A round-up of this year's Governor General's Award shortlist for poetry.

I've written about this year's shortlist for the Governor General's Award in poetry. Here's a sample:

In Canada, the announcement of a poetry award short list is always a cause for celebration. And, invariably, it is also a cause for complaint. We poets, you see, are notoriously hard to please. Some of us will be excited about the nominees, either because we love their work or because they are our friends, while others will be disappointed that another great poet has been ignored or that one of our enemies has managed to sneak onto the short list again. Our jubilation is only matched by our chagrin; we are supposed to be passionate, after all, and our tempers flare so high because, as we frequently tell ourselves, the stakes are so low....

Read the rest of it here.

I will be reading the poems of Al Purdy at a fundraiser for the A-Frame Trust featuring Margaret Atwood

Tickets are still available for a November 23 fundraiser for the Al Purdy A-Frame Trust, a non-profit organization whose aim is to preserve the literary and architectural heritage of the house built by poet Al Purdy in Ameliasburgh, Ontario.

The fundraiser will feature Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood, who will give a presentation titled “Bulldozing the Mind: The Assault on Cultural and Rural Heritage. ” The presentation at the Regent Theatre in Picton, Ontario, will be followed by a reception with food and wine.

I will also be taking part in the event, reading the poems of Al Purdy.

Tickets are on sale at the Regent Theatre box office in Picton. They cost $40 for the presentation alone, or $65 for the presentation and reception. For more information, click here.

As some of you know, I was the editor of The Al Purdy A-Frame Anthology, a book of poems and remembrances (which included an original cartoon by Margaret Atwood) intended to raise funds and awareness for the Trust. If you would like to buy a copy of the anthology, you can order one from Harbour Publishing here.

For more information about The Al Purdy A-Frame Trust, or to make a donation, please visit www.alpurdy.ca.