Tower Poetry Society

Promoting poetry sine 1951

National Poetry Writing Month 2025

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The idea behind is this — craft a Poem a day for 30 days! Sounds easy, but simple?? Oh, no… not for me, anyway…

I intend to,

I want to,

I try to.

And then…

life happens.

So, I do what I can. Sometimes, it’s reading other people’s poetry. That’s okay. Maybe, I’m doing something poetry-related through TPS.

Obviously, a group called Tower Poetry Society loves to celebrate Poetry. We do it all the time, but we can certainly take this opportunity to share our love for the craft with the world!!

We have some events that can help you to celebrate and share poetry with others:

  • April 5 & April 26 — Tower Poets will be reading at AGH, 1-4 pm. Tower poets will be onsite to read the poetry that the art inspired.
  • A booklet of the poems will be available for the month of April. You can read the poems at the same time you view the artwork that inspired them. Note, the Reading Event is free, as the permanent collection (2nd floor) is free access (no admission). Download & Print Tower Poetry’s Ekphrastic Experience 2025 booklet. Alternatively, you could download the booklet to your device to use on your tour!
  • April 12, 2025 — Monthly Workshop (Westdale Library, 2-4 pm)

Here’s a booklet to take on your guided tour, Download & Print AGH-TPS Ekphrasatic Experience Booklet to print (Final 2025 03 16 13h49) (1)  (double-sided & fold into a booklet). Or here’s a regular Brochure, which you could download to your device to use on your tour! (AVAILABLE SOON)


https://www.napowrimo.net/ –> Provides a daily post with prompts and featured poets & resources, like this from March 15, 2025:

“This year, our (optional) prompts will be focused on encouraging you to write poems that engage with art and music. We’ll be back in the three days leading up to the beginning of our yearly challenge, but in the meantime — and with the art world in mind — why not check out Bloomberg Connects? It’s an app that lets you virtually visit museums all over the world!”

OTHER RESOURCES

http://www.WordsWishesandWisdom.wordpress.com/ –> has shared these poetry prompts (click for a clearer image)

https://poets.org/national-poetry-month

https://poets.ca/offerings/programs/npm-mnp/

“Here be dragons” — Poetry Parlour — where poems come alive

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This Blog Post is co-written by Rebecca Clifford & Nicola Schneider.

This past Saturday (Feb. 22, 2025), we had 11 poets read their poetry out loud and 1 supporter.

… Where poets are encouraged to read aloud to the group. The general public is welcome to join as listeners or performers. These Saturdays are an opportunity for anyone looking to hone their public performance skills by delivering a dramatic reading in front of an audience without the critique context of the regular meetings. (The next one is Saturday, June 14, 2 – 4 pm @ Westdale Library.)

Rebecca’s Report: The Latin phrase hic sunt dracones means dangerous or unexplored territories, in imitation of a medieval practice of putting illustrations of dragons, sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist.

Poets who gathered for the Tower’s Poetry Parlour were not disappointed when it came to unexplored territories, mysteries, mythologies, knights (errant or otherwise) and heroes, dragons and other dangers. The works read stimulated all the senses and took us to worlds beyond our ken.

Myriad “thionic deities” watched as dawn rose, “lovely in awakening”.  Alliteration and imagery were thick on the ground, much to our delight.  Some poets went back to their youth when hearts and spirits were green and tender, where chaos can ensue all “because I sneezed”.  Some railed “against the chains of the sky” and the Damocles politics swinging south of the border with talons and dragon’s breath; some simply went there in the fantasies born of new imaginings; some responded to seminal poems with which we were already familiar; some cited silly works because, well, when things are as bad as they are these days, you just gotta laugh.

In every instance, we valued the words, and the voices we heard.  All in all, an afternoon well spent in good company.

Nicola Says: We welcome poetry lovers & supporters because it can be scary to share poems. I mean, talking in front of an audience can be scary. Period. But, poetry (Eeeeek!) — Because after all, the poems are parts of ourselves, and not always the most flattering parts.

The good news is that practice helps, and that is why Tower Poetry decided to try this out for the 2024-25 season. I have asked some TPS Members to share their tips for reading your poetry out loud… ta daaaa….

Tips from Tower Poet Members:

Jennifer Tan says: Above all, read as if saying it with feeling, like you care and really mean it.

From Rebecca Clifford, TPS Executive, Member-at-large, Ekphrastic Experience Coordinator, co-communications & all-‘round poetry pal…

For reading:

  • choose your pieces knowing your audience will be diverse
  • bring more pieces than you will likely recite; you can choose on the fly (esp. if someone recites something similar before you do)
  • practice reciting your pieces before the event
  • in your reading copy, put in strategic spaces and line breaks that will slow you down.
  • speak as if you’re in a large classroom, auditorium, and you don’t have a mic
    (it’s odd how many open mics don’t have mics)

For simply enjoying the event:

  • enjoy the offerings of other performers/reciters by being fully present for their performances
  • jot down words/phrases that capture your interest; it may spark something new in your own work.

Lisa Borkovich, TPS President advises: Whether my own or another poet’s work, I like to dramatize a reading by connecting emotionally with the words and their perceived meaning and then to convey that feeling by modulating my tone, volume and pacing. If appropriate, I also like to add body language and facial expression to further engage with the audience in order to elicit an emotional response in them.

