Poetry at the Manor - Poet Laureates Reading
Poetry Laureate wows Windsor Audience
Marty Gervais finds success with first-of-its-kind poetry reading at Willistead Manor
On Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Windsor's Poet Laureate, Marty Gervais, hosted a first-of-its-kind poetry reading at Windsor's historic Willistead Manor.
Gervais gathered 6 poets laureate from across Canada in one room for a reading and discussion at the free public event organized by Windsor's Cultural Affairs Office, Marty Gervais, The University of Windsor, Gervais' Editing & Publishing Practicum Class, Black Moss Press, The Hilton Windsor, Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, and the University of Windsor Bookstore.
More than 100 people filled the main floor of Willistead Manor for the inaugural event. In an interview with The Windsor Star, Marty Gervais said: "This is great. What a great turnout. It's the perfect place for a reading. The thing about this event is it's a first, not just for Windsor but for the country. There have been poets laureate galore across the country, and they've all read their work in their own cities or town, but this is the first time we've had poets laureate come together in this kind of number, and we've got six of them. That was my idea when I was offered the job, to bring other poets from across the country to Windsor and to share their story about their cities with Windsor. And so it's happening tonight."
The visiting poets laureate were Bruce Meyer from Barrie, John B. Lee from Brantford, Elizabeth Zetlin from Owen Sound, Roger Nash from Sudbury, and Hugh MacDonald from Prince Edward Island. They each shared the stories behind their poems before sharing from their published works.
Some special guests attended the reading, including famed author Alistair MacLeod and city councillors Jo-Anne Gignac and Percy Hatfield. The day after the reading, the poets visited The University of Windsor, Walkerville Secondary School and Catholic Central to speak with aspiring writers.
Gervais was appointed to a two-year term as the City's first poet laureate last November. He hopes to make Poetry at the Manor an annual event.
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