From strawberries and cream to ball boys and girls, these are the things that make Wimbledon so special.

This year a poet from Devon will become the first Championships Poet – tasked with expressing the "flavour and fervour" of the famous event.

That most English of institutions has decided that Matt Harvey from Totnes – an acclaimed poet and lifelong tennis fan – can best capture the essence of Wimbledon through a series of online podcasts, blogs and Twitter feeds.

During the tournament, Mr Harvey will also give live performances to the Wimbledon queue as they wait to enter the Club's grounds.

As Championships Poet 2010, he will create a poem-a-day on all things Wimbledon.

Mr Harvey said: "I'm delighted, with a little bit of healthy anxiety thrown in.

"It's an honour, and I'm acutely conscious it's the only time I'll come first in anything at Wimbledon, unless you count the queue for strawberries."

All Matt's poems will be viewable online and there'll be audio podcasts – featuring Matt reading his latest verses and sharing his behind-the-scene observations – via the Wimbledon and Poetry Trust websites.

Honor Godfrey, curator of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, who proposed the concept, said: "We are always examining different ways of interpreting the Championships and this year the Club agreed that having an official Championships Poet would provide a novel and interesting way of doing this."

Naomi Jaffa, director of The Poetry Trust, said: "We couldn't be more thrilled and excited – for Matt and for the tennis-loving millions."