Ed Woods, TPS Treasurer & Circulation Manager, suggests: Pretend you are at a gathering of friends and treat it as a casual test-drive of reading your poem aloud.

Three tips from the Downs (Trudi & G.W.):

  • Stand up – It’s better for your breathing and delivery; people can hear you better.
  • Slow down – Ears take time to hear what you say and then transmit the sound to the brain for decoding. Slow down your delivery to give your readers a chance to process what you are reading.
  • Speak out – Mumbled talking is most annoying to the listener. If your poem is worth reading, speak up so your audience can hear and enjoy your work. Try to project your voice so that the person farthest away from you can easily hear you.

Do you want extra practice? Here is Poetry Foundation’s “Ten Poems Students Love to Read Out Loud.“

Writer in Residence, Jennifer LoveGrove from Open Book (Ontario)
“A How-To Guide for Your Poetry Reading”

Orange County Poetry Out Loud Series: “Top 5 Poetry Performance Tips (Poetry Out Loud #3)”

Hamilton Public Library, Poems From Home, TPS Poets:

** Lisa Borkovich, This Escarpment

** Jennifer Dunlop

** Bernadette Rule

** Nicola Schneider (Mine are what not to do…. These were my first performances… `

 

The next TPS Poetry Parlour –> Saturday, June 14, 2 – 4 pm @ Westdale Library.

Tower Poet’s Talk is Back — and it didn’t disappoint!!

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Poet’s Talk, February 8, 2025 — with long-time TPS member, Bernadette Rule… “Seminal Poems: Poems that make People into Poets.”

Distinguished poet, Bernadette Rule, gave a brief talk on a poem’s effect on one’s creative spirit. As part of this interactive presentation, poets were invited to share a poem that had such an effect on them.

Bernadette asked, “What was the first (or one of the first) poems that taught you the power of poetry, and perhaps turned you toward writing?”  We were invited to come prepared to talk about a poem that stopped you in your tracks, made you wonder how the writer did that, how s/he created those effects.

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

― Emily Dickinson, Selected Letters

There were 17 folks in attendance!! — 3 TPS Execs., 8 members (including the Presenting Poet), & 6 non-member friends.

Bernadette’s friend, William Duane Tucker, passed away and left her his treasured book collection. She could tell that he loved his books as he seemed to involve them in his day-to-day rituals. They had notes in the margin and food and drink remnants throughout. The last book she opened ‘took the top of her head right off!!’ And, it sparked the idea for today’s workshop. The book was: “First Loves – Poets Introduce the Essential Poetry that Captivated & Inspired Them” (edited by Cormela Ciuraru).

Bernadette talked about certain poets and poems that had influenced her poetry journey. Then, she invited each participant, going around the room, to talk about what poems or poets had influenced them. Some poets (primarily teachers/professors) were readily able to cite certain portions of their seminal poems; others, read from notes and poems they had brought, and all talked about the effect that poets/poetry had had on them, on art they create, and work that they generated based on making/experiencing art; how events and experiences in their lives had informed their poetry journey.

Some of the works and poets cited through the discussions:

Robert Louis Stevenson 

Child’s Garden of Verses

Child’s Christmas in Wales

Dylan Thomas 

Lewis Carroll   —  Jabberwocky

Juvenile –  I’ve Never Seen a Purple Cow; Ted the Turtle (the origin of this one remains a mystery)

Jean Little – Growing Pains (“This made me feel like I wasn’t alone. It blew the top of my head off!” – N.S.)

Matthew Arnold  — Dover Beach

Nelson Ball

Melissa Allen’s site, veryshortpoetry.com (The Journal of Very Short Poetry – 25 syllables or less)

William Wordsworth  — I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

Homer, in Translation & Virgil in translation

Geothe

Rainer Maria Rilke (in German)

Paul Simon  — Sounds of Silence

What did Paul Simon say about sound of silence?
“The Sound of Silence was the first song I wrote which seemed to come from some place that I didn’t inhabit,” Simon tells The Guardian. “At age 23, it was unusual, well beyond my age and abilities. Then it happened again throughout my writing. Bridge Over Troubled Water was another song that came mysteriously.
From: themusicradar.com — Oct 4, 2024

Samuel Coleridge  —  Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Check out this Metal version by Iron Maiden)

Gerard Manley Hopkins, John McCrae, John Gillespie Magee (High Flight), and other war poets

Rod McKeun‘s poem “Gently, Gently”

World Poetry Café – Co-op Radio Station in Vancouver, BC (thanks to Ed for sharing – an interview will air on Feb. 13, 2025)

*** Bonus Resource: Definitions of Poetry ***

Whether people came to poetry early in life or later, there was always a poetic catalyst that got them started. We appreciate the participant’s eager participation. It was a neat opportunity to share in a way we don’t get to do in regular workshops. Thank you, again, Bernadette:)

Several people made connections afterwards and chatter continued outside the room and into the parking lot.

Upcoming:

  • AGH Ekphrastic poems due by February 10!
  • Poetry Parlour (open mic) — Saturday, February, 22, Westdale Library, 2 – 4 pm
  • TPS Summer 2025 submissions due February 28, 2025
  • next regular workshop — Saturday, March 8, Westdale Library, 2 – 4 pm
  • Come celebrate Poetry Month by visiting the AGH — Saturday, April 5 & 26, 1 – 4 pm — Tower poets will be onsite to read the poetry that the art inspired. (A booklet will be available of the poems for the month of April so you can read the poems at the same time you view the artwork that inspired them.) Note, the Reading Event is free, as the permanent collection (2nd floor) is free access (no admission).

