Tantramar Poet Laureate Laura Watson will wind down her first three-year term at the end of June, and Tantramar council will decide next month whether or not to renew the writer’s mandate for another three years.
The municipality’s chief wordsmith came to council Monday to talk about some of the initiatives she has taken on during her tenure, including monthly Writers’ Open Mic events in Sackville, and a chapbook featuring the submissions from Tantramar’s annual poetry contest.
One of the goal of Writers’ Open Mic events is to “provide a regular space for writers in the area to share their work, see how people respond to it, try things out, and hear from other writers,” said Watson. “The other main goal is to kind of build community around writing, to create an opportunity for writers to get to know each other and support each other.”
Watson said the events bring in writers of all ages and genres, some travelling in from around the region to attend. “I’ve come to really value [Writers’ Open Mic] as a space that builds intergenerational relationships,” said Watson. “It’s an opportunity for people of all these different ages and backgrounds to come together and sit down and actually listen to each other.”
One of the key jobs of the Tantramar Poet Laureate is helping with Poetry Month activities every April, including helping organize and judge the municipality’s annual poetry contest, which culminates in an awards event and reading hosted by the municipality.
“The poetry contest is a really great project, because it allows us to recognize people for work that often doesn’t get recognized,” said Watson. “But the downside of it is that there’s always so much great work that doesn’t get seen.”
That’s why in 2024, Watson decided to create a chapbook with works from all contest entrants. “I wanted to do something where we kind of recognize everyone, and we see all this different work side by side, and we get to see the diversity of writing that’s happening in our community,” said Watson.
Designing and producing the chapbooks is a lot of work, but Watson says she finds it worthwhile.
“I think it can be really empowering to see your work in print, especially for young people and new writers,” said Watson. “And I love that the chapbooks are a kind of record of our communities in this very specific moment in time.”
Copies of the chapbooks for 2024 and 2025 are in the provincial library system, “thanks to the local librarians”, said Watson. “So that record is there and available for anyone who wants to find it for years to come.”
Copies of the 2025 chapbook are available at Sackville and Dorchester public libraries, while supplies last.
The chapbooks are Watson’s ‘legacy project’ as Tantramar Poet Laureate, and if council approves, they are a project she could continue for another three years.
Later in the meeting on Monday, council heard Active Living director Matt Pryde recommend that council renew Watson’s term as Poet Laureate, meaning she can continue in the position for another three years, until June 2028. Pryde also asked councillors to adopt the former Sackville Poet Laureate terms of reference as a Tantramar-wide policy, including an annual stipend of $2000 for the position.
Council agreed to send the recommendation on to its June 10 meeting under its consent agenda, which means that unless a councillor requests further information or discussion on the issue, Watson’s term as Tantramar poet laureate will likely be renewed until June 2028.
Hear this story as reported on Tantramar Report:
