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.

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: REBECCA CLIFFORD & MIXED MEDIA ARTIST: NICOLA SCHNEIDER

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A DANCE OF POETRY & ART…

“Fame is in the Song”

 

POET: REBECCA CLIFFORD

When did you start writing poetry?

I started stitch together words at an early age.  Fascinated by gems such as “Jabberwocky”, I sought to create words of my own.  Constance Metcalf, my high school English teacher encouraged me further, and I’ve never lost the itch to stitch words together.

Why do you write poetry?

I could give you an esoteric diatribe about instilling social justice, changing the world, righting a multitude of wrongs AND although I truly believe that words can affect all of these things, it will take better voices than mine to achieve such things.

What is the best advice you have ever received? 

I receive comments at the poetry workshops I attend, and pondering such remarks serves to make me a better writer.  (Like participating in a Tower Poetry Society workshop! More info here!) However, the best advice I’ve found is to read and absorb the works of others – not just poetry.  For me, I turn to P.K. Page, Marilyn Gear Pilling, Carol Shields, Alice Munro, John Steffler, Guy Gavriel Kay, Anne Simpson to list off the top of my noggin. And, I do tend to center my reading on Canadian poets.  There’s nothing wrong with trying to channel Bliss Carmen, Archie Lampman, or Wilfred Campbell, but finding one’s own voice is an ongoing journey.

What is the best advice you’ve followed?

That I create and write to please myself.  Changing a word or line you love because a more seasoned poet said it should be so, isn’t true if it doesn’t work for you.  Writing to please others can drive a writer into an early grave.

Can you comment on your process?

The creative work of others inspires me to write – art, music, dance, theatre, good oratory.  Silence, or the lack thereof, also provokes my creative juices.  Isolated thinking brings out thoughts on life, death, politics, social justice – the whole gamut.  I live rurally, and nature provides much fodder for the pencil.  And I do use a pencil… also the backs of envelopes, parking tickets, and grocery receipts.  I write words, snippets, phrases down wherever and whenever inspiration finds me. Examples are the way I feel hearing the coyotes howl, the wind race, cash registers singing in a supermarket, voices and smells at the market, at the bakery.  I’ve found that waiting till I have a notebook in hand means I’ll lose something vital.  And that drives me nuts.

 

 

 

MIXED-MEDIA ARTIST: NICOLA SCHNEIDER

 

I am on the executive council of Tower Poetry Society, as Web Coordinator, which is kind of strange because I know not much of web coordinating and am a mere novice at poetry, but as it were, and continues to be…

Check me out at:

EverydayArtEveryDay.com

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT POEM?

In general, the subject matter immediately called to me. I have taken several photographs of dragonflies and thought I could use them in my piece. Further readings cemented my choice. Rebecca’s poetic language swirled around in my brain. I love to chill out in the summer by watching “dragonflies stitch the air, sketch lines of elegant directness.” Upon further study, the poem’s deeper meanings came through. The opening quote that  influenced the poet to write this poem, and the poem itself, features several musical references. I love the lyrical quality of the poem and aimed to show this in my piece.

The original quote from Hippocrates, “Life is short, art is long” meant… that it takes a lifetime to hone a craft, i.e., gain skills and knowledge, and that since life is short, many don’t reach a ‘fame’ status in a lifetime. Hence, in the past, folks tended not to gain fame until they were dead. That kind of sucks, so…

Here is my interpretation, which is a concept that I try to apply to my art: Enjoy the journey. “The success is in the silences.” If the process brings joy, then fame doesn’t matter. “Fame is fleeting” just as a dragonfly’s entire life cycle is “ephemeral.” Dragonflies don’t care (or even realize) how short their lives are. Even if your “song” or poem or art doesn’t get out into the world and appreciated – reach “fame” – you can still have success in the play and exploration; in the joy that the process brings.

