Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary
"I'm looking forward to once again challenging other Canadian cities to use their Council Chambers as a platform to encourage, uplift and promote the art of poetry."
Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary
Calgary,
09
February
2016
|
11:29
America/Denver

Nenshi challenges the nation to celebrate poetry with Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge

Today, letters will be sent to Mayors across Canada from Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi issuing the challenge: to have a local poet read a poem at the start of a Council meeting in March or April. The aim is to raise awareness and to celebrate poetry, writing, small presses and the contribution of poets and all writers to the rich cultural life in our country.

Taking the torch from Regina Mayor Michael Fougere, last year Mayor Nenshi challenged mayors across Canada to participate in the annual Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge. With over seventy participating communities, the 2015 challenge was the largest yet.

"The creative industries in Canada are an important part of what makes our country a great place to live," said Mayor Nenshi. "I'm looking forward to once again challenging other Canadian cities to use their Council Chambers as a platform to encourage, uplift and promote the art of poetry."

The challenge recognizes both UNESCO’s World Poetry Day on Mar. 21 as well as National Poetry Month, which is celebrated in Canada and the United States during the month of April.

Initiated by Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco in 2012, the Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge has been taken up in communities large and small across the country, from Whitehorse and Dawson City to Victoria and St. John’s.

The Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge is a collaboration between the League of Canadian Poets, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and The City of Calgary.

To follow this year’s Mayor’s Poetry City Challenge, visit poets.ca/poetrycity, like the League of Canadian Poets on Facebook, or follow @CanadianPoets on Twitter or Instagram.