The poets chosen for Poetica form a distinguished and accomplished group from different eras in Canadian history and from different regions across the country. Poetica highlights the work of Charles G.D Roberts, who was born pre-Confederation, but whose words are still eerily relevant; the brilliant and feisty poet and painter P.K. Page; 1960s' pioneers Gwendolyn MacEwen and bpNichol, whose poetry inspired and informed so many poets of today; poetry activist Wendy Morton, who founded Random Acts of Poetry, a week-long event that allows people to experience the joy and beauty of poetry in their everyday lives; CBC literary award winner and four-time Governor General Award nominee Christopher Dewdney of Toronto; multi-talented singer-songwriter Sarah Slean; guitar virtuoso and singer Martin Tielli of the Rheostatics; Nova Scotia poet, musician and talk show host Lesley Choyce; Toronto experimental poet Steve Venright (who collaborated with Christopher Dewdney on a CD), and Stephen Elliott-Buckley, who started the High Altitude poetry club and zine at Simon Fraser University in B.C.
The Ottawa Citizen called Lesley Choyce a national treasure. The late CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski described him as Nova Scotia’s answer to a renaissance man. Lesley Choyce has published seventy books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry for both adults and children. He also hosts a nationally syndicated TV talk show called Off the Page, and his recent novel, Cold Clear Morning, is currently being developed into a feature-length movie. Born in New Jersey, Choyce became a Canadian citizen in 1978 and lives in a 200-year-old farmhouse in Lawrencetown Beach, Nova Scotia overlooking the ocean. He surfs year round in the North Atlantic, and along with his band, the Surf Poets, Choyce has released two poetry/music albums, Long Lost Planet and Sea Level.

I’m Alive, I Believe in Everything
Southbrook Poetica 2006 Chardonnay

www.lesleychoyce.com
Christopher Dewdney is the author of four books of non-fiction and eleven books of poetry. This year HarperCollins published his most recent book of non-fiction, Soul of the World: Unlocking the Secrets of Time. A four-time nominee for the Governor General’s Award and a teacher of writing at the Glendon Campus of York University, Dewdney, who lives in Toronto, is also an avid wine collector. A passion for wine runs in his family; daughter Calla studies viticulture at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 2007, Dewdney won the prestigious Harbourfront Festival Prize, given annually to an individual who makes a significant contribution to the world of books and writing.

Radiant Inventory
Southbrook Poetica 2007 Cabernet Merlot

www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/dewdney
Vancouver resident Stephen Elliott-Buckley has self-published his poetry in chapbooks, zines and broadsheets since the late 1980s, when he founded the High Altitude Poetry club and zine at Simon Fraser University with the goal of helping new poets find their voice and an audience. He is also a political editorialist at PoliticsReSpun.org, writing about local, provincial, federal and international issues in pursuit of environmental, social, political and economic justice. “I’m a person who tries to cultivate a healthy, hopeful, optimistic and symbiotic relationship with our human and natural ecology,” he says, “both in life and poetry."

Blinding Possibilities
Southbrook Poetica 2007 Chardonnay

http://PoliticsReSpun.org
Born in Toronto in 1941, Gwendolyn MacEwen was first published at the age of 17 while attending high school. Before her untimely death in 1987, MacEwen amassed a brilliant body of work, including twelve books of poetry, two novels, two collections of short fiction and a travel book. She also won two Governor General Awards for poetry (one posthumously). MacEwen’s poetry continues to be in demand and the story of the woman behind the poetry continues to intrigue.  Exile Editions has published three volumes of MacEwen’s work, the first two in the early 1990s and the most recent in 2007. Two plays about her life have appeared on the Toronto stage and she is the subject of an award-winning biography.

The Discovery
Southbrook Poetica 2002 Cabernet Merlot

www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/macewen
Author of four collections of poetry and a long-time resident of Sooke, B.C. on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Wendy Morton brought poetry out of coffee houses and onto the streets as the founder of Random Acts of Poetry, a week-long event that links poets nationwide with audiences in unlikely places. "Poetry is the shortest distance between two hearts,” says Morton. “Poetry can connect us with each other as no other art form I know.” “I have been WestJet’s poet of the skies, Chrysler’s poet of the road, and now I’m Southbrook’s Poet of the Vines,” she says. “I love the idea of it. I’m a person who thinks poetry should be everywhere.”

