Library celebrating World Poetry Day

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This article was published 17/03/2023 (995 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Western Manitoba Regional Library is once again hosting live, in-person readings for World Poetry Day, with a collection of professional and amateur scribes scheduled to perform in downtown Brandon on Tuesday night.

This marks a sharp contrast from last year’s WMRL World Poetry Day festivities, where Westman residents were simply asked to submit their written works for a chance to win a grand prize.

By bringing the in-person performance element back to the forefront, WMRL programming and outreach assistant Michelle Boudreau is hoping to inspire budding artists by exposing them to published local poets like Renee Cronely and Jadon Rempel.

“This is a wonderful event to come out and support, to ensure that literary events continue to happen in our community, because it’s such a positive space for people young and old,” Boudreau said Thursday.

“And with this being a free, all-ages event, it’s a great opportunity to meet other performers as well.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) first adopted March 21 as World Poetry Day during its 30th general conference in Paris in 1999.

The stated goal of this celebration, according to UNESCO’s website, is to help “promote linguistic diversity through poetic expression” and “foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting.”

Boudreau aims to accomplish this, in part, by hiring a stand-up bass player to perform behind each poet during their readings, giving the proceedings a more “traditional beat poetry” feel.

Rempel told the Sun he is particularly eager to take part in Tuesday’s festivities, since he hasn’t delivered a spoken word performance in around six years.

Despite this hiatus, the published poet has taken part in similar events since his elementary school days, when he was a regular participant in Brandon’s Festival of the Arts.

After moving out west and showcasing his work on platforms like 42opus and Existere, Rempel moved back to Brandon several years ago and is eager to rekindle some of that same communal atmosphere he experienced in his youth.

“It’s important for the community to see what’s out there,” he said. “We’ve got people from different nationalities, different walks of life, different ages … so I’m excited for the event as a whole and just happy that I can contribute in any way that I can.”

Also performing at WMRL’s World Poetry Day event is Brandon University assistant English professor Deanna Smid, who will read from the works of poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Smid said that some BU students have also signed up to take part in this public forum, which is desperately needed after so many aspiring artists have been relegated to online spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is really difficult to perform without an audience, because an audience provides such an energy and a response that’s so immediate and gratifying and nourishing,” she said. “And you can’t get that online in the same way that you can get that in person.”

The WMRL’s World Poetry Day reading is scheduled to take place between 7 and 8 p.m. Tuesday at its downtown Brandon branch.

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