Derek Walcott has been offered the position of Scholar in Residence by the University of Alberta, after withdrawing from Oxford’s Professor of Poetry elections amidst allegations of sexual harassment.
He will teach intensive poetry courses and act as a mentor to staff and students.
Alberta University provost Carl Amrhein said it was an “easy decision” to appoint a “Nobel laureate who wants to work with undergraduate students.”
Oxford English Professor Elleke Boehmer commented, “You can’t reduce poetry to a character contest.”
Walcott plans to take up the three-year post in Canada from this autumn.
