blog post Cadence Weapon Named Edmonton's Poet Laureate

Fans of Roland Pemberton - best known as Cadence Weapon - will tell you that the Edmonton hip-hopper is a poet. But now it seems that city politicians agree, because they have just named Pemberton Edmonton's poet laureate.

According to The Edmonton Journal, the fast-rising 23 year-old rapper will be sworn in today - he's succeeding Ted Blodgett, a professor who has published 29 books and won two Governor General's Awards for poetry - and begin his two-year term.

"At first I thought, 'Well, I don't know.' Poet laureate -- whoa. Getting heavy," Pemberton told the newspaper. "Do I need a staff, and a big, grey beard? But then I actually starting thinking about what I do already, and most of my content is about Edmonton. Most of the music I've put together comes from a very specific regional source. And I feel like I can just expand that into the poetry as well. It's basically another outlet for the writing I'm already doing, and I can focus it even more now."

In his inaugural reading at City Hall today, Pemberton will read Valley Girls, a poem about the transience of youth.

As part of his new post, Pemberton is expected to produce at least three original works of poetry in his two-year term, do readings and serve as an ambassador for the literary arts. The position comes with a $5,000 a year honorarium.