THE first woman to be named Oxford University’s professor of poetry was greeted by applause at the Hay Festival of Literature the day after she resigned the post.

Ruth Padel held the prestigious position for just nine days, stepping down from the job on Monday due to controversies over her election.

She resigned after it emerged she had sent emails to two journalists highlighting allegations made against her main rival, Derek Walcott, during the run-up to the election.

Speaking at a press conference in Hay on Wye yesterday, Prof Padel said her actions had been “naive and silly” but she had acted in “complete good faith” and her emails had not formed part of the campaign against the former favourite for the job.

She added later that she felt “relieved” she had resigned the post as there were people in Oxford who strongly opposed her appointment.

Just a few hours after the press conference, she received a warm welcome from book lovers as she took to the stage for a lecture called Darwin - A Life in Poems.

An audience of more than 130 people turned out last night to hear Prof Padel perform a series of poems dedicated to Charles Darwin — her great-great-grandfather.

She read a series of her own poems detailing the life of her celebrated ancestor, along with anecdotes and some of Darwin’s personal letters and texts from his working journals.