Poet laureate draws inspiration from walk along riding lakeshore
Lac-St-Louis MP Francis Scarpaleggia recently walked the shores of his riding with Canada’s parliamentary poet laureate George Elliott Clarke.
Protecting fresh water is a priority for Scarpaleggia. An important and valiant cause, but not necessarily one that spontaneously triggers the imagination. The MP wanted to change that.
“Water policy is a lot of science. I wanted to add some poetry,” Scarpaleggia said.
So he commissioned Clarke to write a poem about the water which surrounds the riding on three sides. And he wanted the poet to experience the waterfront firsthand.
Clarke grew up in Halifax. He knows water and is a fount of knowledge on the historical significance of the Halifax harbour.
Notebook in hand, Clarke took time to jot down his observations, which would be fleshed out later with historical references and poetic muscle.
Clarke accepted the two-year appointment as parliamentary poet laureate in January 2016.
He came to the job with eight honorary doctorates, a professorial CV which includes time spent at Harvard, McGill, Duke, University of Toronto and Mount Allison, as well as a shelf-full of awards and honours for both poetry and prose.
We caught up with Clarke as he strolled the lakefront grounds at Centennial Hall in Beaconsfield with Scarpaleggia.
Q You’ve walked the shoreline in Lasalle, Lachine, PointeClaire and now we’re in Beaconsfield. Are you inspired?
A Today has been a revelation. I’ve come to absorb. It is crucial for me to get the feel of the (locations) on the ground and by the water. Q In November 2016 you wrote Elegy for Leonard Cohen à la manière d’Allen Ginsberg; in January 2017 you channelled the north in Yukon/Utopia; and in February 2017 you addressed the horrors of the Quebec City mosque massacre in Ain’t You Scared of the Sacred. How do you approach a commissioned work?
A I look to the history, the geography, the people, the lifestyle and I consult historical works. Every (subject) has its facts and feel.
Q You have said your sources of inspiration reach far beyond the boundaries of a poet paradigm. Who inspires you?
A Bernie Taupin; Bob Dylan; Miles Davis; Pierre Elliott Trudeau; Ezra Pound; Mao Zedong — for his poetry not his politics; Irving Layton; and Malcolm X.
Q Have you set goals for your two years as poet laureate?
A Yes, I have. Right now I’m working on an online registry for poets. Right now we are compiling names of published poets — three per constituency. I am hoping it will be a living registry which will continue to grow after my term ends Dec. 31, 2017. Q What is your deadline for the Lac-St-Louis riding poem? A I hope to have it done for July 1, Canada’s 150th birthday.