Nation Building Through Poetry: A Poet Laureate Cypher

Tuesday, February 28, 2023 @ 7:30 pm.

What happens when you bring together three Poet Laureates past and present, who represent various regions from across Canada? The conversation is sure to get lively, inspired and poetic!

Representing Central, Eastern and Western parts of Canada, we have convened current and former Poet Laureates to discuss the impact of spoken word poetry as a method for nation building, marking major events and raising awareness about literary arts in general. We are delighted to welcome Edmonton’s current Poet Laureate, Titilope Sonuga, Ontario’s first Poet Laureate, Randell Adjei and former Halifax Poet Laureate, Rebecca Thomas to the table and we invite you to join us! Angeline Tetteh Wayoe, Host of CBC Music’s The Block will host the evening's conversation. Angeline will bring her wealth of media experience, arts and culture insight and perspective to the conversation as the evenings host and moderator.

Our speakers will engage in cross-national conversations that will touch on their identities and the stories that uniquely capture both their experience, their location and their engagement in the arts. Weaving together a tapestry of the lived experience of both African Canadian and Indigenous ethnicities, our guests will share the challenges, rewards and importance of representation from their perspectives.

For reference, a shared understanding of the role of Poet Laureates is described on the of City of Edmonton's website as follows:

Historically, a Poet Laureate served as the official chronicler of state events and occasions. In ancient times, the Laureate was the central means for recording and communicating history.

Furthermore, it goes on to say:

"More currently, the role of a Poet Laureate is to reflect the life of a city through readings of poetry. As an ambassador for the literary arts, the Laureate incorporates poetry into a range of official and informal city activities."