Entire nations, including Great Britain and the United States, have named poet laureates, distinguished chaps like Alfred Lord Tennyson and Robert Frost, to write works for state and ceremonial occasions.

On a much smaller scale, the City of Pacific has a poet laureate.

On Monday, the Auburn City Council voted unanimously to create the position of honorary poet laureate, signaling its eagerness to join that distinguished company.

Auburn City Councilman Bill Peloza explained why the City decided the time was ripe to do this.

“It will serve to recognize and celebrate the literary arts as well as significant contributions of an individual. The poet laureate also encourages appreciation of poetry and literary life in Auburn,” Peloza said.

The next step is to create the actual nomination process. Once that’s done, the Auburn Arts Commission will peer perspicaciously into the deep pool of local poets, pluck out the best, and forward its recommendation to the mayor for final selection and appointment by the City Council.

Poets can’t nominate themselves. There is no financial compensation; the position is strictly volunteer. The term is for three years, beginning Jan. 1.

Gerald McBreen, poet laureate of Pacific and a member of the Striped Water Poets group of Auburn, explained why it matters.

“It matters because Auburn is pretty much the literary hub of this area,” he said. “We go out all over Washington, especially this side of the mountains, to different regions, but we also bring poetry here. Auburn has so much going on in the arts… poetry’s been kind of overlooked for a while.”

He offered a bit of advice to the selectors.

“I would be looking for somebody whose poetry speaks to the general public, not just poets. We like obscurity sometimes, but the poet laureate needs to reach the masses. The person’s gotta be a little more attuned to what’s going on,” McBreen said.

Local poet and writer Marjorie Rommel noted that Auburn has had, indeed, still has, poets “with major chops,” to choose from.

Sure, Rommel said, some out there are bound to laugh at the idea of this rough old railroad town having a poet laureate, but she’s OK with that.

“Of course, they will laugh, and that’s just great, they can snicker to their heart’s contest,” Rommel said. “Because once we have one, it’s going to be fun. There are so many opportunities for this to liven things up — it doesn’t have to be all sucking marbles through a picket fence. It has the opportunity to be humorous, to be lively, to be relevant to people’s lives, right here.”