Poetry Present: A Weekly Email Publication

What is Poetry Present?

Cobourg has a dynamic writing and arts community. Shining a light on the poetry and profiles of local writers is an important part of my mission as Poet Laureate. The initial goal of Poetry Present in 2019 was to celebrate the community of poetry writers and readers who share a connection to Cobourg and Northumberland Region.

In 2021, we decided to expand this to include anyone who wants to join our poetry community! Geography does not need to define us in the age of technology. We will continue to feature those with a local connection AND add those poets from anywhere who would like to connect with us here.

We invite all poets and readers to submit poems and subscribe to our weekly mailing list.

There is a vibrant presence of poetry in Cobourg, Ontario.

---

How does Poetry Present work?

This project is simple: a weekly gift of a poem. It aims to encourage us to read and write more poetry. When Jill Battson was Poet Laureate in Cobourg she published poems in the local paper each week. Poetry Present captures the spirit of what she started but shifts the medium online. This project is also inspired by the League of Canadian Poets Poetry Pause program, the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day program, and the Poetry 180 program.

At the end of it all, I’m hoping we can answer these questions with a joyful YES:

• Did we read and write more poetry?
• Did we learn about writers living in and inspired by our community?

---

Thank-you to Ted Amsden and James Pickersgill for being advisors for this project.