Participate in the Canada Day Challenge

Are you creative? Get inspired and celebrate your future! 

Each year, the Canada Day Challenge invites young Canadians from 8 to 18 years old to submit their best, most dynamic drawings, photos or pieces of creative writing that celebrate Canada's culture and identity, illustrate their vision of the future, and reflects their exploration and participation in their community. 

By entering the Canada Day Challenge,  you could win a trip for two to Ottawa and be a VIP Guest on Parliament Hill on Canada Day to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation!

The Challenge is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017. Entries are being accepted until March 31, 2017.

Get all the details at www.canada.ca/canada-day-challenge

Free Poetry Workshops

Did you know that April is National Poetry Month?

Established in Canada in 1998, National Poetry Month strives to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry and the important role it plays in our culture.

Poetry is celebrated in Wood Buffalo through the annual Words in Motion program. Residents of all ages- whether they are a student, a professional writer, or a novice wordsmith- are encouraged to submit their poetry. You can learn more about Words in Motion at www.rmwb.ca/wordsinmotion 

The deadline to submit your poetry is February 3, 2017. Once the program closes, an external panel of judges will select the poems to be displayed in Wood Buffalo Transit buses and on the Municipal website. Authors of the selected poems will be invited to participate in a celebration event at the Wood Buffalo Regional Library in April.

To help get your creative juices flowing, Dr. Ryan Cox of Keyano College will be facilitating two poetry workshops on January 10th (for adults) and January 18th (for ages 13-18) at the Wood Buffalo Regional Library. Attendance is free of charge! Be sure to register your spot here.

Happy Writing!

Let your creativity shine - submit your poems to Words in Motion!

Are you a writer or a poet? Do you like to write clever rhymes or song lyrics?

If so, you should submit your work to this year’s Words in Motion!

Words in Motion is a literacy program that promotes an appreciation for the art of poetry. Poetry can take many forms- whether it be dramatic, lyrical or narrative- so don't limit your creativity! Poems written in any form or language (with an English translation) will be accepted.  

A panel of judges will review the poems and select which ones will be displayed on Wood Buffalo Transit buses and shelters as well as on the RWMB website. 

You have until February 3, 2017 to participate. 

To read last year's selected poetry and to learn more about the program, please visit www.rmwb.ca/wordsinmotion

Volunteers Needed for Words in Motion

Interested in Participating on the Words in Motion Judging Panel?

Words in Motion is a literacy program that promotes an appreciation for the art of poetry. It is open to everyone living in the Wood Buffalo region. We are looking for judges for the 2016 Words in Motion program. This is a volunteer position and will require you to commit to the following:

• Reading each of the submitted poems (there is usually between 100 and 200 submissions) and scoring each poem based on a set of criteria.

• Attending an evening meeting with other judges to discuss the poems’ scores in February 2016.

If you have a love of poetry and literature, and you are interested in being part of the poetry selection process, then please e-mail wordsinmotion@rmwb.ca with your name, area of expertise and a short description of why you would like to be a judge.

Full Moon Cafe This Saturday

Come and enjoy a relaxing evening of music, poetry and art at The Full Moon Café, this Saturday, 7:30pm, at the Waterways Community Hall. The Full Moon Café is a cozy monthly coffee house. Musicians, writers, artists are welcome to share their talents, whether new or experienced. Come enjoy a wonderful evening out! $5, all ages welcome.

Words in Motion 2015- Submissions Now Being Accepted!

Submissions for the 2015 Words in Motion are now being accepted! 

Whether you are a student, a professional writer, or a novice wordsmith, you are encouraged to submit your poetry!

Words in Motion is a literacy program that promotes an appreciation for the art of poetry. It is open to everyone living in the Wood Buffalo Region. 

Anyone can submit a maximum of 3 poems in any style or language (an English translation must be included). The selected poems will be displayed on Wood Buffalo Transit buses, the Municipal website, and various media outlets throughout our region. The authors of the selected poems will be invited to participate in the launch event at the Fort McMurray Public Library in April to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Please visit www.woodbuffalo.ab.ca/wordsinmotion for more information about the program and its guidelines. 

