Peter Mansbridge, CBC Newsworld, reporting on Cadence Weapon

“Whether it's rap, music or prose, Pemberton's writing has displayed little patience with rigid restrictions... he's intimately versed with youth culture and the street.”

 - Edmonton Journal

“Although it's probably the strangest laureate-related news since Robert Pinsky hosted a metaphor-off between Stephen Colbert and Sean Penn, it could actually set a nice precedent.”

  - FFWD Weekly                                                                           

“Nimble indie rapper and former Pitchfork writer Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, is now a poet motherf***ing laureate. To be clear: There is a guy who used to write for Pitchfork who is now a poet laureate. See mom, I told you this isn't a dead-end career!”

 - Pitchfork Media

The UC Family sends congratulations to Mr. Roland Pemberton (or is it Sir Pemberton now?) aka Cadence Weapon, who this week was announced Edmonton, Alberta's next Poet Laureate.

His Lordship kicks in July 1, 2009 and he will reign as Laureate for 2 years. What does this mean you ask? Well, historically, a Poet Laureate served as the official chronicler of state events and occasions. In ancient times, the Laureate was the central means for recording and communicating history. For the City of Edmonton, the role of a Poet Laureate is to reflect the life of a city through poetry, as an ambassador for the literary arts; the Laureate incorporates poetry into a range of official and informal city activities. The creation of this position confirms the city's support for the arts in general, and for the literary arts in particular. So, to sum it up, Cadence Weapon is now officially a government agent.