Arts Minded: Fresh inspiration from other locations

Talk about it

There, in the capital city of Victoria, poetry is blooming as ardently as are deeply hued pansies and violets.

It was serendipitous that on the ferry crossing from the mainland to Vancouver Island I picked up a copy of the Monday Magazine, a comprehensive review of upcoming events of the week in Victoria. The ferry was due to land on the island just before 5 p.m. and there was to be a poetry reading at City Hall at 7 p.m. featuring Canadian poets laureate Agnes Walsh from Newfoundland, Lorri Neilsen Glenn from Nova Scotia and Carla Funk from the city of Victoria.

Needless to say, the choice of how to spend the evening was clear. And, what a grand poetical evening it was — each poet’s voice complex and singular.

Following the reading the large audience engaged in discussion with the poets and then continued interacting as sumptuous desserts, tea and coffee were served. The whole affair was beyond civilized.

What’s more, people greeted me afterwards as though I were a member of their literary community and invited me to attend another half dozen poetry events scheduled in the two weeks to follow. Fortunately, time allowed me the pleasure of attending another three.

When a country, its cities and municipalities put their money where their mouths are, poetry and other arts flourish. In Canada that is precisely what’s happening.

The poets laureate are provided small stipends and traveling allowances to advance poetry and the work of poets throughout the country. The ways in which they do this are varied and imaginative.

Take, for example, the Poet Tree program sponsored by the city of Victoria: Seven poets were paid to spend a day every week for six weeks to enliven the streetscape for workers, shoppers and tourists. They hung poems from trees (one of the poets brought this idea back from her trip to Jerusalem). They stopped people in the streets to ask if they’d like to hear a poem or two and receive copies.

They read to people lined up at hot dog stands or outdoor diners. Kabuki cab drivers transporting tourists would sometimes stop for a reading. One poet reported reading to a bored husband seated on a bench, “…waiting for the wife.” It seems, upon being read to, this man experienced a “rebirth of wonder” (a la Ferlinghetti).

Another evolving poetry initiative in Victoria mobilizes street people in the creative process.

Speaking with poets involved, I get the impression that they see real potential of life transformation for the disenfranchised.

Returning to River Falls, I spotted an article in the Valentine’s Day edition of the River Falls Journal entitled River Falls Reads.

How fortunate we are to have a vital literary core and so many fine poets and artists. However, I suspect we have only begun to tap the potential for poetry to add color to our lives and invigorate our community.

Perhaps Canada and Victoria, in particular, have some guiding principles to offer us in supporting the arts for the betterment of all.

Here are some events and opportunities in our region: