Mid-Term Report of the, Dr. George Elliott Clarke, Ph.D., 2012-15, To the Economic Development Committee May 21, 2014 Dear Members of Economic Development Committee: It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to report to you, in the midst of my three-year appointment as the 4 th, on the most salient undertakings of the last 18 months. I thank the City Council of Toronto, the Toronto Public Library, and the League of Canadian Poets, and my predecessor, Ms. Dionne Brand, for having selected me for appointment to this august, honorary position. As you know, the Poet Laureateship was first established in 2000, and, as with many creative endeavours, it has taken time to assume a more or less formal shape. Thus, the first Poet Laureate, Mr. Dennis Lee, served for 5 years; the second, Mr. Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, for 4 years; Ms. Brand served for 3 years; and, God willing, so will I. As our term lengths have taken time to settle, so, too, have the terms of reference evolved. I consider them informal to promote literacy and leave a legacy and that is best: A poet ought not to be circumscribed. Even so, I did believe, upon my appointment on November 27, 2012, that the Office of the Poet Laureate required a bit more structure. I felt this was needed because I believe the Poet Laureate is, in fact, an ad hoc Officer of City Council, an ex-officio ombudsperson/representative for the Arts, and a literacy social worker. For this reason, I thought it would be a good idea for there to be a Poets Corner in City Hall (SLIDE), a medal for the office, and, immediately, an e-mail address, and letterhead. As an Officer of City Council, I felt it was essential to address City Council annually, during National Poetry Month (April), and I have been permitted to do so in 2013 and last month. (This appearance was also undertaken in acceptance of the City of Regina Mayor s Challenge to municipal councils across Canada to allow locals poet to address their assemblies. However, I do believe that the Poet Laureate should address City Council annually, no matter what.) 1
Also, I was tapped to provide poems for Toronto Parks and Trees (May 2013), Waterfront Revitalization Corporation (June 2013), and for TTC Hoardings (at Woodbine & Coxwell, April 2014). I presented a mock TED Talk at Fort York for EDC staff (June 2013). I met with several City Councillors, including Josh Colle, Sarah Doucette, Mary Margaret McMahon, Mary Fragedakis, Janet Davis and of course, Councillor Thompson. I asked that the City of Toronto present scrolls honouring significant Toronto writers on their significant birthdays. One went to Michael Ondaatje on his 70 th (September 2013) and others are pending for Austin Clarke s 80 th (July 2014) and Margaret Atwood s 75 th (November 2014). I was also asked to celebrate Emancipation Day (SLIDE) with the Ontario Black History Society and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Hon. David Olney, at Queen s Park (July 31, 2013). As an Ombudsperson or Ambassador for the Arts, I have been fortunate to engage with the Harbourfront International Festival of Authors (SLIDE), acting as a Poetry Slam judge (April 2013) and as a reader from my own works (November 2013). I also engaged the Art Gallery of Ontario (SLIDE) in a project wherein 15 student painters painted or sketched portraits of 9 Toronto poets. (The work was undertaken in Winter 2014 and the finished show is on at the AGO s Community Gallery until June 5, 2014.) I was also fortunate to be invited to the Edmonton Poetry Festival along with 15 other Poets Laureate from across Canada (and one from Scotland). This April 2013 event served to generate ideas that I have sought to implement in Toronto. As a Literacy Advocate, I presented a poem, printed on 300 T-shirts (SLIDE), to celebrate Jane- Finch area high school graduates (June 2013 & June 2014); participated in the launch of the vital poetry anthology (SLIDE), The Great Black North (February 2013); led poetry workshops for the Toronto Public Library (SLIDE) (March 2013); participated in a special TTC-sponsored, Freedom Train ride (SLIDE) (from Union Station to Downsview Station, at midnight of August 1, 2013); was the Master of Ceremonies for The Toronto Children s Concert Choir & Performing Arts Company celebration of Faith and Academic Achievement (June 2013); helped to adjudicate a Toronto Star poetry contest (November 2013); spoke at Braemar College (April 2013); and organized a Toronto Public Library event in memory of President John F. Kennedy (SLIDE) (November 2013). Beyond the specified work of Literacy Advocacy and the unspecified work as a City Council representative and as an arts ambassador, I have also striven to develop several legacy projects if time and elected officials should prove considerate of these items. With the strong support of Natasha Emery and Cultural Services s Terry Nicholson and Christopher Jones, I or we have established (I hope) the summer performance showcase entitled, Beat Café 2
