by Heather Pyrcz. “Caveat: A short history of Canadian poetry will not please everyone. Poets are left out, lacunae that some will think unforgivable. Frye suggested that anthologies ought to have blank pages at the end on which the reader may enter his own neglected favorites. I have used a 1945 birth date as my end point, although there are a few exceptions for reasons of inclusion. I have clustered the poets in unfamiliar groupings. There are many constellations we could form, each one revealing something different and important about the poets. This digital history page, I hope, will be thought of as a reference point, one of many in an ongoing conversation about the rich meaning of Canadian poetry.”

This awesome resource can be found at youngpoets.ca.

Canada
http://www.youngpoets.ca/history/history.php

Amy’s “tribute to Canadian author and poet, Dennis Lee.”

Canada
http://www.AlligatorPie.ca/

“Another Story Bookshop is a progressive bookstore with a comprehensive collection of books for children and adults with an emphasis on social justice, equity and diversity. For the past 19 years, we have provided book-lovers and educators in the GTA with a vast selection of literature to meet their needs.” Check out their events page and page for” teachers”:http://www.anotherstory.ca/edr.html.

315 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.anotherstory.ca/index2.html

“The Place on the Net for Kids. First Calgary Savings Book Rapport Educational Programme of WordFest web site is definitely the place on the Net for kids concerning local, national and international children’s literature—not to mention an excellent resource for homework.”

See links for kids, parents and teachers.

Calgary,  Alberta,  Canada
http://www.bookrapport.com/

“Dedicated to uniting people and organizations around the world in the global promotion of poets and poetry.”

See CFPChatForum | Calendar

Canada
http://www.federationofpoets.com

“The Canadian Poetry Archive features selected poems from over 100 early English- and French-language Canadian poets. Digitized from public domain anthologies found in the National Library of Canada’s rich literature collection, the poems represent some of Canada’s most notable poetry from the 19th and early 20th centuries.”

Now under the aegis of Library and Archives Canada, the Canadian Poetry Archive celebrated the First-ever World Poetry Day on March 21, 2000.

Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/canvers/index-e.html

Kidsbooks, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver, now also sells books online.

3083 West Broadway, Vancouver, and 3040 Edgemont Blvd., North Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.kidsbooks.bc.ca/

“This year’s theme is …. Poetry: Future (In)tense. What will poetry sound like in the future? What is a techno-poem? How will poetry fuse with other art forms like theatre or music? Instead of science-fiction, what would science-poetry sound like? …”

“Established in Canada in April 1999 by the League of Canadian Poets, National Poetry Month brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, and poets across the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in Canada’s culture. Communities and businesses participate through readings, festivals, book displays, and other events.”

• Young Poets’ Week Initiatives: April 9-15th 2007
• Canada Poetry Fact Sheet
• Events Calendar

Date: April 2007: readings and events across Canada
Canada
http://www.poets.ca/linktext/npm.htm

“now hear)) this! presents the talents and tutelage of professional writers, editors and other industry professionals to the public, co-ordinates with other arts-based community programs, schools and literacy projects, and, above all, promotes Canadian writing and literature through a culture of self-expression, participation and inclusion.”

An initiative of the Descant Arts and Letters Foundation.

Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://nowhearthis.ca/

The Ottawa Public Library celebrated its 100 year anniversary in November 2006.

Check out the library’s Digital Audio Catalogue where you can “download popular audio books 24/7 to your PC at home, in the office or from anywhere in the world.” Some poetry classics to be found in the Digital Audio Catalogue if you dig.

Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.biblioottawalibrary.ca/index_e.html

The eighth edition is “the first-ever online edition of Poetry Markets for Canadians. This easy-to-navigate site is packed with the most up-to-date information about finding a publisher, entering contests, choosing a reading venue and more.” Small hitch—must purchase a password.

Canada
http://www.youngpoets.ca/markets/

“A celebration of poetry and literacy in cities across Canada, the UK, and Ireland… The second annual Random Acts of Poetry week is a Canadian initiative that promotes poetry, poets and literacy in a fresh way to everyday people in their everyday lives. This year (October 3rd-9th, 2006), 27 poets from across Canada will be joined by 10 poets from England, Scotland and Ireland, making the event truly international after only one year. Watch for local poets from your community reading poems to people on the street, at bus stops, schools, libraries, hair salons and in local schools.”

