Showcase of poetry scene shifts online
VERseFest goes online to showcase vibrant poetry scene in Ottawa area and beyond
VERseFest was set to celebrate its 10th anniversary edition back in March, with more than 80 poets from Canada and beyond headed to the nation's capital to take part in the festivities.
Needless to say, the coronavirus pandemic put a damper on those plans.
But now, organizers are salvaging the festival with a free, online edition that's almost as ambitious. Between Nov. 6 and 22, close to 70 poets will be featured, including several international names and a strong contingent of writers from the Ottawa- Gatineau region. Events will include live and pre-recorded readings, along with lectures, poetry slams, interviews and panel discussions.
From the start — its inaugural year was 2011 — VERseFest has had a two-part mission: to be an international event, and to feature poetry in both of Canada's official languages.
“We fully believe that Canadian literature is anglophone and francophone side by side,” said Ottawa poet Vivian Vavassis, a member of VERSeOttawa's board of directors. “You've got to have the English and French together, and you can't discuss Canadian poetry without discussing both.”
On the English-language side, this year's headliners include Griffin Poetry Prize winner Karen Solie; Colombian poet and activist Angye Goana; and Algonquin spiritual adviser Albert Dumont of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg.
Among those representing the French end of the language spectrum are Anne-Marie Desmeules, winner of the 2019 Governor General's Award for French-language poetry, and the prolific Éric Charlebois, a two-time Trillium Poetry Award winner who works in both languages.
Poets from Iceland, Ireland and the United States are also part of the program.
As for the vibrant local scene, VERseFest has been both a showcase and incubator of Ottawa-area talent. Founded and nurtured by poets, the festival has grown by an estimated 20 per cent over the past five or six years, both in the number of poets it features and attendance.
Vavassis attributes the expansion not only to a renewed interest in poetry, but also to the creation of an ecosystem in which “art begets art.”
“When you have three people who are doing interesting things and they start talking and realize there are other people in this city doing interesting things and then they all start sharing ideas, and it grows and elevates everybody,” she said.
“You see what happens on the stages, and it inspires other people to step up. I don't think it's a
I think there's a dire need for it. Poetry expresses our humanity, I think, in a time when things are uncertain. Poetry is where you find hope.
coincidence that we have a scene really thriving in Ottawa.”
Another factor contributing to the renewed interest in an age-old art form is the notion that poetry helps us cope with a turbulent world.
“I think there's a dire need for it,” Vavassis said. “Poetry expresses our humanity, I think, in a time when things are uncertain. Poetry is where you find hope. It's where you turn and see if things can still bloom.”
If you're longing for a fix of poetry, here are five poets with a connection to Ottawa who are presenting their work during VERseFest.
(For more information and to register for the online events, go to versefest.ca.)
SUSAN J. ATKINSON
The award-winning British-born writer, who's lived in Ottawa for decades, has been writing and publishing her poems since high school but has just released her first book, The Marta Poems. It's a collection with a historical context, telling the story of a woman who fled her homeland during the invasion of Poland, ultimately finding a home in Canada. The poems touch on themes of displacement, loss and the search for a better life.
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 22.
CONYER CLAYTON
After six chapbooks, the Kentucky-born multidisciplinary artist (and gymnastics coach) who now calls Ottawa home released her long-awaited first full-length collection this year. The poems that make up We Shed Our Skin Like Dynamite explore the darker side of the human condition, informed by addiction, co-dependence and mortality, and how we disengage to mask unhappiness. When: 3 p.m. Nov. 21
BEN LADOUCEUR
Born and raised in Ottawa, Ladouceur's first book, 2015's Otter, was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry
and earned the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for the best debut collection in Canada. His second, Mad Long Emotion, made it to several year-end lists in 2019, and was recently honoured with the Archibald Lampman poetry award in the Ottawa Book Awards. When: 7 p.m. Nov. 15
CHUQUIAO YANG
Born in Beijing, Yang grew up in Saskatoon before attending the University of Ottawa. Her first chapbook, Reunions in the Year of the Sheep, earned the 2018 bpNichol Chapbook Award, which recognizes excellence in English-language Canadian poetry. The judges' citation recognized
her as “a voice that astonishes and shines with wisdom and intimacy.” When: 3 p.m. Nov. 14
BRANDON WINT
Though technically no longer an Ottawa resident, Wint made an indelible impact on the Ottawa scene during his time at Carleton University, and continues to have an impact as the director of Ottawa's Tree Reading Series. The two-time national champion slam poet is known for his passionate performances, and an approach that blends academic grounding with spiritual and emotional authenticity.
When: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20.