What is a poet?
As delighted as I am that the city is seeking a new poet laureate, I am dismayed at the restrictive and antiquated criteria that the nominee must have “a minimum of two published works (not-self-published)” to be considered. This excludes poets who work in mediums outside of print: video, online, albums and performance, and the decline of the publishing industry itself. Our poet laureate should reflect our modern society and our diverse poetic community. I mean, even Edmonton is cooler than us — their last poet laureate was hiphop artist Cadence Weapon. Let’s step up, Victoria.
Missie Peters,Vic Slam Master