’s called for; so best to leave the politics out of it.

I was glad to hear poet and critic Michael Horovitz, on the Today programme, reminding listeners that the poet’s true reward is knowing that he — or, yes, she — had made a piece of work that would stand reading and reading again.

The realm of the poet is seen as being one that holds little honour or glory, as the world sees these things, these days; alas to say that today’s celebrity-driven culture has a hard time viewing almost anything on any other terms. Those positions - Oxford Professor of Poetry, Poet Laureate too — that seem to promise honour and glory, and which also offer a broad public platform for poetry, are few and far between.

Part of the problem with being a public poet is that it can leave very little time for poetry itself; Andrew Motion was a hugely energetic Poet Laureate, but I was not surprised to hear him say that his writing suffered because of his work.

The Oxford Professorship is less onerous and the process by which a new Professor is found is slightly less mysterious: “Candidates, who must give written consent, have to be nominated by at least 12 members of the University’s graduate body, Convocation”, as it says on the website of the University.

It is an indication, however, that even this, one of our greatest universities, is not immune to rabble-rousing when one notes that the black-gowned scholars launched the call for nominations back in January with words more worthy of Simon Cowell: “The world’s top poets will be battling it out in 2009 to fill two of the most prestigious roles in poetry — the Poet Laureate and the University of Oxford’s Professor of Poetry...”

Too bad it turned out the way they wanted — an ugly battle as well, with poetry the loser. Who could now be persuaded to pick up the stained mantle and restore it to glory?

Ruth Padel has said that she hopes the next Oxford Professor of Poetry is a woman; I hope that the next Oxford Professor of Poetry is fine poet, whatever his or her sex.

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