 

AGH-TPS 2025 EXPHRASTIC EXPERIENCE

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What does Ekphrastic mean?

According to Poets.org, ekphrasis is “the use of vivid language to describe or respond to a work of visual art.” Poets.org has a brief history of the origins of ekphrastic poetry on their website, which includes the statement that “early ekphrasis was used as a vivid description of a thing.”

Tower Poetry has arranged with the Art Gallery of Hamilton to have poets view works from their permanent collection and create ekphrastic poetry in response for National Poetry month, April 2025.

There are FIVE galleries of pieces from the AGH Permanent Collection from which to choose:

  • Nova Steel Ltd Gallery
  • Norval Morrisseau (all aboriginal art)
  • Galbreaith Memorial Gallery (contains sculpture)
  • Bob and Maggie Carr Gallery
  • Milton Harris Galley (contains Group of Seven)
  • and the Atrium.

It doesn’t matter if your heart is lured by sculpture more than painting, or if your mind speaks to the modern or classical, there is something to inspire every poet.

For full details, please visit our Ekphrastic Experience page: https://towerpoetry.ca/poartry-2/

APRIL 2025
This is an opportunity to put our poetry into the public forum for the entirety of National Poetry Month.  Tower Poetry will produce a brochure that gallery visitors can take to read your poetry when they reach the permanent collection galleries during April.

Please note: the poetry will not be displayed next to the artworks. The brochure will be the key to the ekphrastic experience.

Saturdays, April 5th & 26, 1 – 4 pm, Tower poets will be stationed at various locations in the permanent collection galleries to read aloud the selections for visitors who wish to share in the experience.

Thank you to Rebecca Clifford, AGH-Tower Event Coordinator, for organizing this event.

++ AGH is free to visit all day on Thursdays; access to Gallery 2 (permanent collection) is always free.

** Although membership in and contributions to the AGH are encouraged, they are by no means a prerequisite for participation in this event.

** if you have a Hamilton Public Library card, you can show it at the entrance for free admission anytime.

 

POET: NORMAN BROWN & PENCIL ARTIST: MICHAEL WIWCZARUK

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The Final Dance

  • Click on poem and art to view clearer:

                    “The Human Soul needs to know it is Loved”
                    by Michael Wiwczaruk

 

 

Perhaps it’s fitting that this last PoARTry post comes during Arts Dundas Weekend — as this is the event that was the idea for the project in the first place. Each year, Tower Poets choose artworks made by Carnegie Gallery Member Artists that inspire them to create poetry. These are displayed together in Dundas store windows during the event. Artwalk: Join us on a guided tour as we stroll on Sunday, November 5th (meeting in front of Carnegie Gallery at 1:00 pm), experiencing the unique charm and small-town ambiance of Dundas’ quaint old downtown, as the poems are read aloud as we view the accompanying artwork.

Ekphrastic Poetry Explained…

Ekphrastic poetry explores a pre-existing work of art, expressing a visual medium in verbal form and expanding on the themes of the piece of art at hand. (Source: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/ekphrastic-poetry)

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? We, at Tower Poetry Society, along with textile artist Lorraine Roy, thought we’d see what would happen if we reversed the process… instead of words describing art, we decided to have art describing words…. Reverse Ekphrasticism(?)

POET: NORMAN BROWN

ABOUT THE POET:

Norman Brown is a Tower Poetry Society past president. He has published some poetry books. He has done at least one PoetTalk for Tower Poetry Society Members.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING POETRY?

Can’t really remember exactly when, I think I have always written verse.  My eight line ‘City Streets’ doggerel  made it into my Grade Seven yearbook.

WHY DO YOU WRITE POETRY?

As I mentioned, I just always have written poetry.  (We’re talking about the process, right?) Lyrical Poetry, dealing with experience or emotion, is somewhat therapeutic.  Much of my poetry tells me about myself or my philosophy on life. As well  I write because it provides a mental challenge, getting those ideas down in words, and when successful there’s the satisfaction you get from making those stubborn thoughts and ideas behave properly. Plus, there’s the obvious satisfaction in having created something.

WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED AND WOULD SHARE WITH NEW POETS?
  • Read the best!  Always keep reading other poetry.
  • Read your poem aloud to yourself as you are polishing it.
  • Workshop your poems.
  • Imitate.  (In a nice, legal sort of way.)
  • Carry a notebook or keep a diary.  Always keep an eye or an ear out for turns of phrases, contradictions, accents.
  • Listen to the voices of people around you, in crowds etc.
  • Keep your meaning clear.
CAN YOU COMMENT ON YOUR PROCESS?
  • Polish, polish, polish.
  • Hit ‘delete’ without feeling guilty.
  • I ‘web’ a lot to get started.
  • I get ideas from my trusty 1983 copy of Writing the Natural Way.
  • I look out my back window a lot for inspiration; so far, so good.

Norman says: “I have a boxful of A Failure of Flowers, my self published collection of poems for sale for the discerning purveyor.  New price,  $30.00 each, signed  (postage extra, usually about $5.00).

