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

Hi 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.

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