“Popular Poetry” may seem like an oxymoron. Poetry is often considered for its academic merit or framed for its historic importance. Does poetry actually have a place in popular culture? In our everyday lives?

Before considering where or how poetry fits into Edmonton, I faced with a question that looks deceptively simple, but still remains somewhat unanswered: what exactly is “poetry?”

Rather than starting from the academic definition of poetry and moving into the larger world, I hoped to address popular poetry on its own terms--in other words, to discover how the popular world defined poetry, and then look for it on book shelves, magazine racks, or stamped into plaques.

In order to do this, I asked a number of Edmontonians to define the word. Without exception, everyone had to pause and think for a moment. The exact meaning of “poetry” or what classifies something as a “poem” remains somewhat ambiguous. However, many of the answers were similar. There is generally special attention to the form or rhythm of the work. Rhymes are not necessary, but they are common. Some individuals highlighted the emotional connection found in poetry, acknowledging that it was often deeply personal.

POETRY IN THE COMMERCIAL WORLD

It is difficult to find poetry books when looking at the traditional sources. I visited numerous commercial and secondhand bookstores, looked through the gift books at card stores, and searched the shelves at some large department stores looking for poetry books. While I did not expect poetry to be prevalent, the extent of its absence at these sources was surprising. Traditional poetry books for the everyday person seem to be non-existent. The few collections of poetry I did find were expensive anthologized volumes, and clearly meant for academic purposes.

Still, while there is no obvious section labelled “Poetry” at your local bookstore, poems are common to some types of readily accessible texts.

Children's Books

Children’s books frequently use poems and rhymes. These items can be found anywhere books are sold, including toy stores, department stores, grocery stores, and of course, bookstores. Both soft and hard covered items are available, generally costing under ten dollars.

Sometimes, these books are advertised as “easy readers” or “learn-to-read” books, suggesting that the rhyming words might be helpful for children to learning sounds. As a general rule, the older the recommended age for the books, the more scarce poems become. Reading materials for ages 0-3 frequently use rhyming words to tell their stories. Children’s poetry start to drop off in writing recommended for 3-5, and in books for children 10 or over poetry is extremely rare. I never found any poetry made particularly for teenagers.

While some of the poetry found in kids’ books is new, classic children’s poems, such as Mother Goose poems, are still popular. I found hardcopies of collections of such poems for both boys and girls on display at Toy R Us for about ten dollars. Dr. Seuss is another enduring favourite.

Music

Another common place to find poetry is in music. While listening a favourite playlist does not involve print, printing off lyrics or purchasing songbooks does. However, most people do not readily consider music when talking about poetry.

Commercial bookstores generally have a “music” section which contains the scores and lyrics for various kinds of music genres, including everything from Beethoven to metal. Music stores also sell a wide variety songbooks. Disney and classic songs are particularly prevalent. Books featuring the music for current stars, like Taylor Swift or One Direction, or from popular films such as Frozen and Titanic are readily available for pianists, guitarists, and vocalists. Another popular category is contemporary worship music, as musicians buy music to be used in religious services.

These books usually large to limit the amount of necessary page flipping. Coil bindings are also common in order to accommodate page flipping. Generally, these items are paperbacks. Price varies considerably, with items selling for anywhere between ten and fifty dollars.

Spiritual Texts

One can find poetry is spiritual and religious books, which contain meditative pieces or psalms, depending on their spiritual orientation. Generally, these poems have a calming tone to help readers deal with stress, and are accompanied by abstract or nature-themed designs. Peace, patience, joy, wisdom, and perseverance are common themes. Contrary to the stereotype that poetry is distinctly feminine, most poetry I came across was not gendered, and dealt with universal topics.

Greeting Cards

Poetry also enters the commercial world in greeting cards. Short rhymes are a common in a variety of cards, including love poetry for your valentine, a cute rhyme for a friend’s birthday, or a poem to express condolences to someone in grief. The use of rhyming couplets is especially common in comical cards or children's cards.

POETRY IN PUBLIC SPACES

As a city, Edmonton supports poetry through a number of means, including the Poet Laureate program. The city appoints an official Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate every two years. Individuals in these positions receive modest grants from the city, and in turn write at least poems a year about Edmonton, one of which is performed in front of city council and another at a city-funded event. These Edmonton-based poems can vary in topics widely depending on events occurring in the city. When the Oilers made a run for the Stanley Cup in 2006, Poet Laureate Alice Major wrote the piece “I Never Thought I’d Write A Hockey Poem.” Upon the tragic death of Constable Woodall in 2015, Poet Laureate Mary Pinkoski wrote a poem to honor his life and service. You can read more about the poet laureate program here.

