THE world's largest poetry forum has honoured a Bermuda resident, granting him the title of 'laureate' in recognition of his literary talent.

The accolade came as a surprise to Michael Bickley. He'd written poetry for close to three decades but had never submitted his efforts for critical review. It was only after he stumbled upon the Internet web site poets.com a few months ago that he determined it was time.

"I'm not sure which one won," he confessed. "It could have been either one of the two poems I submitted. I think the one called was my best, but the second poem, , got a good write up by the other poets."

Billed as "the largest poetry forum ever assembled", the Poets' Workshop boasts thousands of members, all of whom provide aspiring writers with feedback on the quality and character of their work. The employed method of review sees writers receive awards and titles at each level of achievement.

As explained by the web site: "You can aspire to move through ten different and increasingly rigorous levels of accomplishment to the coveted 'laureate' level which attests to your international prominence among your peers, and comes with it a solid silver medal of honour attesting to your accomplishment and your popularity within the largest poetry forum ever assembled."

Mr. Bickley said he began seriously writing poetry at the age of 20, two years after he emigrated to Bermuda.

"I studied poetry at boarding school in England but when I went to university I concentrated more on drama. I came to Bermuda at the age of 18, and it was soon after that that I started to write again ? the odd poem over the years. One of my first was about Bermuda. I've saved most of them although some I didn't think were worth much so I discarded them.

"I submitted a poem to poets.com and was very surprised by the response. How it works, is that if other poets have feelings about it, they can review it. It's done on a star system. If you really like a poem, you give it five stars and if not, one star. Very few get one star. Under their system of judging poets, I am now a poet laureate."

Although he'd received written notification of his achievement, Mr. Bickley said he was unprepared for the shock he felt on receiving his silver medal and cup.

"My girlfriend Judy Kirk died in early December. A week before she died, she said she was sending me a Christmas present. When I received this I initially thought it was the present from her. So I was very surprised," he said, adding that he had suffered from "writer's block" since Ms Kirk's death.

"I've got a poem written to her but I haven't been able to finish it. But I was very happy and very surprised by the cup. I never thought of myself as a poet.

"I don't know how big an award this is but it must be worth something ? they took the time to have the cup engraved and sent it here. I was very surprised."