This story of community and poetry begins with a spontaneous lunch. In the summer of 2010, the Spirit of the Hills Writers’ group invited me to speak at their breakfast meeting in Grafton, Ontario. As everyone was leaving, Gwynn asked if I’d like to go for lunch so we could continue to chat. I had crossed paths with Gwynn for years in writing groups in the Greater Toronto Area. I could talk to writers all day every day, so it was an easy yes, I’d love lunch. We chose a restaurant patio in Cobourg. Downtown Cobourg shines in July with vibrant flower baskets and open shop doors. The local food, beautiful beach, and presence of the arts called to me at every turn.
“I could live here,” I said.
“Then why don’t you?” Gwynn asked.
By early July 2011, I had a new job in the Northumberland region as a High School Vice Principal and I had moved to Cobourg. I feel grateful to live in a place that inspires me. Poetry is about risk.
Cobourg is alive with poetry. I was amazed by how easy it was to connect with other writers. In the fall of 2011, I attended my first meeting with the Cobourg Poetry Workshop. It started a relationship with another local group of writers. Eric Winter was Cobourg’s first Poet Laureate (1997-2010). His legacy lives on through the poets here and the spirit of our poetry community. I was drawn in by his kindness, insight, and generosity. When he read a poem, we were transported. Eric knew how to build community and always encouraged poets to write and share their poetry. He died in December 2019 and he continues to be deeply missed by our community.
Jill Battson was Cobourg’s second Poet Laureate (2010-2011). She celebrated our poetry community by featuring poets in the local paper.
Ted Amsden was Cobourg’s third Poet Laureate (2011-2019). His legacy project was Stanza Room Only, a community poetry project. It is a rectangle of sidewalk, painted purple, and open to anyone who wishes to use chalk to display poetry. Ted often read poetry at events: Canada Day, the Mayor’s Levee on New Year’s Day, at Town Council meetings, and at our local reading series.
Over the years, Cobourg has hosted many visiting poets, a poetry festival, poetry contests, and poetry displays. The Poet Laureate in Cobourg has a rich history of supporting Earth Day and ecology projects too.
I’m humbled to be in the company of such talented writers. In June 2019, I became Cobourg’s fourth Poet Laureate. My term is for four years with an option to renew for an additional four years. The benefit of being in the position for a longer term is that more work can get done. Poetry is relationship.
The mission of Poet Laureate in Cobourg is “to honour and nurture the expression of life in Cobourg’s past, present and future and to establish the reputation of Cobourg as a culturally dynamic community” (From the Town of Cobourg’s description of the role).
This includes honouring and supporting the legacies of Cobourg Poets Laureate who have gone before me, celebrating Cobourg through engaging the community in writing and reading poetry, and introducing new projects to promote local voices.
My first goals were to get to know the local poets through their poetry and to use technology to build community. Poetry Present is a weekly email series featuring a local poet or a poet with a connection to the area. In July 2021, we extended it to also include any poets from anywhere who may want to connect with us. My vision is that this email list would become a ‘go-to’ for all things poetry in our town and nearby.
In 2020, my second project began a new annual tradition, an eChapbook for Earth Day. We have created two: Light in My Eyes (2020) and Lessons from the Earth (2021).
In 2021, the third project began with a new monthly tradition: Poetry Invites, a monthly invitation to write poetry emailed to subscribers of Poetry Present. We find inspiration in the landscape, people, and places in Cobourg. These prompts led to our evolving eChapbook: Cobourg Present. And this summer I’ve started a new monthly column featuring a poem by a local writer and a letter to them, Letter to a Poet. Poetry is everywhere.
One of the highlights of my term so far was crowd-sourcing ideas for a poem about hockey for the 2020 Mayor’s Levee. Then, later that week I was invited to read the poem at a Hometown Hockey event. Poetry is for everyone.
Most of my term has been during the pandemic. Being a Poet Laureate looks different in these times. Events are online. Community groups meet in video chats. Town celebrations are pre-recorded with a videographer. We have found ways to adapt and share our voices. Soon we will be able to gather again for live readings and events. I’m curious to know what the poets have been writing about these days. Poets can shine a light on what’s not working and on what’s possible. Often the poet can capture complex issues in the simplest of ways. Poetry is about connection.
Jessica Outram is Cobourg's 4th Poet
Laureate. She is a Métis writer and educator with roots in the Georgian Bay
Métis Community. Jessica has lived in Cobourg for over 10 years, working in
Northumberland as Vice Principal and as Principal of area Elementary and High
Schools. In August, she begins a new position as Principal of Indigenous
Education, supporting all schools K-12 in Kawartha Pine Ridge District School
Board. She is on the steering committee for the Northumberland Festival of the
Arts, works with the SONG and SONGtech programs, sings in the Safe Harbour
choir, and has been an active volunteer with Northumberland Players. She is
co-host of Hummingbird (a podcast about creativity) and the owner of Creativity
Coaching Canada. In September 2021, her most recent poetry collection The
Thing with Feathers will be released by Piquant Press.