Photos from: https://towerpoetry.ca/poetryplus/

PENCIL ARTIST: MICHAEL WIWCZARUK

About the Artist:

Michael is Tamara Campbell’s (a previous contributor’s) son. He is currently in jail, so Tamara had to choose a poem for him, since he is not permitted access to a range of documents.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT POEM?

I did not personally choose this poem, but I did enjoy it. There were some aspects of the poem that were hard for me to express in the picture that I drew. I tried to understand the general message in the poem and paid attention to how it made me feel. I understand that everyone has a different perspective and that someone else might envision something totally different. Poems speak to each of us in different ways and spark thoughts and feelings based on all of our different experiences.

HAVE YOU DONE THIS KIND OF PROJECT BEFORE? WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?

I have never done this type of project before, but I enjoyed the challenge of it and would probably do it again. I have previously thought of including poems with some of my sketches.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? WHAT WAS EASY?

I found it hard to incorporate everything into the picture. I didn’t know how to express “perfumes of Zanzibar” and “swirls and eddies”. Again, I tried to express the poem in its entirety and portray how it made me feel.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR PROCESS FROM IDEA TO FINISHED WORK? WHY THOSE COLOURS AND SHAPES?

I am currently incarcerated and so my materials are very simple as I only have access to stubby golf pencils (usually 2B). We don’t have pencil sharpeners, so I must sharpen them on the rough parts of the cement floor. First, I have to soak the pencil in water to dislodge the pencil lead so that I can pull it out to create a sharper point for fine details. The pencils are not art pencils and are low quality, but I have learned to make them work.

SIZE OF THE PIECE.  PRICE IF FOR SALE. WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE?

My drawing was done in pencil on 8.5×11″ paper, unmounted. It will be spray fixed to prevent smudging and will have a board backing to support it, but it is not framed or mounted.

It is for sale – $225.00

Please contact Tamara Campbell at tamarahcampbell@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing it.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

I am very interested in realism and fine detail. My specialty is portraits. When you have to analyze someone so deeply, you come to see and recognize not only their beauty, but the beauty of the captured memory as well.

More Pencil Drawings:

Michael’s mother, Tamara Campbell speaks on his behalf… “This is one he did for his Grandfather (my Dad) showing Dad at 3 different stages in his life. One when he was about 9, as a soldier when he was about 18 and the third when he was 87. Michael loves doing meaningful portraits like this – showing different stages of a person’s life and important things in their lives. The house shown here is one that my Dad designed and built and has lots of good memories for my kids and myself.”

 

The Last Dance of PoARTry…

one last chance to read the poems;

one last chance to see the art… and then…??

I feel winter creeping in & it’s time to read the posts again, right here: https://towerpoetry.ca/blog/

 

DID YOU KNOW?     YOU CAN POP OVER TO OUR TOWER POETRY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR DISCUSSION!

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS 10th & FINAL DANCE OF POETRY AND VISUAL ART.

POET: ALSHAAD KARA & GOLDSMITH and PRECIOUS METALS SCULPTURE ARTIST: LUCY ERSKINE

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A DANCE OF POETRY & ART…

  • Click on poem and art to view clearer:

“Beyond” by Lucy Erskine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POET: ALSHAAD KARA

ABOUT THE POET:

Alshaad Kara is a Mauritian poet who writes from his heart. He won the 2023 “Zheng Nian Cup” Literary Award Third Prize. His latest poems were published in “The BeZine”, “Men Matters Online Journal” and “Slamming Bricks Anthology 3rd Edition”.

Instagram usernames: @alshaadkara1, @teamalshaadkara

 

 

When did you start writing poetry?

I started to write when I was 19 years old after a heartbreak.

Why do you write poetry?

I do not write ‘poetry’, I just write words of my heart and they build into poems. These accompany the melodies of the soul.

What is the best advice you have ever received and would share with new poets?

The best advice is to always write and speak from your heart. Remain authentic.

Can you comment on your process?

My process is a long journey in itself. Sometimes I just need to listen to Bollywood romantic songs since they are filled with pathos. Sometimes just watching a scene from a movie or a show can inspire me too, but the essential key is to experience life.

Anything else you wish to share?

Poetry is a journey that is different and charming. To be a poet is to breathe the truth of life and splash the spiritual peak into words and thoughts.

More poems to read here:

Poems by Alshaad Kara on Poetry Soup

Q&A with Alshaad Kara (The Suburban Review)

Poem: Multiverse – Alshaad Kara

 

GOLDSMITH & PRECIOUS METALS SCULPTURE ARTIST: LUCY ERSKINE

About the Artist:

The avenue I have taken in my work with precious metals has been directed toward artistic expression, sculpturally and in narrative concepts. Because of choices of Art rather than simply adornment, it has continued to be an enjoyable and challenging endeavour for me. The experimentation never stops, even after four plus decades. Experiences from living in urban, suburban and rural locales in Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver plus Sydney, Australia and London, UK have combined to shape a philosophy influenced by intense love of art, nature and living. What comes through my mind and hands has fortunately brought happiness and comfort to many people which is what I could only hope for.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT POEM?

As a good poem does, this conveys so much emotion within the limitation of words.  I have not had this experience directly.  My parents did when I was just over a year old, meaning it probably had an effect on me. I responded when I read it and felt I could do it justice using my form of art.