Please submit all poetry to Jessica.Barry@woodbuffalo.ab.ca

Open Season Awards- Deadline Nov. 1, 2014

The Malahat Review, Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canadian, American, and overseas authors for our annual Open Season Awards. An exciting spring showcase of literary excellence, Open Season bestows a prize of $1,000 in each of three marquee categories: poetry, short fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Entries may be sent by regular mail or email. When submitting by email, please ensure you include a cover letter with relevant contact details (more below under Enter by Email); do not simply put this information in the body of the email. We also ask that no personal or contact information is written anywhere on the poems themselves!

Pay only $15 for each additional entry after the first.

The deadline for the 2015 Open Season Awards is November 1, 2014.

To learn more about the Open Season Awards and the guidelines & requirements, please visit http://web.uvic.ca/malahat/contests/open_season/info.html

What's Your Art?

We all have our own definition of art. Our own tastes. Our own preferences. What’s yours?

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) wants you to share the art in your life at www.whatisyourart.ca. You can create a list of the art in your life and share with your friends, and if you’re looking for inspiration, see what some of Alberta’s best-known & loved public figures had to share.

Art is everywhere and in our busy lives we rarely take the time to recognize it. Take a moment and tell us, what is your art?

Vallum Award for Poetry 2014- Deadline July 15, 2014

Vallum Award for Poetry 2014

DEADLINE JULY 15, 2014 (postmark)

1st Prize: $750

2nd Prize: $250

+ publication in Vallum

Vallum is accepting original and previously unpublished poetry submissions for the Vallum Award for Poetry 2014.

ENTRY FEE:

$25 CDN for Canadian residents, $25 USD for international entrants, which includes a free one-year subscription to Vallum. Payment can be made by cheque (payable to "Vallum") or through our online store hosted by PayPal.

CONTEST RULES:

Submit up to 1-3 poems of maximum 60 lines each. Do not label your poems with your name or address; instead include a cover letter with all pertinent information. Please also specify how you heard about the contest.

Poems may be on any theme or subject, but must be original and not previously published.

1st prize is $750, 2nd $250. Both 1st and 2nd prize-winning poems will be published in Vallum Magazine and on Vallum's website. Honourable Mentions may be selected and published but are not eligible for cash prizes. 

If mailing your entry, please send it to:

Vallum

Contest

5038 Sherbrooke West 

PO BOX 23077 CP Vendome

Montreal, QC H4A 1T0 

CANADA

YOU NOW HAVE THE OPTION TO SEND CONTEST SUBMISSIONS FOR THE VALLUM AWARD FOR POETRY ELECTRONICALLY, FOLLOWING PAYMENT OF ENTRY FEE.

Please write your name, contact information, each poem's title, and how you heard about the contest in the body of the email. Include your poems in an attachment, without any identification. The contest is judged blind. Also write "VALLUM AWARD" in subject line of your email. Your contact information and poem titles must be clearly delineated.

SEND TO:  vallumcontest[at]gmail[dot]com

Hope in the Art

INSPIRING HOPE IN THE ART

ART has the ability to inspire reflection, expression, understanding, and most importantly, HOPE.  The Centre of Hope in collaboration with Arts Council Wood Buffalo, “I am a person first” Stigma Reduction Program, and Northern Lights Health Foundation invites you to participate in HOPE IN THE ART on Monday, May 26, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm in Keyano Art Gallery.  This interactive creative reflection will officially kick off Homelessness Awareness Week in Wood Buffalo.

Visual artists of all kinds are invited to display two-dimensional artworks that explore the themes of what homelessness means to them and how it impacts our community.  Finished and ready to display pieces can be dropped off at Keyano Art Gallery during the day on May 26. These works will form the beginnings of an exhibit that will be filled out later in the evening. A selection of works will be invited to form a special future Homelessness Awareness exhibit at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre as part of the Healing Halls program.

We are also looking for artists to join us for the HOPE IN THE ART event and further explore themes and different forms of creative expression, either working alone or collaborating with students, dignitaries, other artists, media representatives or guests.  All the drawings, paintings, collages, photographs, prose and poetry will form an exhibit that will be available for viewing during Homelessness Awareness Week. We also invite musicians and other performing artists to share their talents and creative reflections on this very important theme.

Not only is this an opportunity to reduce the stigma associated with those experiencing homelessness, it is a living laboratory that will demonstrate the power of art to connect people, explore complex social issues, and generate HOPE.  We look forward to seeing you on May 26th for a transformative evening of creativity, fellowship and purpose.

For more information contact:

Barbara Rex
Centre of Hope
587-646-4904
events@centreofhopefm.com

Russell Thomas
Arts Council Wood Buffalo
780-881-3752
russell.thomas@artscouncilwb.ca

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

As I Stare Into the Fire…

As I stare into the fire I see the dancing, roaring flames of spirits.
If one looks closely you can see them.
Spirits of many kinds that dance their way to the heavens.
They twirl around others like two friends giving a pinky swear.
Perhaps they once knew each other before they departed.
Then as they reach the top of the fire they split and vanish.
It’s like they never existed like those who were born centuries ago and are forgotten souls.
My heart sinks slowly as their warmth fades.
But you can see something different; you see sparks that float into the sky.
Don’t become discouraged once they disappear.
They are merely taking their places in the sky becoming constellations.
Fitting themselves into the pattern of the beautiful dark horizon.
It’s a sight never to be forgotten.

Kaeli Mask
Grade 9, Bill Woodward School
Anzac

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

He Heard the Call

At one o’clock
I heard the call
On the line was my son Paul
He said “Ma, I’ve got to go.”
Inside my heart was screaming no!

*He heard the call
To stand a fight
For what he thought was right
So the rest of us could live free
A soldier’s what he had to be*

 At four o’clock
Alarms rang out
 “Put on your gear” the captain shouts
He said “Come, we’ve got to go.”
Inside his heart was screaming no!

*Refrain

At eight o’clock
He heard no sound
My son Paul was on the ground
The captain said, we’ve got to go.”
Inside his heart was screaming no!

*Refrain

At twelve o’clock
I heard the call
I picked it up and let it fall
I said “Paul why did you have to go.”
Inside my heart was screaming no!

*Refrain
A soldier’s what he had to be

                          Karla Power

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

Winter Breaks, Spring Fixes

The wan sun, he takes no prisoners

In this, the prolonged, painful, retreat

Forget that here is the winter’s solstice

Dark makes Light all the more sweet

A cup of cider, hot in my closed fist

The drums hammering like a heart

Here I am, sleepily; seeking… soaking

Falling together, as near as falling apart

The musician has his guitar and pick

The poet has her feathered pen

Play on!  Just play.  Teach me something.

Warm me up, and then…?

Here the charge: the synaptic spark

The reason for coming or going

Trying is the only way of being.

Seeking the only way of knowing.

The ice is a pure as it is cold

Its perfection makes it clean.

When you have tasted th’ truth

You will know what I mean

No place can lie even when it says

What you know had been wrong

The brilliant electric aurora borealis

Does her dance.  Sings her song

Up the shining steps, to the holy place

There is where I must, now, attend

Where I find me, in aspects and shades

Where I find you, just you, my friend.

                         Nathan Berube

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

The Winter list


The Government has a list (if you wish) of stuff to pack in the back of your cars;
like water in bottles and blankets, and food that won’t spoil such as energy bars.
With extra clothing, and shoes or boots, and a first aid kit with a seatbelt cutter,
Do not forget the scraper and snowbrush, and a shovel alongside the normal clutter.

