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HRM’s Poet Laureate to Launch Anthology of Poetry and Photographs Profiling HRM

(Tuesday, April 19, 2005) - In conclusion of her four-year term as HRM's inaugural Poet Laureate, Sue MacLeod will launch her legacy project--To Find Us: words and images of Halifax. An anthology of prose, poetry and black and white photographs, To Find Us features work by close to 60 writers and photographers from HRM and across Canada.

It provides a window on Atlantic Canada's largest centre--at our best and worst, most picturesque, most tragic, and funniest. The city streets and rural coastlines of HRM form the setting for poems, stories and images by well-known writers and photographers including George Elliot Clarke, Lisa Moore, Sue Goyette, Don Domanski, Margot Metcalfe, and Scott Munn. There are also a number of surprising new voices and "new eyes."

The launch, an official National Poetry Month event, will be held at Ginger's Tavern (The Granite Brewery), 1662 Barrington Street on Thursday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. Sue MacLeod and six other poets--Brian Bartlett, Deirdre Dwyer, Jeanette Lynes, David Rimmington, poet/spoken word artist Shauntay Grant, and writer/photographer Eleonore Schönmaier
--will read from their work in the anthology. There will also be an Open Mic for other contributors, a photo show, live music, and random draws to win a free copy of the book. Regular food service will be available, and a cash bar.

MacLeod and a selection committee of two writers and two photographers faced a challenge in selecting material from the anthology. Submissions came in from a wide range of artists--from nationally recognized to unknown--and difficult decisions had to be made.

"As our first poet laureate," says MacLeod, "I have wondered what kind of setting Halifax offers for writers and artists. What sort of a 'character' has the place itself become?" She believes the anthology provides a multitude of answers to this question. "Halifax," she writes in the Introduction, "emerges in the pages of this book as a place of contrasts---coastal vistas and downtown streets, war ships and peace demonstrations--a contemporary
city that will never shake its past."

To Find Us, priced at $21.95, is expected to appeal to HRM residents and former residents, visitors, and anyone with an interest in contemporary poetry, short fiction, or photography.

It will be available for purchase at the launch, at a series of mini-launches to be held at three Halifax Public Library branches during May (Tantallon, Musquodoboit Harbour, and Alderney Gate), and ongoingly at HRM's Customer Services Centres and in local bookstores.

For more information, please visit the website at www.halifax.ca/culture

This Anthology is supported by: The Office of Mayor Peter J. Kelly, The Craig Foundation, Halifax Public Libraries and HRM Recreation, Tourism & Culture.

The launch is made possible with the support of the League of Canadian Poets, Canadian Council for the Arts and National Poetry Month.

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Robin Boudreau
Communications
490-6094

Keith McPhail
HRM Cultural Officer
490-5912

 

 

 

Above content last modified Thursday, November 02, 2023 at 11:40am.