“In an age in which we too often desire answers to be black and white, in which we flee from ambiguity and complexity, and in which we find it difficult to see beyond the immediate or to read beyond literal, poetry gives us permission to wonder, permission to find the extraordinary in the mundane, permission to look anew at that which we imagine cannot be seen differently, to wrestle with what may seem unsayable or unimaginable.”
This is the postcard image for “it didn’t happen here” created by Megan Fildes for the League of Canadian Poets, and is one of fifteen poems chosen for the Poem in Your Pocket Day Booklet.
April is National Poetry month in Canada and the Poem in Your Pocket Day brochure is already available online. Plus there are postcard versions of the poems designed by Megan Fildes. The brochure includes 15 poems, 12 recommended nature poetry books, 10 ways to support your favourite poets, along with tips for educators and young readers.
Harry Posner – Still be still be still be
Eleonore Schonmaier – “it didn’t happen here”
Fiona Tinwei Lam – Ode to Chopsticks
Yvonne Blomer – Spotted Owl as Desire
Heather Cadsby – Quick Question
Adebe DeRango-Adem – O Sea of Troubles We Did Not Take Arms Against
Lorie Miseck – Jazz (A Variation)
Charlie Petch – Glom Glom Sunraises
“When I Reach” (from Dust Blown Side of the Journey) is featured in the Poetry Pause for March 29 from the League of Canadian Poets .
Additional poems were featured on March 21, World Poetry Day “it didn’t happen here” (winner of the National Broadsheet Contest), on December 17, Conversation (from Treading Fast Rivers) and on November 1, Migrations (from Wavelengths of Your Song) .
“it didn’t happen here” is the winner of the League of Canadian Poets National Broadsheet contest, and was selected by judge D.A. Lockhart for its “strong images, and captivating lyric voice.” Lockhart also states, “It’s nature speaks to the sort of experiential empathy that would do much to our world.” – D.A. Lockhart
The artisan broadsheet is created by Briar Craig. You can also read the poem as featured on the Poetry Pause. And you can read an interview with Eleonore Schönmaier here.
Congratulations also to the runner-up Phillip Crymble for his poem “The Country East of Rossville, Indiana” (which you can read by scrolling down here), along with the Honourable mentions: Alone and together by Lenea Grace, You Shall Have Homes, 1928 by Kim Fahner, and Last Words by Katherine Pilon.
“jobs that involve creativity, social interaction, and a human touch are hard to automate”
Eleonore Schönmaier’s books can be found in libraries globally including Poets House Library, New York, USA, Helsinki University in Finland, Bibliographie du Quebec, in Canada, Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, USA, and Biblioteca Madre Maria Teresa Guevara, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in Puerto Rico among others.
“Eleonore Schönmaier’s Dust Blown Side of the Journey…takes an ecological approach with its rich selection of nature poetry, but her collection is also intimate and self-reflective…Her poems range in national settings, from the Canadian boreal forest, to the Balinese jungle, to the Greek islands, to the ‘remote mountains of Ecuador’…Capturing moments of human greed and human kindness, of striving for community, and of unapologetic joy, Schönmaier’s work is rejuvenating, and offers both a sense of peace and a time for introspection.” —Monica Sousa (read the full review in Canadian Literature).
Photo by Eleonore Schönmaier
Conversation (from Treading Fast Rivers) is today’s featured poem as part of the League of Canadian Poets Poetry Pause. Migrations (from Wavelengths of Your Song) was featured on November 16. Both poems have been set to music by Emily Doolittle.
“With Poetry Pause, the League will circulate one poem a day, Monday-Friday, each month, all year. For your daily dose of poetics, you can subscribe to our Poetry Pause newsletter or find the poems on our website where they will be archived.”