Date: Annual. Previous: October 3rd-9th, 2006
Canada
http://www.abebooks.com/docs/randomactsofpoetry/index.shtml

“The Manitoba Writers’ Guild program Show Me the Poetry! aims to bring Manitoban poetry into the lives of high school students in a way that puts no pressure on them to respond. Students should be allowed/encouraged to read/listen to and appreciate a poem by a Manitoban poet every week, without worrying about having to discuss it, write about it, or be quizzed on it later in English Language Arts (or any other) class. (Of course, voluntary discussion of or response to any poem should not be discouraged.)”

Manitoba,  Canada
http://www.mbwriter.mb.ca/poetry/home.html

“The Six Nations Writers are the storytellers of today who will share their stories with all who enter this site. We all share a common literary goal to carry on our ancestral storytelling tradition through our written words.”

Features: Meet the writers | Young voices | Onkwawennahson’a Our Voices Spoken Word CD

Six Nations of the Grand River,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.sixnationswriters.com/

“Conflict Resolution, Arts and Intercultural Experience (CRANE) is a University of British Columbia initiative exploring arts-based approaches to cross cultural conflicts. Visual and performing arts, music and traditional arts are important resources for bridging differences. They take us out of stuck places and help provide a foundation for building constructive, mutually respectful relationships. If we are to find ways to address ongoing local and global conflicts, we need the creativity and imagination evoked by the arts.”

“Poetry is an art form with a history of appeal across cultures. The CRANE project is soliciting poetry about conflict, peace, religious or cultural differences, or conflict resolution. Our goal is to collect poems from a wide range of people and publish a selection of them online and in print.* This collection will be available without charge online, and will –we hope - inspire others to create poetry and art that adds to collective understandings of conflict and ways to bridge it.”

International Poetry Contest: Writing New Lines for Peace. Theme: Animating Peace through Poetry. Submission Deadline: March 30, 2007 See link for details.

Date: Next deadline. March 30, 2007
UBC Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.law.ubc.ca/pdr/crane/contest/index.html

“Victoria Arts Connection celebrates the literary arts with a unique interdisciplinary festival featuring: extensive trade show of book publishers, book sellers and related organizations and non-profit community groups, author talks & book signings, book making demos, meet the publishers, self-publishing and marketing workshops, children’s writers, youth authors workshops, interdisciplinary workshops, roving performers and an art exhibition ‘The Art of the Book’. Many events are free with others only $5. Free for youth under 16yrs.”

Theme for 2008 - “A Climate of Change”

Date: 2nd annual festival: March 10-20, 2008, Victoria, BC
Victoria,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.victoriaartsconnection.com/html/pfb08splash.html

“The Walrus launched in September of 2003 with a straightforward mandate: to be a Canadian general-interest magazine with an international outlook. We are committed to publishing the best work by the best writers from Canada and elsewhere on a wide range of topics for readers who are curious about the world.”

The Walrus Foundation also sponsors The Walrus Bookshelf, “a program that encourages Canadian high school students to read.”

Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/

“The Vancouver International Writers Festival is one of North America’s premiere literary events, held annually over 6 days in late October.”

“Spreading the Word, the Festival’s Schools Program is the largest children’s literary event in Canada. Each year we present great children’s writers to over 6,000 BC children and young people, in English and in French.”

Date: October 17-22, 2006
Vancouver,  British Columbia,  Canada
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/

“Linking Canada’s Writers with Canada’s Schools…. WIER is:

• An educational initiative that focuses on Canada’s literary culture through creative literary expression and critical discussion undertaken in a writing—and written—community; and,
• An arts initiative that creates new forms of work for Canada’s writers, and audiences for their books.”

The WIER Taps (in PDF) are selections of writings from Writers in Electronic Residence from both Elementary/Intermediate classes and Secondary classes.

