Winnipeg has its first ever poet laureate.

The Winnipeg Arts Council has named Di Brandt as the inaugural wordsmith of Winnipeg.

Brandt says it's a great honour, and she's devoted a significant part of her life to writing, understanding, teaching, and learning poetry.

"That's been a really wonderful and rich experience for me and I'm just really happy to have an opportunity to share those riches with the people of Winnipeg, and to be a kind of poetic ambassador," she says.

Winnipeg's poet laureate is a two-year honorary position. Brandt says she's delighted Winnipeg now has one.

"Winnipeg has such a rich cultural and literary tradition so it's really great to have this kind of public recognition."

Brandt's first collection of poetry, questions i asked my mother, received the Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry in Canada and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award and the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Some other award-winning books of poetry by Brandt include Agnes in the Sky and Walking to Mojácar.