And don’t forget some candles, in a deep empty can with plenty of matches;
plus a wind-up flashlight with a whistle, and a road map with one of those clips that attaches
to a copy of your emergency plan, next to the sand/salt/cat litter, (non-clumping)
‘twixt the anti-freeze, tow-rope and extinguisher, washer fluid and cables for jumping.

I’ve two sets of everything for both the cars, plus warm clothes for Mom Dad and Junior,
and a wrap for the dog which I lost three times, as well as my sense of humour.
Packing all that stuff filled both the vehicles and caused me to swear and cuss.
So I parked the cars for the winter, said “To hell with it,” and travelled by bus.

                                                                                    Kevin Thornton

Words in Motion- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

One Brief Moment


Eyes glitter from the side
of the road, face illuminates then
disappears. I slip through
hollow grasses that whisper,
into the night hunting what moves,
breath held, heartbeat suspended,
through still of darkness with you.

Night air moist, I hunger
for warmed, salt-blood, for freedom from light,
from societies’ rules—reborn primal. Carry
me with you; show me what I have put aside,
forgotten in haste.

Over the hum of tires an owl hoots,
calls my name, and I drive on
into the night.

                                          Cathy Yard

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

Moth


She was a moth.
Dusted with mildew, and a slight tint of grey.
Ashen in the past,
she flew to the light.
Hoping to fall into an abyss that lead to waterfalls.
To clean her wings,
it was all she thought of.
She found the wings heavy, and full of heat.
Burnt her back, and opened wounds,
she pulled, and tugged with every bit of might.
With all she had, the wings stayed tight.
They were filled with glitter, and were dusted with diamonds.
She looked at them with contempt,
they swung to a tune.

                                                            Julia Bennett

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

Longings


Oh small bird
no debts to pay
Go where you want
Come when you may
Eat when you’re hungry
Fly as you please
Would that I could be so at ease.

Each year you fly south
With the strength of your heart
I’ve a will of my own
But we’re worlds apart...


Trade for a while
And let me be free
To fly in the wind
And rest in those trees...

Would that I could be so at ease.

           Sharon Cordes Okrasa

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

Rhapsody

I fulminate my own words and 
annihilate this absurd verse,
like it's a guitar verses two chords
with the same note, played in reverse.

This is poetry, I don't need to rehearse.
I'm where the Dictionary gets words.
Every ill rhyme is a sick curse.
Bleeding out my pen, we need a Bic nurse.

Spilling innocent ink 
one cartridge at a time.
Singing in sync
I’m beginning to think,
these are slick lines.

You want to hear it all, so
you got the mute paused,
but you can’t hear me because
I pen to papered this whole rap song.

These words I’m writing off,
erasing the cause because,
it’s too scripted to speak of,
these vowels between us
delegating sentences.

Let us collaborate recourse 
to restore accordingly order 
and stop reading this dead horse.

                             Jody Pratt

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

Failure


Today I sit by the darkness,
And the darkness sits by me, 
There is no hope for light, 
And my tomorrow daunts me... 
The wound in my heart still hurts today, 
As I remember those days of dismay... 
When everything was within my reach, 
I could have achieved... 
Closer! Closer I went! Still closer! 
Ah! Missed. 
It was too late for my striving fingers, 
When I realized that my time passed by and by, 
And all I could do was sigh... 
The thought of failure, 
Still shakes me up from inside, 
It was the day when my only hope had died!

Kopal Garg
Grade 10, Westwood Community High School

Words in Motion 2014- Feature Poem of the Day for National Poetry Month

The Eagle has Landed

I am an eagle.
Extraordinary eyesight,
giant wings,
my sound is heard from
far away.

The sky is grey, grumpy and grim,
Deadly cold winds make a zip sound.

The wind feels so cold against my wings;
The eagle twitches as he flies
more and more.

I must fly as low as I can
to avoid the winds.

The weather freezes my wings
while flying down,
The eagle flys down like a rapid bullet;
The cold winds is frostbite just when you get outside.

The coldness can hurt so bad,
it’s a broken friendship.

Nathan Nicholle
Grade 6, St. Martha School