Poet Lauretes generally leave a mark on the city after their term. For example, Alice Major began the Edmonton Poetry festival in 2006, an event that continues to encourage poets and the production of poetry around the city.

The Poetry Festival has also grown beyond a few weeks in the spring, and is actively involved in other poetry-making programs, such as the Poetry Route, which has been placing poems in transit buses and LRT trains since 2011. The poems first placed in city buses a few years ago are not necessarily the poems one will see now; the poetry has been updated and new poems have been added. The most recent additions occurred in the fall of 2015, when work from elementary and high school students was chosen to be added to the program.

As these poems are in public places, they general avoid political messages or adult content. Instead, common themes in these poems include nature, the city, and small everyday pleasures. They are also quite short, being confined to a small advertising space.

Poetry can also be seen at the transit centres themselves. For example, the Jubilee/Health Sciences LRT stop has poetry lines etched into the glass. These lines are somewhat ambiguous, as if only part of a larger narrative, or open to the interpretation of the reader.

Edmonton Poet Laureate E.D. Blodgett also contributed to poetry in Edmonton’s public space in 2008 with his work “Poems for a Small Park,” which have been written on 40 plaques and displayed in Louise McKinney Riverfront Park. To get a better understanding of the role that this public work had, I visited the park to see if anybody stopped to read the poetry.

The poems were accessible and easy to find, being placed right along the walking trail. Readers from various cultural backgrounds may find their native tongue represented, as the poems are in English, French, Cree, Michif, Chinese, and Ukrainian. The project won a one of the city’s Urban Design awards in 2009.

Most of the park’s visitors largely ignored the plaques, although a few walkers took a passing interest. Kids paid the most attention to the plaques, although their initial interest seemed to be climbing and hanging from the shiny metal rings.

There are other public parks that feature poetry. Poetic lines penned by local children can be found in the sidewalks of Callingwood Park. Plans to complete a similar project in the Meadows community is planned for the summer of 2016. Such projects are often led by individual artists and/or writers who receive grants from either the city of the province. Organizations like Alberta Foundation for the Arts can be a source of funding.

POETRY ORGANIZATIONS AND READINGS

Aside from poetry in the public space, poetry clubs and organizations provide a space for poetry writers and lovers to form communities. Two of the larger organizations are Edmonton’s Stroll of Poets and the Poetry Slams at the Rouge Lounge.

Edmonton’s Stroll of Poets Society was established in 1991 to serve much the same purpose it does today. It provides and open space for poets to perform their work. The stroll is a non-profit organization that acts upon a volunteer board in association with the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.

“The Poets Haven Reading Series” runs on Mondays and sometimes Sundays at the Upper Crust Café, where the event includes a $5.00 cover fee, or Audrey's Books where entrance is free. The event features either four of the society’s members who have signed up for a ten-minute performance reading their poetry or an open mic for anybody to share their work in two-minute intervals.

The organization also works to support poets through workshops and by bringing in guest speakers to speak to locals. The topics of these workshops vary, covering topics from writing, editing, creativity, and performance.

Each year the Stroll of Poets puts out an anthology. The work is by society members who have performed their poems at one of the readings.

While poetry readings are simply that – reading a poem – another kind of poetry performance has become popular in Edmonton. “Breath in Poetry Collective” is a group focused on the performance and celebration of spoken word poetry. Poetry slams nights occur at the Rouge Lounge every Tuesday for a cover of $5.00.

Poetry slams are competitive poetry performances. The slams involved more just the words of the poem – the speech and body language are also central to the performance. The performers, judged by audience members, are given points based on their performance in comparison with the night’s competitors. Read more about the slam rules here.

Poems performed at these slams often center around social issues, such as racism, feminism, bullying, and inequality. For the poets, these slams give them an opportunity to write and perform their feelings and frustrations, knowing that their opinion will be heard. For the listeners, these slams allow them to hear different perspectives and understand the struggles that other community members might be facing. As Slam Poet and former Youth Poet Laureate Charlotte Cranston explained, a poetry slam is full of individuals who have gather “for the purpose of listening to each other,” creating an inclusive and encouraging environment.

Poetry slams usually service a younger crowd that poetry readings, but the audience and poets of both gatherings are diverse, and include both men and women of differing ages and ethnicities.

I also talked with Charlotte Cranston about her process of writing poetry. She has no procedure for writing, and says that a poem can develop in twenty minutes, or take months to write. Each poem may be written differently, and different poets may use various methods.

CONCULSION

Thus, while poetry may not be easily located in your local bookstore, there’s still an active poetry community in Edmonton. Residents proudly show off their work at slams, enjoy short poems while riding on the bus or strolling through parks. Further research into the effects city's efforts to support poets and the place of poetry organizations in the city would be helpful in continuing to look into Edmonton's poetry scene.

Last Updated: Oct 4, 2016