If I had a Name like Rosie Fernandez
Southbrook Poetica 2006 Cabernet Merlot

www.national-random-acts-of-poetry.blogspot.com
One of Canada’s leading experimental writers, bpNichol (Barrie Phillip Nichol) first achieved international recognition for his poetry in the 1960s, when he was in his 20s. Over the next two decades, the Vancouver-born Nichol also wrote novels, short fiction, children’s books, musical scores and computer texts.  In 1970, he won a Governor General’s Award for poetry for four volumes that showed his range as a writer and an editor. A fervent believer in the power of artistic collaboration, Nichol performed sound poetry as a member of the ensemble The Four Horsemen, and partnered with leading composers and visual artists. In the 1980s, he became a successful writer for the children’s television show Fraggle Rock, produced by Jim Henson. bpNichol died in 1988, shortly before his 44th birthday.

Blues
Southbrook Poetica 2003 Chardonnay

www.bpnichol.ca
One of Canada’s most distinguished and cherished poets, P.K. Page was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1999. She won the Governor General's Award for poetry in 1954, and is the author of more than 20 books, including ten volumes of poetry, a novel, selected short stories, a book of essays, eight books for children, and a memoir entitled Brazilian Journal, based on her extended stay in Brazil with her late husband Arthur Irwin, who served as the Canadian Ambassador there. Page also paints, under the name P.K. Irwin, and her work is part of the permanent collections in galleries across Canada. Page, who was born in 1916 and resides in British Columbia, is delighted that her poem has been paired with Cabernet Merlot. “I think it’s a brilliant idea,” she says. “I’m a red woman.”

Planet Earth
Southbrook Poetica 1998 Cabernet Merlot

www.pkpage.ca
Charles G. D. Roberts, a pre-Confederation poet now recognized as a father of Canadian literature, was born in 1860 in New Brunswick. He published his first book of poetry, Orion and Other Poems, at age 20. Three more volumes of poetry rapidly followed, and in 1895, Roberts was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. A teacher at King’s College, Roberts left his post in 1897 to embark on a freelance writing career that took him to New York and Europe. He wrote poetry, fiction and non-fiction while abroad, returning to Canada in 1925. The following year, he was elected president of the Canadian Authors' Association, and eight years before his death in 1943, Roberts was knighted for his literary contribution.

A Song of Growth
Southbrook Poetica 1998 Chardonnay
Sarah Slean’s passionate voice and cabaret style draw inevitable comparisons to the legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf, but the multi-talented Toronto singer-songwriter is also an actress, a painter and a poet. At age 31, Slean has two Juno award nominations, two Gemini award nominations and recently released her fifth full-length album, The Baroness, inspired by a temporary relocation to Paris. She describes her time in the City of Lights as “poetica.”  Her apartment was so tiny, she says, she could touch her bed, her small white piano and her kitchen table – at the same time. “All that experience is writing itself in your soul,” says Slean.

Your Wish is My Wish
Southbrook Poetica 2005 Chardonnay

www.sarahslean.com
Best known as a member of the Rheostatics, Martin Tielli’s instantly recognizable voice and signature guitar-playing style have earned fans around North America. The Rheostatics are the only band, beside the Guess Who, to have two albums ranked in the top ten by music critics rating Canada’s Top 100 rock records. Also an accomplished painter and composer, Italian-born Tielli has contributed artwork to every Rheostatics album and composed soundtracks for TV and films. In 2002, he received the prestigious K. M. Hunter Award for Music from the Ontario Arts Council. Tielli says that experiencing Canada’s landscape has nourished his artistic soul.

Just Because
Southbrook Poetica 2004 Chardonnay

www.martintielli.net
Steve Venright’s work has been described as “Baudelaire meets Lewis Carroll meets Monty Python.” Considered one of the most exciting poets on the contemporary scene, the Toronto-based author has also released several remarkable recordings through his Torpor Vigil Industries record label. TVI and Coach House Books collaborated in 2004 on a lavishly produced double-CD called A Natural History of Southwestern Ontario featuring soundscapes by Venright and the voice of poet Christopher Dewdney (upon whose texts it was based). Selected for inclusion in the 2004 anthology Surreal Estate: 13 Poets Under the Influence, Venright’s work continues to be cutting edge.

Draw
Southbrook Poetica 2000 Chardonnay

www.venright.com
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