HAVE YOU DONE THIS KIND OF PROJECT BEFORE? WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?

I have not done this particular type of project before but I have definitely had in mind narratives that I had wanted to convey by creating pictures using silver, gold, and gemstones before. Yes, I enjoy the challenges of this type of work.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? WHAT WAS EASY?

The challenges involved the very small scale and the linear depiction on a flat surface, such as a pencil drawing might be, only using a jeweler’s saw to cut them out. Again, the quality of the poem was such that I wanted to treat it with reverence so that, too, was a challenge. What was easy is the fact that I have worked in this medium for over 46 years so while envisioning what could be done, my experience (of failures, since I am self-taught) provided me the answers to guide what could possibly be achieved. I did try some new techniques on this piece though.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR PROCESS FROM IDEA TO FINISHED WORK? WHY THOSE COLOURS AND SHAPES?

This piece called for a background, which I have been exploring recently, of Suminagashi ink on mulberry paper. I used that right in the shadow box frame behind glass. I cut out some cloud shapes that are affixed as well. Because my field is jewelry, I made it into a neckpiece, although it can stay in the frame as is. The sterling chain was pinned into the foam core to hang. The beads are of clear quartz crystal stones which add to the cloud element I wanted. The baby in a basket-type of stamped impression of sterling silver is on a cloud shape and it is all done in layers sawed out and then soldered together with a small torch. That is considered Construction Technique, very old methods, as opposed to any melting down or casting.

SIZE OF THE PIECE.  PRICE IF FOR SALE. WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE?

$300 — contact artist, Lucy Erskine, @ideabyersk on Instagram.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

My first Solo show was at the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas and was called “Narratives Through an Unexpected Medium” which included some of these pieces (below). My later solo was Sept 2022 which also had some of these pieces pictured. I have a continuing display case there too. Check her out on the Carnegie’s Website. Enjoy some of her pieces below:

Oak Longstanding

Sculptural Amethyst

Protected Egg

On the Road Again

Sculptural Persistence

Bird’s Eye View of City and Bridge

 

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS 9th DANCE OF POETRY AND VISUAL ART.

ARTISTS, there are poems still available to choose from and time to get in on the project… https://towerpoetry.ca/po-art-ry-poems/

This is an organic project, and we are thinking of a possible exhibit or publication. Who knows?! What we do know is that we have a lot of exciting work by talented poets and artists to share with you each month!

 

DID YOU KNOW?     YOU CAN POP OVER TO OUR TOWER POETRY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR DISCUSSION!

POET: TONY GIANATTI & JEWELERY ARTIST: MARIE SINCLAIR

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A DANCE OF POETRY & ART…

  • Click on poem and art to view clearer:

Hamilton-theme Jewelry by Marie Sinclair

POET: TONY GIANATTI

ABOUT THE POET:

This poet remains a mystery to me.

You can check out 9 more of his poems:

https://www.poemhunter.com/tony-giannotti/

 

JEWELRY ARTIST: MARIE SINCLAIR

About Marie

I’m an artist, and on top of Emotional Clutter I also work for 2 incredible organizations @recreateartstudio and @k33ping6

I’m a big fan of my dog 🐶, Hamilton, and authenticity.
My favourite poet is Emily Dickinson.
My favourite author is Jodi Picoult.
My favourite artist is Vincent Van Gogh because what a story right? Relatable.
My favourite dessert is Peanut Butter chocolate anything.

Why did you choose that poem?

I chose the poem about Bayfront Park because this specific place in the city is  mere minutes from my apartment and has been a healing space for me over the past few years. I also feel much joy for my Hamilton home, despite the many struggles we are facing today, and feel the Poem celebrated and shared this sentiment. The imagery in the poem really stood out to me and gave me concrete ideas for how to turn this piece into a collection of jewelry.

Have you done this kind of project before? Would you do it again?

I’ve never participated in anything like this before and I loved the exercise of it. I look forward to future PoARTry projects.

Can you tell us a bit more about your process from idea to finished work? Why those colours and shapes?

There’s a juxtaposition at Bayfront of nature and man-made and I tried to capture this grit and grace in the series. I used Colours reflective of the water and sky, but also various shades of grey for cement, fog, and factories. There are even bits of burning red embers glinting out from the dark shapes of the factory structure.

Anything else you’d like to share?

This collection was one of a kind and is sold, I will be remaking a similar collection although due to the handmade nature of the pieces, no two are ever exactly alike.

Marie is also a Tower Poetry Member and her poetry was featured in May’s PoARTry post. You can find out more about Marie:

Website: www.emotionalclutter.ca (Many lovely pieces for sale.)

Instagram: @emotional_clutter_jewelry

Here is a sampling of her Art and jewelry…

 

 

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS 8th DANCE OF POETRY AND VISUAL ART.

ARTISTS, there are poems still available to choose from and time to get in on the project… https://towerpoetry.ca/po-art-ry-poems/

This is an organic project, and we are thinking of a possible exhibit or publication. Who knows?! What we do know is that we have a lot of exciting work by talented poets and artists to share with you each month!

 

DID YOU KNOW?     YOU CAN POP OVER TO OUR TOWER POETRY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR DISCUSSION!

