As many Indigenous leaders and writers have pointed out, the colonial falsehood that Canada was initially, or is essentially, a place of “wilderness” (in other words, empty of people) “underl[ies] a lot of the issues going on today, specifically aboriginal title and rights, land claims, the land question.”[1] This falsehood has been reproduced in nature…

Overwhelmed by all the amazing National Poetry Month content coming out every day? Need a refresher? We’ll be rounding up our blog content, along with the awesome stuff our friends at Read Local BC, Open Book, All Lit Up, 49th Shelf, and CBC Books are releasing – plus other NPM news that catches our eye each week; all month long. – From the League’s…

The theme for National Poetry Month this year is nature – a broad topic, especially within the context of Canada across which are spread varied types of landscapes and natural environments. Whether it’s mountain ranges, deserts, forests, oceans, or plains; whether it’s a cityscape or a landscape, for #NPM19, we encourage you to spend time…

“I got tired of learning masculinity from humans, so I studied the male wren, building his nest twig by twig, singing a sweet song to attract a mate, feeding his young via beak. I studied the barred owl, solitary witness calling out to others from his perch high up in an old burr oak, his…

Overwhelmed by all the amazing National Poetry Month content coming out every day? Need a refresher? We’ll be rounding up our blog content, along with the awesome stuff our friends at Read Local BC, Open Book, All Lit Up, 49th Shelf, and CBC Books are releasing – plus other NPM news that catches our eye each week; all month long. – From…

As I begin the task of writing, I am distracted by the cacophony of birdsongs that fill the air in this otherwise, quiet afternoon in the Coachella Valley. Spring has returned! The air is filled with insistent tweets, whistles and warbles. Nearby, tiny hummingbirds are hovering expeditiously or is it precipitously over the flowers of…

The reveal of the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist is a significant date on the calendars of all those interested in Canadian poetry; it is the world’s largest prize for a first edition single collection of poetry written in English. Candidates are shortlisted in two categories: Canadian and International. The shortlist was released today, April 9, 2019, and the League is very…

More times than I can count, this happens to me: I’m at a Toronto reading or book launch and a literary acquaintance says, “I thought you lived in the middle of nowhere in a cabin in the woods! What are you doing here?” When I’m at the log cabin on thirteen acres of woods, field and wetlands –…

Overwhelmed by all the amazing National Poetry Month content coming out every day? Need a refresher? We’ll be rounding up our blog content, along with the awesome stuff our friends at Open Book, All Lit Up, 49th Shelf, and CBC Books are releasing – plus other NPM news that catches our eye each week; all month long. – From the League’s own…