Writer's Block, Feature, On Wine Bottles and Web Sites: How the nation’s first Poet Laureate is managing the “strange situation” of poetry in Canada- Winter 2003

George Bowering says that “lively groups” across Canada continue the tradition of experiment and practice and that great new books of poetry appear every year. Yet in the general public, he observes, Canadian poetry has long passed its 1960s heyday. Less Canadian literature is taught in the schools, and popular media are far more interested in the large dollar figures connected to “hot novelists.” (See a recent press release.)

So does the poet. Bowering is the nation’s first parliamentary Poet Laureate — and the distinction is not without irony. Now serving Her Majesty, Bowering was once expelled in high school for his campaign against Canada’s recognition of the English monarch. His two-year appointment as PL began November 8, 2002.

A Poet (Not Only) in the House

“This is the first time that Canada has had a poet laureate and it is the first time that I have been a poet laureate,” says Bowering, “so no one was clear at all about what being or having the PL would consist of.”

Officially, an amendment to the Parliament of Canada Act establishes the position and outlines its duties:

(See the complete amendment .) Furthermore, the poet laureate can write in either French or English, and need not be bilingual.

While new to Canada, the role has a long history in other countries, including the US and Great Britain. The tradition dates back to late seventeenth century England, when the poet laureate wrote verse in praise of the royal family. Today, no such requirement is imposed.

If you read through the debates of the House concerning the birth of the position, says Bowering, “… you will observe a kind of compromise developing: the position will be created if the poet will not try to do too much. Let it be an honorary reward.”

“Well,” he adds, “I couldn’t help myself.” Poetry readings, interviews, guest appearances, and the launch of his own web site have filled the wordsmith’s bustling schedule over his first year as PL. The overall goal: to increase the visibility of poetry — nationwide.

“[T]here is a feeling in the extremities that the heart is too much wrapped up in itself and nearby organs, such as Montreal and Toronto,” says Bowering. From the start, he vowed to be PL for Canada, not just Ottawa.

And what better way to reach the nation’s fingers and toes than through the Internet?

A Poem a Week

Residing on the PL web site, the Poem of the Week page is available to Internet users from Whitehorse to Deer Lake, and beyond. The electronic anthology is particularly intended for those who may not know where to find Canadian poetry, or who would not typically pick up a chapbook.

“I think that reading lots of poetry should make an average reader smarter about anything,” says Bowering, “including poetry.”

He collected funds from the Department of Heritage and employed expertise from the Parliamentary Library to get the site online in mid-October 2003. From that date — and for a total of 70 weeks — the site will present 70 poems by 70 different poets. Each week, poetry-seekers can read a new poem, see a picture of the featured author, and link to other related sites.

But Does Poetry Pay …

For the second year of his term, Bowering says he has more projects in mind and is trying to raise the necessary funds. For his own part, the PL receives a $12,000 annual stipend and a travel budget of $10,000.

He goes to Ottawa about once a month, and has appeared at various readings and speaking engagements throughout Canada. A recent hip injury slowed him down, but Bowering anticipates a prompt return to his touring schedule, including a possible trip to meet the Poet Laureate of Britain.

“There is talk of going to England in the spring and meeting the English guy at a poetry function there,” he says. When asked about the proposed summit, Bowering jests: “I don’t know what we would discuss — probably our pay cheques and perks.”

Indeed. Upon learning that the stipend of his British counterpart included a hogshead of wine, Bowering is said to have protested the inequity. Oliver, BC — the wine capital of Canada and Bowering’s hometown — responded by hosting a celebration last summer, in honour of the thirsty bard.

To commemorate the event, Tinhorn Creek Vineyards gave Bowering 25 cases of a Cabernet Franc, and made an additional 25 cases available for sale. Each bottle was custom labelled with his photo and lines from the poem, “Desert Elm”:

Funds raised by the event and related wine sales are being used to create a scholarship for a high school student continuing education in creative writing. Bowering expressed his wish that the award not be given on the basis of academic standing, but to a student “hanging upside down from a tree,” looking upon the world from an unusual perspective.

… or Keep the US at Bay?

As for Bowering, he is often posed in contrast to the prevailing culture or convention. And in the tradition of the pen is mightier than the sword, he strikes at an imbalance of power with words.

Of recent note, his stand on the crisis in Iraq appears in several anti-war anthologies. To support the Poets Against the War project, he contributed The Good Prospects (see the international collection of poems) and in The Common Sky: Canadian Writers Against the War, he targets the U.S. in a piece called The Late News.

Bowering is critical in general of the American influence on life in Canada and sees poetry as a form of cultural armour. “If Canadians will read Canadian poetry, “ he says, “maybe they will be less likely to be taken in by USAmerican prose."

He continues: “I don’t harbour illusions that a dose of David McFadden will totally protect your teenaged kid from George Bush, but … when I was a boy I thought I would like to be a USAmerican … then I read the poems of Raymond Souster and knew that I wanted to be a Canadian.”

Bowering’s own writing details this lifelong patriotic love — and aversion. Lest he be accused of utopian fancies, let it be known: his non-fiction books include unexpurgated, unauthorized works of Canadian history, such as Egotists and Autocrats: The Prime Ministers of Canada.

And, lest he be accused of trading his poetry for politics, let it also be known: amid a tide of accolades with the announcement of Bowering as the country’s first official poet, a congratulatory note from PM Chrétien was distinctly absent.

So the Parliament’s leader and poet aren’t speaking. Now isn’t that strange?

Lessons for a Young Poet

Twice recognized with the Governor General’s award, Bowering has written more than 60 books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. He was recently named an officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s most distinguished honours for lifetime achievement.

The writer’s success may be due to his great respect for the language. “I always remember that it is far older than I am, that it has a greater vocabulary, that it is wiser by far. I come to it as a mendicant.” says Bowering. “If that is going too far, let us say that I know enough not to think that I can use it as a ‘tool.’”

What attracts him so to the act of writing? “I think I could probably write an essay about that if I were granted the right to avoid the question somewhat,” says Bowering. With his busy interview itinerary as Canada’s first Poet Laureate, he may not have the chance.

But in a piece on his writing philosophy, entitled The Power is There, Bowering offers some insight into how he understands his craft. He speaks of the poet as a conduit for the power of words: “The poet is the person waiting under the tree, waiting for lightning to strike. Waiting with pen in hand.”

And how does a poet become a better lightning rod? Bowering says getting prepared is partly instinct, but mostly a result of conscious effort, including reading lots of poetry and poetics.

“One should be aware of what T. S. Eliot wrote about difficulty and what Charles Olson wrote about locus, and what William Carlos Williams wrote about similies [sic], and what Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote about custom.

“One should train one’s ear with H. D. and one’s wit with Robert Kroetsch and one’s smart humility with Margaret Avison.

“One should bend over and notice that in the middle of ‘white’ flower there are little lines of yellow and pink and green.”

Tracy Pomerinke is a freelance writer who is often spotted “waiting under a tree.” You can reach her at tracypomerinke@sbcglobal.net.

On Wine Bottles and Web Sites: How the Nation’s First Poet Laureate Is Managing the “Strange Situation” of Poetry in Canada

A Poet (Not Only) in the House

A Poem a Week

But Does Poetry Pay …

… or Keep the US at Bay?

Lessons for a Young Poet

On Wine Bottles and Web Sites:
How the Nation’s First Poet Laureate Is Managing the “Strange Situation” of Poetry in Canada