 

 

 

POET: GERTRUDE OLGA DOWN & MOSAIC ARTIST: HEATHER VOLLANS

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A DANCE OF POETRY & ART…

  • Click on poem and art to view clearer:

 

       

“An Orchard of Oaks” by Heather Vollans

POET: Gertrude Olga Down

About the Poet:

Gertrude (Trudi) Olga Down has been writing and reading poetry since she was a young child. She began to write with more commitment after joining The Tower Poetry Society in 1981.

Typically using a free verse style, Trudi’s poetry offers personal insights on the human condition, and on nature and love. She strives to present these word pictures in poetry that is accessible to all readers.

When did you start writing poetry?

I was quite young when I became interested in poetry and, like most children, enjoyed the rhythm and rhyme of the poems which we read in public school. From an early age I also was fascinated by the sound of words and intrigued by how a word’s meaning could change based on where words were placed in a sentence or how emphasis could change the meaning. My first poems were mostly about nature and animals. When I started reading a variety of poetic styles in high school and university, I began to move towards a freer style of writing, and expanded and diversified themes to include philosophy, relationships, and politics.

Why do you write poetry?

I write poetry to explore a theme or expand upon a “word picture” in my mind that I feel does not translate well into prose. I like the challenge of working with the theme or picture, shaping the poem so that the ideas flow and the imagery is clear. I write poetry because I truly believe it is a wonderfully unique style of communication; the poet has to get his or her “message” across in a few words, in short lines, and in a manner that is both engaging and informative. To me, poetry is very different from prose. That’s why I don’t write “prose poems” – I don’t see the point! Over the years I’ve learned that a poem can “speak” to the reader in different ways. What I try to communicate through a poem may be understood very differently by a reader; I think that’s fascinating!

What is the best advice you have ever received and would share with new poets?

Other than school and workshops, I’ve never taken any formal writing courses. One thing I can mention: over the years I’ve learned that poets need to realize when a piece is overwritten. Poetry is not like prose; the poet should not tell or explain everything. In poetry, it’s important to use language, metaphor, and simile to give the reader an insight into the poem, without being absolutely clear. I really like the advice provided by a former Editor-in-chief of Tower Poetry who said, “Be obscure, clearly”! Because workshops are done with a group of like-minded writers, they can provide great insight for the poet as to whether the poem “works”. The comments that arise out of these group sessions benefit not only the poet/poem under discussion, but everyone in attendance. I’ve received many excellent tips and suggestions from TPS workshop sessions that have helped me improve as a writer of poetry.

Can you comment on your process?

I enjoy the challenge of putting into verse what someone else might write as prose. It is exhilarating to work similes and metaphors into a poem and realize that they are working well, providing the mind pictures that help the reader understand the poem. I also like to play around with sounds and alliterations. It’s also important to me that the shape of the poem fits the theme or mood. I don’t mean that I write “shaped” poems; I mean that the stanza breaks are consistent; that lines are a suitable length and include a rhythm that continues throughout the poem; that the lines read such that they provide direction to the reader as to what the focus of the poem is all about. I’m not a fan of line breaks that jar or seem inappropriate to the flow of the reading of the poem. I write a poem from a particular point of view, but I also try to write the piece so that it can have universal appeal and be appreciated by a wide readership. I rarely “put myself” into my poetry.

More Gertrude Olga Down poems:

https://towerpoetry.ca/poetryplus/f-Trudi.html

She has poetry in this collection: https://www.lummoxpress.com/lc/product/tamaracks/

MOSAIC ARTIST: HEATHER VOLLANS

About Heather’s Artwork (from her website): “The biggest influence in my work is texture – my upbringing in Australia, my years travelling, especially in the Middle East and Europe have stayed with me and play a major role in my work.  Working in construction for years I saw so much texture – metals, ceramics, wood, concrete etc – but also much waste and too much going to landfill!  Since my teenage years I’ve had a passion for making things from discarded materials.  I tried my hand at many things, including decoupage, paper mache, wood finishing, patchwork quilting – always giving new life to old materials.  My passion for mosaic is influenced from these beginnings and continues to fire me.”

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT POEM?

The idea of the oak trees as sentinels drew me in.  I have such beautiful memories of wandering through oak orchards and feeling their awesome wonder, ancient-ness and connectedness with us.  The poem truly spoke to this.

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT YOUR PROCESS FROM IDEA TO FINISHED WORK? WHY THOSE COLOURS AND SHAPES?

I knew immediately I wanted to use the long slivery shards of slate to portray the oak branches, and to keep the design simple to emphasise the trees.  I also wanted it soft, not blingy to befit the subject of the poem.  My initial experiment was with small rounds of coloured glass to give the idea of the graves next to the pathway, but glass was way too strong and took away from the texture of the slate.  So, I eventually settled on the white sand background and the simple pathway with tiny pebbles.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? WHAT WAS EASY?

It was quite the journey. I guess it is new concept for me, but I kept my materials familiar. I usually work in abstract but wanted to represent real oaks. It was tough! The shape did not work for sooo long. Trying to portray the trees’ long majestic hanging branches was really difficult – mostly because I usually work not ‘picturely” I’m sure. Responding to any subject I find incredibly hard and ‘picturely‘, almost impossible.  But again I ‘enjoyed’ the challenge; wanted to push myself out of my own self-imposed boundaries.

Have you done this kind of project before? Would you do it again?

I did this project last year thanks to Lorraine and I wanted the challenge again.

