Joan Conway and Blaine Marchand are each individually pillars of their poetry communities, but they have been particularly selected as this year's honorees for their work together in sustaining the League's Fresh Voices program. Under their leadership, the League's Associate members had the opportunity to submit poems for publication and receive mentorship and editing from these two volunteer coordinators. Their work on Fresh Voices laid the foundation for a program that the League hopes will be able to secure funding in the near future and become a core element of the organization's programming for emerging writers.

Joan Conway lives and creates in the breathtaking landscapes of northwestern British Columbia, on the unceded territory of the Tsimshian people. Her deep passion for the region's culture and geography greatly influences her artistic work. Joan played a key role in establishing the collective Writers North of 54⁰, which has published five anthologies showcasing the remarkable voices of their region. Her poetry has been featured in various journals and anthologies. She published a poetic memoir titled “Weave As A River,” which explores themes of healing. Her most recent poetry collection, “Singing the Night,” is dedicated to the youth she worked with at an alternate school.

Having lived in a rural area for most of my life, I fully understand the barriers that writers face when trying to break into the literary world—it’s a tough challenge. Our increasingly competitive market makes it even more essential to be part of a community that fosters encouragement and provides opportunities to showcase one’s work. When Leslie Strutt, the creator of Fresh Voices, passed the torch to me in 2017, I saw it as an opportunity to broaden my support for writers on a national level—what an honor!

Working alongside Blaine, who mentored poets with humility and a wealth of experience, made the seven years I co-edited the publication a heartfelt endeavor. By building relationships with our Associate members, I gained a richer perspective on the craft of writing. Volunteering is a mutually beneficial pursuit; we give, and we receive.

I want to extend my gratitude to the League of Canadian Poets for this award and to everyone involved in creating such a supportive network for all writers. Thank you.

Blaine Marchand lives on the unceded territory of the Algonquin – Anishinaabe people, known as the Ottawa Valley. His poetry and prose has appeared in Canada, the US, New Zealand, Pakistan, India, France and Ukraine. He has seven books of poetry published, a chapbook, a children's novel and a work of non-fiction. He has won several prizes for his writing, including 2nd Prize in the 1990 National Poetry Contest and the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry for his book A Garden Enclosed. Aperture and The Craving of Knives, were short-listed for the Archibald Lampman Award in 2009 and 2010 and were on the Relit Awards long-list. Active in the literary scene in Ottawa for over 50 years, he was a co-founder of the Canadian Review, Sparks magazine, the Ottawa Independent Writers and the Ottawa Valley Book Festival. He was President of the League of Canadian Poets in 1991-93 and is currently co-chair of the 70-member Senior Poets Caucus in the League. He was a monthly columnist for Capital XTRA, 2SLGBTQ+ community paper, for nine years.

When I joined the League almost 40 years ago, I found a community that was welcoming and open. It seemed to be a time when young people were bringing new ideas and different ways of writing to Canadian literature. Although not true of everyone, many senior poets welcomed the enthusiasm and commitment of younger ones. And they became role models, friends and mentors.

We were and are still very much a tribe. When we met at the League’s annual gathering and AGM, friendships were formed, ones that have continued across the decades since, despite the distances in Canada. And it was thrilling for us younger ones to rub shoulders with the likes of Raymond Souster, Ralph Gustafson, Ron Everson, Michael Gnarowski, Louis Dudek, (League founders) and John Robert Colombo (the first League event organizer), as well as Dorothy Livesay, Elizabeth Brewster, Miriam Waddington, Phyllis Webb, PK Page, to name a few. And, to have a chance to see and listen to Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje. It made one feel a part - even if a small part - of the Canadian poetry community.

I have always felt it is important to give back by volunteering with organizations that do so much to foster creativity and celebrate Canada and its diversity, which bring such richness and underscore the complexities of our past and our present. I do it also with other groups, including horticultural organizations, both national and local and regional historical groups. But the League, for me, has a special place, which is why I willingly led its international program back in the 80s, became involved with its Council and served as its President for two years in the 90s, and on its membership committee in the 2000s. And why I accepted with pleasure and honour to work alongside the late Lesley Strut and then Joan Conway on Fresh Voices.

The Fresh Voices program for me was a chance each month to read poems by Associate Members. Some were young, some older; some were just beginning, while others had been writing for years. It exposed me to poets across the country. It allowed me to pass along to them the insights and knowledge that I had gleaned from all the poets who had shared with me their perspectives on the craft through the decades of membership in the League. I was not there to tell them how to write poetry but to offer them thoughts on how a reader might react to their words and images on the page. I offered suggestions but, ultimately, as I always indicated, it was their poem and they could accept or reject my comments. But, equally as important, I learned from these poets, from what they chose to write about, and how they crafted their words and images. It challenged me and was, I believe, a valuable exchange.

I care deeply about the League, for what it has given me and what it can continue to offer. This is why a group of 70 “senior poets” have banded together to create a caucus and provide League members, and the public, with the chance to hear our voices and our poems through Open Mics, workshops, guest lectures and panels. Its goal is to create a closer community among ourselves and also to foster dialogue between and across generations.

I am especially honoured to co-receive the Colleen Thibaudeau Award. I recall having a long inspiring conversation with her and her husband, the poet James Reaney, at one of the League’s annual meetings. It is such personal conversations between and among poets that shape our work and who we are as creators. We carry those who wrote earlier, those who are writing now, with us all our lives. Volunteering brings true rewards.