Announcement: Get ready to escape into the wonderland of poetry.

The Stroll of Poets board of directors hope that you are having a terrific summer but we are also excited to announce that the Haven Reading Series 2024/2025 season will be commencing in a couple of weeks at the Upper Crust Cafe with an all open mic engagement once again on September 16th.

We’re ready to get after it and hope that you will be there and/or also join us for our Haven Reading Series this season. The readings will continue on a biweekly schedule with an additional few dates at Audrey’s Bookstore in December, January, and March. One of four 10-minute featured reader spots will be available at each of these subsequent Haven Reading events for all Stroll members who have paid for their yearly membership, whether or not you contribute a poem to the yearly anthology (one reading spot per person per year only please).

Also, please remember that each session will require additional volunteers to mic host and to assist as a door host so we ask that you sign up for one of these spots as well if you can. Once you have signed up, confirmation and reminder notices will be sent to you via e-mail. To check out the available dates and sign up for reader and volunteer spots please use this link to access the Haven Reading Series sign up page: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D48A5AE2FA7F8C43-50020535-haven#/

ESCAPE – Stroll of Poets Haven Reading Series Season Launch

ESCAPE

We tell people we need to get away from it all. But, do we mean that we need to escape from work, escape from ongoing crises, or escape from people who drive us nuts? Do we need to get away from constant pressure, flee from phonies, or disappear from aggravation?

ESCAPE is the theme. Tell us about your need to escape any negativity in your life. We all have something we need to escape from, even if it’s something deep within ourselves. Write a poem about your need to escape, or the rewards of finding it.

Go ahead! Escape, even if it’s just for a moment, or a few wonderful lines. Then bring it to the Stroll of Poets Haven Reading Series launch, an all open mic event at the Upper Crust Café, on September 16 at 7:00 PM. Share it with us and for a minute, we will escape with you!

A Message from the President

A Message from the President:
As the Haven Reading Series has concluded for the 2024/2025 season I would like to wish all members of the Stroll of Poets a very good summer break. This past season has proven to be very successful in many ways. Besides the very recognizable increase in attendance and participation in the Haven through venues at the Upper Crust Café and Audrey’s Bookstore, we also attracted friends and fellow poets from across North America to reconnect and share their words with us again through an online return to the Haven at Home Readings. The Stroll welcomed many new attendees and readers at these events. As well, the Stroll of Poets staged a successful Blinks event during The Edmonton Poetry Festival and reached out to the community with Fresh Verse plus readings at Allendale Community and the Lions Senior Center.
Thanks to all Stroll members for their initiation and/or participation in all of these Stroll events, the 30-30 and Pure Gold poetry prompts, the annual Anthology, and the upcoming Land acknowledgement publication.
Stay tuned for the return of these events next year along with new and exciting events being planned by your board members. Watch for opportunities for the membership to become involved in committees, participate in planning events, and our transition to a new Stroll of Poets Google Workspace. Please note the new contact information, associated with this transition, for the Stroll of Poets and all board members.
Thank you all for your continued support and enthusiasm for poetry and the Stroll of Poets Society.
In peace and poetry;
Max Vandersteen

Haven-at-Home: An Online Haven Reading May 27

Haven-at-Home: An Online Haven Reading

Topic: Haven at Home reading series
Time: Monday, May 27th at 7:00 PM MDT
Online via Zoom

Well, in December we enjoyed reconnecting with so many out-of-town Stroll of Poet members and the friends in poetry that we shared words with online during the years of the pandemic that we are excited about hosting another Haven-at-Home reading event. While we had a very successful season of live poetry reading events this past season it is especially satisfying to see and hear from some of our fellow poets who are unable to join us for those events. The Stroll of Poets Haven Committee is pleased to invite you all to join us on Monday, May 27th to conclude our reading events for the 2023/2024 season and hear the words of our featured readers and participate in the open mic session which will follow if you wish.

Featured Readers:
Bänoo Zan
Patrick Connors
Hiram Larew
Aisha Malik

Our mic host will be:
Naomi McIlwraith

Here is the link and information to attend the Haven-at-Home Reading event. We hope to see you there!

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82291364741?pwd=MTVLTTdESTUvbzNIUHdmUVNDT3N3QT09 
Meeting ID: 822 9136 4741
Passcode: 1234

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Fresh Verse 2024

The Stroll of Poets is proud to offer another version of Fresh Verse to conclude our Haven Reading series at The Upper Crust Café on May 13th, 2024. It is a terrific ending to another great year and the Haven committee looks forward to hosting you all again next year starting in mid-September. Have a good summer break Strollers.

Come out to see fledgling writers soar, come out to hear rising voices roar, enjoy open mic, refreshments, good company and more, just five bucks gets you in at the door. We hope that you will appreciate fresh verses presented by six of Edmonton’s emerging young poets, Rachel Glessing, Sanvi Regmi, Prisha Pandey, Jolie DeShane, Emma Marian, and Joshua Querijero. Our mic host will be Cole Davidson and our door hosts will be Anne Gerard Marshall and Vivian Zenari.
 
The Stroll of Poets is honoured to promote the messages of young voices in order to encourage youth to create poetry such as these powerful words borrowed from this poem by the OddOddysey Poet, a 24 year old poet from Zimbabwe:

 

Dear Old Poet
Oh, dear poet of old, as I ponder on our shared past,

The irony of time’s turn, a role reversal unsurpassed.

Once, you stood as the elder, wise and experienced,

Now, I find myself in your shoes, the one more advanced.

 

Nostalgia floods my being, memories resurfacing anew,

Like the innocent words we penned, when youth first drew.

Together we crafted a poem, a tale of popcorn’s delight,

At the tender age of ten, our creativity took flight.

 

How funny it is, when memories unexpectedly arise,

Recalling mischievous days, crafting love’s sweet guise.

Love letters for our peers, seeking help to express,

Feelings for their school crushes, a secret we’d address.

 

Those were the days of sharing lunches and causing a stir,

Chaos on the school buses, moments that now seem a blur.

This retrospective piece, a tribute to your resilience,

Facing challenges hidden, from prying adult’s brilliance.

 

I remember your struggles, grappling with life’s profound,

Questions of death and despair, a tightrope you walked around.

Contemplating drastic measures, to end your inner pain,

Yet, you persevered, your strength not in vain.

 

Your self-doubt and longing, they resonate within me,

The search for belonging, a struggle to truly be free.

But fear not, dear poet, for growth has come our way,

In finding our place, confidence blossoms each passing day.

 

Oh, how I lament the time we abandoned our pens,

Resorting to spoken words, a silence that never mends.

But after five long years, we reunited with our true art,

And the joy it brings, the growth, a masterpiece’s start.

 

If only I could assure you, every word you write will be seen,

Celebrated and acknowledged, by eyes that have never been.

But alas, the reality is oftentimes unseen,

Yet, hold on to old dreams, for progress lies in between.

 

The journey may seem daunting, the finish line afar,

But take that brave step, and let your light become a star.

For in the depths of your soul, the fire of passion burns,

And with each word you write, a new chapter, the world learns.