Anything else you’d like to share?

I love everything about this collaboration between artists.  Finding common ground between artists is truly valuable and we should do more of it!  We all also need to be challenged and for me at least, this kind of collaborative project certainly does that.  Working through this artwork also brought back many beautiful memories of wanderings through oaks and I thought a lot about how precious they are to us and how emotionally connected we are to trees.  Aaah, that beautiful process!  My thanks to Gertrude Olga Down for being inspired to write such a beautiful poem and to Lorraine Roy for facilitating such a wonderful collaborative project.

SIZE OF THE PIECE. HOW IS IT MOUNTED?  PRICE IF FOR SALE. WHERE IS IT AVAILABLE?

It’s mounted on wediboard which is a lightweight Styrofoam product sandwiched between thin layers of cement.  Great for working on projects that can end up quite weighty.  Price $150  Available at Dawning Décor Studio, in Brantford.  905 667 4271

Title: An Orchard of Oaks

Size:  8”x8”

Materials: slate and pebbles.

 

More Heather Vollans…

Here are some more works…

  1. “North Shore Breezes”
  2. “Red Gold”
  3. “take those chances”
  4. “Undercurrent”

 

     

 

 

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS SEVENTH DANCE OF POETRY AND VISUAL ART.

ARTISTS, there are poems still available to choose from and time to get in on the project… https://towerpoetry.ca/po-art-ry-poems/

POETS, stay tuned… we will open up submissions towards the end of 2023. As for what will happen with PoARTry, we don’t know.

This is an organic project, and we are thinking of a possible exhibit or publication. Who knows?! What we do know is that we have a lot of exciting work by talented poets and artists to share with you each month!

 

DID YOU KNOW?     YOU CAN POP OVER TO OUR TOWER POETRY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR DISCUSSION!

Note to Tower Poetry Members — You are invited to head over to the Carnegie Gallery in Dundas to choose art from the Members’ Exhibit that may inspire you to create a poem for Artwalk, part of Arts Dundas Week 2023. Please submit your poems no later than SEPTEMBER 12th. Complete details are found in the email sent out on Aug. 5. * Note: if you aren’t a member, it’s easy to become one. Simply head on over to our Membership page!

“In Other Worlds” – A Carnegie Gallery Exhibit – Safe havens for a weary soul

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This exhibition features the colourful textiles of established Hamilton artist and Carnegie Gallery Artist Member, Lorraine Roy. Beyond her well-known imagery of trees and the Canadian wilderness, these new imaginary landscapes also include charming cottages, fanciful islands and cheery animals. They suggest a more lighthearted and uplifting approach to provide “safe havens for a weary soul”. The exhibition also features the poetry of Jennifer Lynn Dunlop.

 

Lorraine Roy website: lroyart.com to view the artworks alongside the poetry.

 

 

 

Wow! – See websites in this post for a closer look!

 

Poet, Jennifer Lynn Dunlop

Being familiar and a fan of both textile artist Lorraine Roy and the poet that inspired many of her current works, Jennifer Lynne Dunlop, I knew I was in for a treat when I viewed the current Carnegie Gallery exhibit “In Oher Worlds – Safe havens for a weary soul.” I was certainly not disappointed, and, in fact, I was even more impressed than I even imagined – I was blown away. At first glance, the pieces are a stunning cornucopia of vibrancy; colours beckoned me into Roy’s world. Upon a closer look, I noticed the precise stitching details of each piece of fabric that comes together to form each whole gorgeous piece. As a mixed media artist, I am awestruck that Roy manages to achieve such detailed representations of nature through her medium of textiles. (I mean, I even struggle to sew on a button, but I can fussy cut!)

About Lorraine Roy

From Lorraine Roy’s Artist’s statement, I learned that Roy has a formal education in Horticultural Science, so it makes sense that she creates pieces featuring nature. She “creates imagery that evokes the intimate connection we have with the natural world.” Drawing viewers attention to “the intimate webs that connect trees, fungi and animals, revealing that our earth is a living breathing organism” has become more and more vital in these current times. Roy is a true Earth Hero! (As is Dunlop through her poetry!) Lorraine Roy states, “With all my work, my intention is to arouse emotional connection by shining a warm light on Nature’s unseen forces.”

Tower Poetry Society member, Jennifer Lynn Dunlop’s poetry is always a delight to read. Through her words, she can transport the reader to the place in nature where she stood to compose her poems; to the place that Lorraine Roy depicts in her visual interpretations of the poems.

I spoke with Jennifer, “It (the process) was interesting.” She told me that Lorraine created about half of the pieces of art based on Dunlop’s poetry, and she wrote some new poems based on the art that Roy created. What a connection; a symbiotic relationship; a truly beautiful thing when artists and their mediums collide and it leads to a boom of creativity! Collaboration at it’s finest!

Speaking of collaboration… this past year, Lorraine Roy has worked with Tower Poetry Society to present, PoARTry – a dance of visual art & poetry – an online exhibit with a new artist/poet pair featured in the TPS Blog on the first Saturday of each month. Poets created poems, as poets do! Then, artists each selected a poem that called to them and inspired artwork in their medium of choice. Artists, there are still poems left if you want in on this fun project. Check it out here!