(SLIDE). The idea is to invite poets who are also singers/songwriters and/or musicians to perform their materials before a live audience at Nathan Phillips Square. We debuted this project in July 2013. The second rollout will be in August 2014. With the strong support of East End Arts and Toronto Cultural Services, I or we have established (I hope) the September performance showcase entitled, East End Poetry Festival (SLIDE). At this event, which is set in a natural amphitheatre at the Children s Peace Theatre (just off Dawes Road), poets and musicians from East End Toronto (Broadview to Beaches, East York to Scarborough) gather and perform in a family-oriented festival, modelled on Woodstock (!), but without addictions or indecencies or mud. With the strong support of the Toronto Public Library, I have pushed along further the idea of a Poetry Map, which, when complete, will be interactive, allowing Toronto library patrons to consult poems associated with distinctive streets, parks, intersections, and neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto. With the strong support of the Toronto Public Library, we have inaugurated, this past winter, a program entitled, Your Poem Goes Here (SLIDE), in which library patrons are provided a book in which they may write their own poems. Library staffers select the poems to be posted in the library and/or on-line. (I hope this project will be either permanent or annual.) Other potential legacy projects-in-progress include 1) installation of a plaque at Willard Gardens Parkette to honour the late poet Raymond Souster (SLIDE) who was, really, Mr. Toronto, in terms of Anglo-Canadian poetry; and 2) the proposed inclusion of a poem of my own in Ramsden Park in Rosedale. Finally, throughout my term so far I've done interviews (SLIDE), interviews, interviews, and yet more interviews, all of which have helped to raise the profile of poetry and indeed, my own profile, substantially. I must conclude this brief overview by arguing for greater support for the legacy side of my terms of reference. The first, Mr. Dennis Lee, succeeded in having a statue of Al Purdy erected on the grounds of Queen s Park. I cannot match Mr. Lee s achievement, for I do not have a philanthropist in my corner, writing a cheque for $275,000 to cover all expenses. The second, Mr. Pier Giorgio di Cicco, published a poem a week in The Toronto Star and then a collection of essays about the city. I could follow his example, if I publish a book of poetry dedicated to the city. Ms. Dionne Brand began a fine project to have lines of poetry inscribed in libraries undergoing renovation. However, her term and her funds ran out before very much was 3
accomplished: a line from Rosemary Sullivan is embedded in concrete at Cedarbrae Public Library on Markham Road in Scarborough, and a line of my own poetry was chosen to be set in the glass doors at York Woods Library on Finch Avenue West. So, I must argue and do argue that the should be allotted a decent sum of money I think it should be at least $100,000 that he or she would be permitted to spend, in consultation with Toronto Culture Services and other city departments on projects that would enhance the attractiveness of Toronto for residents and tourists by putting poems on concrete display in public places. I do not think it is fair to tell the Poet Laureate create a legacy and not give us the purse to allow us to persuade other city departments and officials to come up with additional capital (perhaps) to make a project reality. As soon as I was appointed, I knew that I wanted to see lines of poetry inscribed on subway platforms. I attended several meetings and waded through several anthologies and collections of poetry, to find lines that would be suitable for this project, when I finally received word, late last year, that my dream would die because I had no money to contribute to its realization. I did feel bitter disappointment at the waste of my time, especially. I wish I had been told from the outset There is no money to make your legacy project come true. It is a pity. I d like to see at least one Toronto subway station look something like Concorde station in Paris, France: A cathedral of letters. But I still have 17 months left in my mandate. If I may be provided some capital that can be dedicated to a capital project, I d still like to see lines of poetry inscribed in city buildings if not TTC stations, then, yes, the libraries. If it s not too late to allocate to my auspices the $100,000 bruited above, I d happily accept and put the funds to good use. But if I cannot have such wherewithal, I plead that the next Poet Laureate be granted such funds to help make his or her dream legacy a reality. Many, many thanks for your attention. I am grateful. Yours very truly, George Elliott Clarke 4
Dr. George Elliott Clarke, O.C., O.N.S., Ph.D., LL.D., D.Litt., D.Litt., D.Lett., D.Litt., LL.D., LL.D, D. Lett. William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor, 2013-14, Harvard University E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature, University of Toronto Laureate, 1998 Portia White Prize for Artistic Excellence Fellow, 1998 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio (Italy) Center Laureate, 2001 Governor-General s Award for Poetry Laureate, 2001 National Magazine Gold Award for Poetry Recipient, 2004 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award Recipient, 2004, Estelle and Ludwig Jus Memorial Human Rights Award Laureate, 2005-2008 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Fellowship Prize Laureate, 2006 Dartmouth Book Award for Fiction Laureate, 2009 Eric Hoffer Book Award for Poetry Recipient, 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal Appointed,, 2012-15 5