Monthly Archives: October 2016

Halloween Poem

The Magic Wand 

A poem by Marty Gervais

The wizard is poised in the room

like a Halloween witch

with that wide-brimmed peaked hat

prattling on like a philosopher

inviting us to feel that invisible ball of energy

vibrating between our outstretched hands

 

She’s here for the launch of the new Harry Potter book

but my five-year-old grandson is lost

in the magic wand she has placed in his hands

as she speaks about drawing protectives circles

casting spells, warding off dark forces,

even banishing bunions

 

My grandson marvels at this instrument

whispering feverishly “Abracadabra…abracadabra…”

—no longer hearing this wizard

who has fashioned this shaman’s wand

from an aging oak tree

 

Instead, he’s channelling his own energy into the room

but it isn’t working, nothing is flying about,

no sudden gusts of wind, nor pantry doors

slamming shut, nor tea cups rattling in mid air

 

and nothing bigger than he might imagine:

still poverty, still a need for world peace,

still violence and pestilence and polluted lakes

 

My grandson is poised and ready

And frantically waves the wand about him

like a symphony conductor gone mad

 

yet nothing changes —it won’t even silence

this nattering witch from telling us

about Greco Roman wands

or ceremonial fire wands and lotus wands

or those used by the freemasons in

all their ritualistic nonsense

 

Then suddenly in a dramatic abracadabra ending

my grandson shatters the spell:

“Hey, lady, how does this thing work?”

 

 

Poetry at the Manor

Poetry at the Manor last night (Thursday) was magical with poets coming from all across the country to Windsor. It was a lovely fall evening of laughter and meditative savouring. Friends of mine showed up to photograph and capture the moment. Here are some photos by Steve Kriemadis and another by Linda Goodhue. More to follow. The one just below is by Linda Goodhue and shows Mayor Drew Dilkens addressing the crowd. This event was a city-sponsored event through the Poet Laureate program.14633665_10211452637417036_1136273528203349839_o.jpg

Telling Our Story

 

Poets fan out across city to write Windsor’s story

Published on: October 26, 2016 | Last Updated: October 26, 2016 6:03 PM EDT
 They call themselves Windsor’s Group of Seven and they tell the forgotten stories of the city they call home.

Windsor poet laureate Marty Gervais has assembled a crew of authors — Vanessa Shields, Mary Ann Mulhern, Dorothy Mahoney, Daniel Lockhart, Peter Hrastovec and Carlina D’Alimonte — to document Windsor’s most storied places through poetry. The project, commissioned by the city’s department of cultural affairs, is part of the Windsor’s celebrations for Canada’s 150th birthday next year.

There’s no lack of fodder for the poems, Gervais enthused, standing outside Willistead Manor this week.

“There are so many fascinating stories.”

He told of how Abraham Lincoln, before he became the 16th president of the United States, was an accidental tourist in Sandwich. Lincoln’s ship went aground in the Detroit River and Lincoln and all the other passengers had to disembark. The incident spurred Lincoln to invent a device to buoy vessels and patent it in 1849.

On the tract of land where Devonshire Mall stands today was once the site of one of the most famous thoroughbred races of all time. In 1920, the Kenilworth track hosted a race between Man O’ War and triple crown winner Sir Barton. Man O’ War won handily. While there’s barely a mention of it in Windsor, there’s a monument to the race in Louisville, Ky., where the the Kentucky Derby is held each year, Gervais said.

“You go shopping at Sears and you don’t realize that it once was a racetrack.”

Gervais said he came up with the idea of preserving Windsor’s history in poetry when he learned of the demolition of Abars, an old rumrunner-era tavern on Riverside Drive. “It got me thinking that we need to preserve at least the memory of our history.”

The poems will be collected into a book Gervais will publish next year.

Gervais envisions poems gracing city buses and poetry readings at the public libraries and civic events. There will also be “random acts of poetry,” where poets will stop people in the street, read them a verse, then hand out a copy of it.

Gervais will give more insights into the project Thursday at the Poetry at the Manor, a poetry reading held annually at Willistead Manor.

ssacheli@postmedia.com

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POETRY FOR A WARSHIP

  • 14753315_10157722525465037_1951047886415534346_o.jpgMarty5.jpgI was a part of a ceremony Monday Oct. 24, 2016Marty1.jpg representing the City of Windsor as its poet laureate. The event marked the first port of call at an international destination of the U.S. warship the U.S.S. Detroit. The 115 m ship was officially commissioned in Detroit on Saturday, and will be docked at Dieppe Gardens in Windsor for the next four days. I was there among a crowd of citizens, military officers, veterans, and city officials in Dieppe Gardens to officially welcome the ship. I was asked to read a poem in this welcoming ceremony. I read “They Sing to the Sky.” Presented to Commander Michael P. Desmond captain of the warship, was a copy of that poem, framed alongside the keys to the city. These photographs were taken by Christopher Menard of the City of Windsor and local photographer Edison Goodfellow.

POETRY AT THE MANOR OCT. 27, 2016, Windsor Ontario

poet-laureateHi everyone:

Nearly five years ago, Windsor started bringing poets laureate from across Canada for a major literary event in this city.

The idea for such a gathering of poets was born here in 2012 when with the collaborating efforts of Cultural Affairs Office of the City of Windsor, I initiated Poetry at the Manor as part of my role as Windsor’s first poet laureate.

Since then, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Sudbury, Kingston, Mississauga, and other cities have followed suit with readings of their own.

But Windsor is doing every year, and this event is proving to be the most popular and largest “annual” gathering of poets laureate across the country.

Windsor has brought some 16 poets representing their respective cities in Canada to our city for an intimate autumn evening of poetry and storytelling at Willistead Manor.

And once again, Oct. 27, the city will host the now-popular “Poetry at the Manor: Vol. 4” where five writers, hailing from as far away as Vancouver, Calgary and Regina, and as close as Mississauga and Sudbury, will entertain a Windsor audience in the “Great Hall” at Willistead.

This year the verse makers include such award-winning poets as Yvonne Blomer (Victoria, British Columbia), Micheline Maylor (Calgary, Alberta), Anna Yin (Mississauga, Ontario), Kim Fahner (Sudbury, Ontario) and Gerry Hill (Regina, Saskatchewan).

The poets, too, will be going into Windsor high schools to conduct writing workshops.

This year, the welcome musical guest Crissi Cochrane, a pop-soul singer-songwriter now based in Windsor, will entertain with what critics have described as “the silky vocals reminiscent of Billie Holiday and Norah Jones.”

In addition to public readings and discussion, there will be book signings and sales, literary giveaways, and Poetry-On-Demand with Windsor poet and published author Vanessa Shields.

Poet-Laureate.jpgDon’t miss this event. Poetry at the Manor, 7 p.m., Willistead Manor, 1899 Niagara Street, Windsor, Ontario.