I certainly hope we see a book out from these two talented ladies! Check out the “In Other Worlds” Exhibit at Carnegie Gallery in Dundas for yourself and get transported into the magical world of nature in this “safe havens for a weary soul”.

The exhibit is on until July 30th, so there’s still time!

In August, Tower Poetry members are invited to select an Artwork from the Carnegie Gallery members exhibit for Artwalk (part of Arts Dundas Weekend) in November. Details will be along soon, members! Learn how you can become a member, too.

Written by Nicola Schneider.

POET: STELLA MAZUR PREDA & artists (one + others?)

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A DANCE OF POETRY & ART…

 

“Garden Dance in the Moonlight” by Nicola Schneider

POET: STELLA MAZUR PREDA

When did you start writing poetry?

I began writing poetry rather late in life. When I was 42, my father passed away. After his death, as I would walk my little dog, I would have words and phrases playing games in my mind. I began to carry a pen and small notepad in my pocket and would stop in our walks to jot down thoughts and phrases as they came. When I got home, I found myself trying to organize these thoughts into lines that would eventually become a poem.

It wasn’t until 1999, when I discovered and joined Tower Poetry, that I found that a lot of what I wrote was gibberish! Over the years I learned a lot at Tower, most of all you write and then edit, sometimes several times.

Why do you write poetry?

I write poetry because it gives me a sense of satisfaction to be able to control all the words that play in my mind. I have always loved “words” as I was an elementary school teacher for 33 years. Poetry writing became a release for me after a day of teaching, a calming influence, a time to contemplate the world around me, a voice different to what I used every day.

What is the best advice you have ever received and would share with new poets?

Read! Read! Read! Reading is as much a part of poetry as writing!  And then Edit! Edit! Edit! Secondly join a poetry group such as Tower. Feedback from fellow poets is invaluable to your writing process.

Can you comment on your process?

I look for ideas that are often sparked by a phrase or quotation in a book that I am reading. Also, I often find my writing inspired by images that I see whether it be art, paintings or  nature. I jot down ideas as they come, even if it is while I am in bed for the night. I keep a pen and notepad handy in the night table drawer. I guess my process of writing can best be described by a poem I wrote:

Poet’s Garden

dig for thoughts
plant words     prune phrases
weed out redundancy
cultivate creativity

revisions nurture growth
we listen — voices spark the mind
imagery and metaphors thrive
produce early buds

blossoms open     blend together

colours of language

the poems within revealed

© Stella Mazur Preda

 

We didn’t hear back from the Artist that was scheduled for July, so I, your humble TPS Web Coordinator & Blogger, have supplied a mixed-media piece created in response to Stella Mazur Preda’s stunning poem, “The Garden.” As I’ve already been featured, you can read more about my process here.

 

ARTIST: Nicola Schneider

Did you know?!

PoARTry is based on an event that the Tower Poetry Society does each year. Poets pick an artwork on display, created by members of the local art gallery — Carnegie Gallery —  that inspires them to write poetry, which is a thing called – EKPHRASTIC POETRY…. Ek What? Ekphrastic means a “description” in Greek. An ekphrastic poem is a colourfully written description of a piece of art. This can be anything from ancient poet Homer describing Achilles’s ornate shield in The Iliad to Ode to a Grecian Urn by John Keats. Ekphrastic poetry may include literal descriptions of a work of art, the poet’s mood in response to a work of art, metaphorical associations inspired by a work of art, or personal memories about a work of art.

Five ways to write an Ekphrastic poem or story. 

  • Describe what you see
  • Describe what’s happening beyond the frame
  • Write from the perspective of the artist
  • Give voice to a major or minor character in the image
  • Explain your response to the art

(source: https://www.quinlanartscenter.org/ekphrastic-art.html)

During Covid, TPS in collaboration with Carnegie Gallery decided to spin this process a different way… instead of words describing art, poets were invited to submit poems for artists to select from to inspire visual art… Ekphrastic Reversed.

We decided to try again with PoArtry and have been running this series since February; each month featuring a Poet and a Visual Artist… and we now introduce the 6th poet…

Using ‘Five ways to write an Ekphrastic poem or story’ as a guideline, I have created…

Five ways to create an Ekphrastic visual art piece:

  • Depict what you see in your mind’s eye. (What image unfolds in your imagination as you read the poem aloud. Yes, poems are best read out loud!)
  • Depict literal, implied, and personal connections and meanings.
  • Create from the perspective of poet or any other character/object in the poem.
  • You might even consider a series of pieces inspired by the levels of meaning in a poem.
  • Depict your response to the poem.

 

Why don’t you give it a try? Take another read through Stella’s Poem and create! Make some art, write a response poem, quick doodle, whatever! Share your work several ways and we will feature it later in the month:

 

If you’re in the neighbourhood…

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS SIXTH DANCE OF POETRY AND VISUAL ART.

ARTISTS, there are poems still available to choose from and time to get in on the project… https://towerpoetry.ca/po-art-ry-poems/

POETS, stay tuned… we may open up submissions towards the end of 2023. As for what will happen with PoARTry, we don’t know.

This is an organic project, and we are thinking of a possible exhibit or publication. Who knows?! What we do know is that we have a lot of exciting work by talented poets and artists to share with you each month!

 

DID YOU KNOW?     YOU CAN POP OVER TO OUR TOWER POETRY FACEBOOK GROUP FOR DISCUSSION!