To mark a month that includes celebrations of both printed prose and varieties of verse, a group of more than 10 Sunshine Coast poets assembled at the Gibsons and District Public Library last week for a fully-subscribed reading of original works.
The Poets Abounding gathering on April 19 was part of the library’s ongoing campaign to connect writers and audiences, and coincided with National Poetry Month. The yearly celebration of rhyme and rhythm was instituted 25 years ago by the League of Canadian Poets.
The event also occurred during a week headed by B.C. Book Day, which was proclaimed by the provincial government on April 17. British Columbia is the second largest English-language book publishing region in Canada.
The library’s event embraced a theme suggested by the League of Canadian Poets: joy.
“When I heard that the theme was to be joy, I thought: that’s a difficult subject for poets,” said writer Anne Miles, “because mostly we write about angst. So I had to go back in my archives and find some joyful poems.”
Miles’s poems enumerated simple gifts that imbue quotidian life with supernal delight.
In a poem titled How Are You? Brian Mackenzie ruminated on the elusive quality of joy: “Would you believe I am actually happy? / Suffering abounds, yet I know salvation. / Would that I could share it with another. / I am shrunken, my chest caved in over my ever-aching heart / Nonetheless, I am happy.”
Musician and poet Catherine McNeil, author of the recently-published Emily & Elspeth, read verses and accompanied herself on an heirloom accordion. She led the capacity audience in her song’s exuberant refrain: “Let us give thanks!”
Poet and novelist Del Lobo used sensual descriptions to depict a journey through Mexico: “In one swift swoop, your eyes scan the lightly-lit cathedral and noisy bells / Shameless vendors flogging twisted latex, yellow and brown spotted turtles / and green iguanas held by string.”
“It’s hard for poets to talk about joy; we’re so depressed,” said writer Fran Bourassa. “But I inserted joy into my poem — I just put it there randomly.” In a poem Bourassa described as a quilt-like patchwork, she read: “I wanted to remember something happy / I wanted to bring it in a poem, a pretty package wrapped in brightly-coloured paper / To sit comfortably beside me as I wait my turn to celebrate.”
Performer and poet Francesca Ryan’s stanzas surveyed multitudinous expressions of beauty. Novelist Mark Cameron shared verses inspired by Gibsons landscapes. Rosella Leslie offered a philosophical definition: “Joy — something that cannot be sought, nor bought, nor begged / But rises from deep within, when we’ve somehow let go of all that anchors us to wanting.”
Ross Harry’s works synthesized lessons about love from 58 years of marriage. Atma Frans shared a poem inspired by painter Greta Guzek; the two collaborated during the 2022 Art & Words Festival, an initiative of the Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society. Richard Austin sampled literary interpretations of joy before offering his own in haiku form: “Soap bubble of joy / floating just out of our reach / defies gravity.”
This week, the League of Canadian Poets urged citizens to observe Poem in Your Pocket Day by selecting a poem, carrying it with them, and sharing it with others throughout the day.
