North York Central Library Blog

Change is in the air, Torontonians! A new Prime Minister has been sworn in, and Toronto’s current Poet Laureate will soon pass the torch to…wait, hold that drum roll. Before I introduce our new Poet Laureate, take my super fun poet laureate quiz!

1. Who was Toronto’s first poet laureate (from 2001-2004). Clue: He made a certain type of reptilian pie famous among Canadian children and their paren'ts.

Answer: Give yourself a gold star if your answer was Dennis Lee, who penned the classic children’s poem Alligator Pie, and lots of poetry for grownups too.

2. How many poet laureates has Toronto had?
1. 2
2. 17
3. 4
4. 9

Answer: Not including the incoming poet laureate, whose name shall be revealed at the end of this post, Toronto has had four poet laureates.

3. What are the duties of the Poet Laureate of Toronto?
1. Write poetry about the city, and read it on important occasions
2. Compete in poetry smack downs with poet laureates of other cities
3. Come up with a unique project for our fair city
4. Promote the literary arts

Answer: There are two correct answers, c and d.

The Poet Laureate of Toronto must be given the opportunity to write according to the City of Toronto website. But, unlike Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate, who may be called upon to write poems to mark important occasions, Toronto’s Poet Laureate is not expected to crank out verse about the Big Smoke. Maybe this is a good thing — if you think poetry should be inspired, not required. As the city’s literary ambassador, the Poet Laureate of Toronto promotes the literary arts. But their most interesting duty, in my opinion, is the realization of a unique legacy project for the city.

4. Which Canadian poet did Dennis Lee help immortalize in statue? Clue: The statue is at the north-east corner of Queen’s Park.

Photo: City of Toronto website.

Answer: Al Purdy, often thought of as Canada’s first national poet. The statue of Purdy, entitled Voice of the Land, was created by husband and wife sculptors Edwin and Veronica Dam de Nogales. (Others who had a hand in the project: Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Sam Solecki and Scott Griffin, founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize.)

5. Who is Toronto’s outgoing poet laureate?
1. Margaret Atwood
2. Laura Lush
3. Molly Peacock
4. Sky Gilbert
5. George Elliott Clarke
6. Dionne Brand
7. Alison Pick

Answer: Annoyed at me for such a long list of choices? That was to stop your cheating eyes from jumping straight to the answer: George Elliott Clarke. I tried to blow your eyes out with Margaret Atwood’s name and then dazzle you with the fabulous names Lush, Peacock and Sky. (Those three writers should collaborate on something, don’t you think? I want to see that sublime combination on a book cover or a law firm.)

6. During George Elliott Clarke’s poet laureateship, he collaborated with the Toronto Public Library on a fantastic project. What is the project? Clue: It is poetical, digital and geographical, all at the same time!

Answer: The Toronto Poetry Map, which helps you locate poetry written about or inspired by particular locations in Toronto.

7. True or False: If most excellent poet and frequent CBC radio contributor Lorna Crozier, pride of Swift Current, Saskatchewan, now living on Vancouver Island, wrote poetry about Toronto, she could be nominated to be Toronto’s Poet Laureate.

Answer: That’s a big negatory. Sorry for the trucker slang — just trying to make it harder for you to cheat. I’m running a clean Poet Laureate quiz here! To be nominated as Toronto’s Poet Laureate, a poet’s body of work must include poetry about Toronto subjects, AND the poet must live in Toronto. Sorry Lorna, no matter how many odes you compose in praise of TO, you’re out of the running, unless you care to leave that boring mild weather behind and move to The Six.

8. Which of the following Canadian cities does NOT have a poet laureate?
1. Sackville, New Brunswick
2. Barrie, Ontario
3. Montreal, Quebec
4. Edmonton, Alberta
5. New Westminster, British Columbia

Answer:  The only city above that does not have a poet laureate is Montreal! I was as shocked as you are! What’s up with that, Montreal? You have such a storied literary history. Irving Layton paced your enchanted streets, Leonard Cohen brooded on your small mountain. If Sackville New Brunswick and Barrie Ontario have poet laureates, why don’t you?

The poet laureate quiz has concluded. How did you do? You can bring back that drum roll now.

Toronto’s new Poet Laureate is Anne Michaels. Her first book of poetry, The Weight of Oranges, won'the 1986 Commonwealth Prize for the Americas. Miner’s Pond, her second book of poetry, was nominated for the Governor General’s Award. Her most recent work of poetry, Correspondences, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2014. Anne Michaels is also a critically acclaimed novelist. Fugitive Pieces, her first novel, won numerous awards, including the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction. She followed Fugitive pieces with the novel The Winter Vault, which was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2009. I look forward to seeing what our new Poet Laureate’s unique legacy project for the city of Toronto will be.

Here’s the complete list of Toronto’s Poet Laureates:

Dennis Lee, 2001-2004.
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, 2004-2009.
Dionne Brand, 2009-2012.
George Elliott Clarke, 2012-2015.
Anne Michaels, 2015-

I’ll leave you with a couple of lines from a poem in Dionne Brand’s book Thirsty, which is about the city. Maybe you can relate. I know I can.

Look it’s like this, I’m just like the rest,
limping across the city, flying when I can