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

My current practice is based on the stARTs process shared by New Zealand Intuitive Mixed Media Artist, Judy Woods. Artist Judy Woods – abstract art (judywoodsart.work). Previously, I’ve followed her process by not purposefully thinking of any sort of end goal. This time I thought I meditated on the poem throughout the entire process. I pulled out phrases that inspired imagery that I could use in my artwork (the sparks). Hence, the dance of poetry and art. Next, I recorded these key words and sketch pictures on my surface to guide the piece. This is the first underlayer to be covered up with many layers. “What happens in the underlayer stays in the underlayer.”

               

This is a summary of the process…

  • I work in sets.
  • In beginning layers à I have fun. Play. Explore. I ask, “What if?”
  • I aim to be brave. Nothing is precious; if I don’t like it, I can simply paint over it. If I don’t love something, I ask, “What’s the opposite?” and do that. Learning what I don’t love is just as important in moving my practise forward as knowing what I do love.
  • I am learning to embrace ugly.
  • Principle of differences. I always ask, “What is the opposite of…?” I use the knowledge of elements/principles to create both subtle and strong contrasts.
  • In middle layers the ‘heroes’ (or focal points that I love) will start to be revealed.
  • In end layers, I emphasize those heroes. This is what my piece is about. I ensure there is contrast, some quieter spaces.
  • I often come back to the art to look with fresher eyes after several weeks, or months.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES? WHAT WAS EASY?

The process took a while to trust. Ultimately, it brings freedom to my art-making. The idea is both scary and freeing. Scary because it was a whole new way to think. Freeing because if I don’t like something, I can cover it up. My focus is on the journey. The journey is a marathon, not a sprint. When I don’t focus on the result (the finished product), I feel less anxious, and I can take more risks in my art. I have removed expectations.

Knowing when the art is finished is always a challenge for me. Having a deadline was helpful.

Also, since I had several pieces inspired by the poem, it was difficult to choose just one for submission. I decided on one for submission and there are 3 more in the series, each given the title of the last line of each stanza in Rebecca’s poem:

  1. “Life is Brief”

2. “Art is Long”

3. Submission: “Fame is in the Song”

4. “Success in the Silences”

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

I have written poems inspired by artworks for Carnegie Gallery‘s and Tower Poetry’s annual Artwalk, and for the PoARTry this time and last time. This is my first visual art submission… ever. I am looking forward to doing it again next year!

Anything else you’d like to share?

Art is for everyone.

This is my view on art-making. Everybody IS an Artist. 1. Art is easy. 2. Practice makes better. 3. Be YOU. 4. Make Ugly Art & make mistakes. 5. Have fun. Now, go make Art, Human:)

Read my complete Art Philosophy here: Everyone IS an Artist – Speech – Everyday Art Every Day

More Nicola:

https://www.instagram.com/everydayart.every.day/

 

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

Framed 22″ x 18″

Artwork size 14″ x 11″

* Contact nicolaschneiderisawesome@gmail.com

 

WE HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS THIRD 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!

 

 

Presenting PoARTry

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Tower Poetry Society, in collaboration with visual/textile artist Lorraine Roy, presents…

A dance of poetry & visual art…

After the success of the first PoARTry event*, we endeavour to create a similar collaboration between poets and artists that will showcase virtually with the possibility/opportunity for an in-person exhibition after the first year. This may become an ongoing event.

* In 2021, poets were encouraged to submit poems to inspire local artists to create visual art. And so the dance began… the results were displayed in an exhibit in the Barber Atrium at the Carnegie Gallery.

Tower Poetry Society POETS have submitted poems that inspire visual art or fine crafts. And, artists have selected the poems that inspire each to create a piece in their chosen visual art field.

Please join us as we reveal these unique partnerships on the FIRST SATURDAY over the next many months… a poet & a:

  • Stained Glass Artist
  • Mosaic Artist
  • Wood Burning Artist
  • Painter
  • Landscape Artist
  • Textiles Artist
  • Pencil Artist
  • Jewellery Artist
  • Mixed Media Artist

Artists, there is still time to select a poem to inspire your art! Our first dance will be on Saturday, February, 4, 2023 at midnight… for now, it’s a secret!