Our first poetry news of the week takes a look at the poetry festival at COP26, the roadside marker to honour a poet and the search for a youth poet laureate.

Poets at COP26

As world leaders gear up for COP26 in Glasgow a group of poets are also getting ready for the COP26 literary event. Three Scottish poets, Roseanne Watt, Padraig MacAoidh and Donald S Murray will all be looking at the challenges that are experienced by the Scottish islands as a result of climate change. The event is titled: “Weathering the Storm: Scottish Poets Discuss Climate Change Resilience and Adaptation. “

This literary event which will run alongside COP26 will be open to visitors and delegates from around the world and will be chaired by a former coordinator of events for the Sottish Poetry Library, Drew McNaughton.

Before the summit begins, a new book “Accounts of Resilience, Self-Sufficiency and Systems Change” will also be launched. The book contains contributions from 16 different authors and takes a stern look at the subject of climate change, both now and the predictions for the future.

Roadside Marker in Vermont to Recognise African American Poet

The state of Vermont is planning to honour the state’s African American history with the construction of a new marker that will be in honour of Lucy Terry Prince.

Prince was the poet who wrote “Bars Fight”. This is a poem that it is believed to be the oldest known African American poets’ poem written in the country.

The new marker will be placed at the welcome centre at Interstate 91 in Vermont. The poet and her husband lived here in the 1700s. On the marker it is noted that the poet was stolen as a small child and brought into slavery in Massacheusetts. She wed in 1756 to Abijah Prince and was made a free woman. The pair went on to settle on a plot of land measuring 100 acres in 1769 in Guilford. The marker states that Prince was stolen from Africa as a child and enslaved in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

The poem “Bar Fights” was inspired by the arrack that took place on the Deerfield settlers in 1746. For over a century the poem was part of oral tradition before it finally appeared in 1854 on Springfield Daily Republican’s front page.

Youth Poet Applications Sought by City of Victoria

The City of Victoria is looking for applications for the position of Youth Poet Laureate for 2022. The successful application will be from Gulf Islands or CRD and the position will see them being involved in the city arts activities.

The position was created in 2013 by the Youth Council of Victoria for individuals aged 14-24 years old. The city wanted to create a strong voice for the youth in the area. The Youth Poet Laureate will need to show that they are involved in the poetry community.

The position comes with an honorarium of $1,750 and $2000 towards funding for projects. The term of the laureateship will run from January to December 2022 and during that time the successful candidate will need to create three new poetry works as well as carrying out a number of other duties including judging a poetry competition.