Library Announces Kristan Anderson as Owen Sound Poet Laureate

The Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library is pleased to announce that local spoken word poet Kristan Anderson has been selected as Owen Sound Poet Laureate 2009-2010.  

Founder of the Grey/Bruce Slam Poetry Team and Slam Artistic Director for Words Aloud since 2007, Anderson was the unanimous choice of the Selection Committee composed of Past Poet Laureate Liz Zetlin, co-owner of the Downtown Bookstore Hazel Lyder, and Children & Youth Services Librarian Nadia Danyluk.  Zetlin described Anderson as someone who “exudes his passion about poetry”. Anderson was featured as Poet of the Month for April 2007.  His poetry was published in Double Vision: A Collaboration of Poets and Artists (2008).

With the Library’s current focus on youth as demonstrated by the revitalization and renovation of the Children & Youth Services department and its active Teen Advisory Council, the newly appointed Poet Laureate was selected especially for his rapport with young people. A youth worker and teacher by profession and natural inclination, Kris Anderson has a solid background in working with and inspiring teens. He observed, “In working with youth, I find more than just secret scribbles, journals and poetry shared in whispers … Youth need to be encouraged and supported in bringing their poetry out of their metaphorical closets.” As co-host of the Library’s coffee houses for youth, Anderson has done this first-hand.

When accepting the role of Owen Sound Poet Laureate 2009-2010, Anderson said “Learning to give yourself a voice in a world so immense it sounds almost hollow and ignored at times, is vital to building healthy relationships and a community. Youth need the venues to provide them with this opportunity.”

As Owen Sound Poet Laureate, Anderson will create and perform poems, develop and co-host poetry and other literary events for teens in conjunction with the Library, and act as “ambassador of the literary arts” in the community. He will also coordinate the Poet of the Month series originated by Liz Zetlin, and update the Poet Laureate Map of Canada. The Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library will coordinate and schedule the activities of the Owen Sound Poet Laureate.

The Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library established the position of Owen Sound Poet Laureate in 2007 with the financial backing of two local business sponsors, John A. Tamming Law Firm and Frank Dabbs Communications, along with matching funds from ArtsVest, a program funded by Business for the Arts. Since 2008, the position of Owen Sound Poet Laureate has been funded solely by generous business sponsors Tamming and Dabbs, and through the Library’s fund raising efforts.

The half-dozen applicants for the position of Owen Sound’s second Poet Laureate, all active in the local literary community, are to be thanked for their interest in the position and congratulated on the depth and breadth of work submitted. As the position of poet laureate continues in future years, there is an impressive pool of local poets from which to draw.

Anyone wishing to be informed of special library events, including those involving the Owen Sound Poet Laureate is invited to subscribe to the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library’s free electronic newsletter by contacting Beth Hall at bhall@owensound.library.on.ca.