Gillian Clarke has been appointed Wales' first Capital Poet by Cardiff Council and the Welsh Academi. The role of the Capital Poet will include accompanying the Lord Mayor to public events, performing for the Prince of Wales and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and writing specially commissioned poems for Cardiff's 2005 celebrations. Gillian will also work with the public in schools and communities to encourage them to try writing poetry.

Gillian Clarke was born and educated in Cardiff, and has raised her own family in the City. She says "Cardiff is my city. I belong to it and it belongs to me. The old Cardiff formed me, but I am excited by the new Cardiff too. There's a change, a buzz, but beneath the new, sophisticated city lie the ghosts of the old Cardiff. I am delighted to be chosen to help record Cardiff's momentous year."

Her autumn activities will include responding to an exhibition of William Burgess, the famous Cardiff architect, celebrating the culmination of a series of poetry and dance workshops with a Czechoslovakian dance company, and performing during a royal visit in October.

The leading Welsh poet of her generation, Gillian Clarke's Selected and Collected Poems and her three acclaimed collections, The King of Britain's Daughter, Five Fields and Making the Beds for the Dead, are all published by Carcanet. Her poetry is studied by GCSE and A Level students throughout Britain.