Canada
http://www.wier.ca/

“For two decades, Wordwrights Canada has helped those who strive for a high professional standard in their writing, be it fiction, literary nonfiction, or poetry.” Founded by Susan Ioannou in 1985, Wordwrights Canada offers an online poetry writing course, a companion handbook for poets A Magical Clockwork, Canadian student writing resources, and Canadian links of interest to writers.

Toronto,  Ontario,  Canada
http://www3.sympatico.ca/susanio/WWC.html

“Welcome to the “Youth” section of www.youngpoets.ca, brought to you by Canada’s national association of professional poets, the League of Canadian Poets. If you’re a kid or teenager who likes poetry, we’ve got a site full of stuff you’ll like. Linked to this page you’ll find a bunch of games, resources, helpful tips, and things to do. Plus, check out our e-zine, Re:verse, a good place to send your own poetry.”

“Welcome to the Teachers’ Staff Lounge of www.youngpoets.ca! We are Canada’s national association of professional poets, and we want to help you share the joy of poetry with your students. Poetry sections of your language or English curriculum can be a challenge to teach, so we’ve gathered lots of helpful and stimulating ideas and materials for you to use.”

Canada
http://www.youngpoets.ca

“Believed to have its origin in the 1930s, World Poetry Day is now celebrated in hundreds of countries around the world. This day provides a perfect opportunity to examine poets and their craft in the classroom. In 1999, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) also designated March 21 as World Poetry Day.”

International
http://www.readwritethink.org/calendar/calendar_day.asp?amp;id=308

ideas for the classroom

International
http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/worldpoetry.php

“The Itinerant Poetry Librarian travels the world with a library of ‘Lost and Forgotten’ poetry, installing the library & librarian and recording the sounds, poems and poetry of the cities, peoples and countries she meets.”

Date: Started in UK, toured Europe, currently based in USA. See weblog for cities and dates.
International
http://www.itinerantpoetrylibrarian.blogspot.com/

“Welcome to the World Poetry Directory, a website created and hosted by UNESCO following the proclamation of World Poetry Day.”

“This website brings you lists of festivals, prizes, journals and associations of the world of poetry.”

(“March 21 was proclaimed World Poetry Day at the 30th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in Paris in 1999.”)

International
http://www.unesco.org/poetry/bienvenue.php?initia=english

New Writing 14. “This website is a companion and key to New Writing, the British Council’s annual anthology of the most exciting contemporary writing, and is for readers and teachers all over the world. It features selected texts grouped into 12 themed sections for_New Writing 12_ and New Writing 13; a new theme is being added every month for New Writing 14.”

U.K.
http://newwriting.britishcouncil.org/

Hundreds of new online rhyming poems for everyone, but especially children, with voice recordings, by Yorkshire writer, Josie Whitehead. From this site, access lesson plans, articles, games and crafts for children, and Skype visits from Josie.

Yorkshire,  U.K. (England)
http://www.whiteheadm.co.uk/html/josies_poetry.htm

“The Writing Squad is a programme for emerging young writers in Yorkshire and the Humber. Fifteen writers work together, and with professional tutors, for two years.”

In an interview co-ordinator Steve Dearden sums up the inspiration: “We take a holistic approach, like the best football academies, working on technique but also the other skills our writers will need to play the game.”

U.K. (England)
http://www.writingsquad.com/

“There are no objects of more importance to the history of civilization than the book. Welcome to a project celebrating the book’s latest evolution, the eBook or electronic book (as opposed to the pBook or printed book).”

• Top 10 ePoems
• The Top 10 (r)Evolutionary (e)Books
• Top 10 Children’s Ebooks

McKendree College, Edwardsville, Illinois,  United States
http://faculty.mckendree.edu/william_harroff/ebe/

“Each weekend, Book TV features 48 hours of nonfiction books from 8am Saturday to 8am Monday. This web site will enhance information on those books, provide an opportunity to watch or listen to programs you might have missed, and provide additional information not available on the network.”—Connie Doebele, Executive Producer

You read right—48 hours all weekend!

Date: 48 hours every weekend on your tube
United States
http://www.booktv.org/