President’s Message, August 2020

Greetings Strollers,

I hope the summer has provided you some opportunities to enjoy the warmth and abundance of green. Those who enjoy gardening must be truly savouring these bountiful days. Some of you may have experienced Deborah Lawson’s lovely yard and garden when you dropped by her place for our recent anthology distribution. We are grateful to her for offering her residence, as we are to her, Naomi McIlwraith and Audrey Brooks for their efforts to coordinate the event. Thanks also to the volunteers who assisted. Plans for further distribution of anthologies are being developed, and we will be able to share details in the near future.

The Poets’ Haven committee have been meeting regularly to develop a plan for moving our readings to an online format. Unfortunately, our venue partners will not be able to meet our needs for the foreseeable future. The Upper Crust Café can only seat eighteen safely and Audreys Books is limiting itself to pick-up orders of books. As far as the launch of a new Haven season goes, it looks like our original starting date of September 14 will have to be postponed. The challenges of structuring an on-line series have necessitated a longer development process for the volunteers involved. We will keep you posted on a launch date when more details are available.

In the meantime, my friends, take care of yourself and your families. Stay in touch with our weekly newsletter for the most current updates and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns (leppardjohn@hotmail.com). All the very best from the board and associates.

Yours in verse,
John Leppard