News Release
Tanya Davis Named 2011-2012 Poet Laureate
(Tuesday, April 26 2011) - Mayor Peter Kelly is pleased to announce that Tanya Davis has been selected as the 2011-2012 Mayor’s Poet Laureate. A public event celebrating the work of 2009-2011 Poet Laureate Shauntay Grant as well as welcoming Davis to the position will take place 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 1, at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
Mayor Peter Kelly congratulated the new Poet Laureate and wished her well on the artistic challenges ahead.
“I look forward to enjoying the contribution which I know the talented Ms. Davis will bring to the position,” Mayor Kelly said. “She has a proven record of creative excellence in numerous areas, including the exciting field of New Media.”
Tanya Davis is a poet, storyteller, musician and a singer-songwriter. She was commissioned by the Canada Games to write and perform a poem at the 2011 opening ceremonies. In 2009, she co-created the video poem How to be Alone) which went on to be a viral success on YouTube with over 2.8 million viewers. In November 2010, she released her third album, Clocks and Hearts Keep Going, and in June 2011 Acorn Press will publish her first book of poetry, entitled ‘At first, lonely’.
As Halifax's third Poet Laureate, Shauntay Grant was active in engaging HRM citizens through workshops, performances, open mics, and community initiatives. Apart from appearances at numerous festivals, fundraisers, and community events, Grant organized several programs during her term, among them: Canada's first national gathering of Canadian Poets Laureate (July 2010); the Halifax Jazz Festival's Words + Music series (July 2010 and 2011); Free Verse on the Ferry, a poetry reading on the Halifax-Dartmouth Ferry (July 2010); a panel discussion called The How To's of Publishing for Writers, Spoken Word Artists, and Storytellers (February 2011); the youth-led arts for social change initiative Poets 4 Change (workshops and performances held 2010-2011). Grant was also honoured during her term as Poet Of Honour at the 2010 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Ottawa.
For more information about the event visit www.halifax.ca/culture/PublicArt/PoetLaureate.html or visit the HRM Cultural Affairs facebook fanpage.
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Peter Kelly
Mayor
490-4010
