The beginning of the new year means that Owen Sound Poets Laureate Rob Rolfe and Larry Jensen have begun thinking about the end of their tenure. Now, thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce, the duo has started to plan in earnest for their final public performance, which will form part of the local celebrations for Canada's sesquicentennial.
The Poets Laureate were among 10 groups that received grants from the Community Foundation in early December. The foundation handed out a total of $50,000 for events marking Canada's 150th anniversary across Grey and Bruce Counties and First Nations. Its goal was to fund projects which would, "encourage community participation, inspire a deeper understanding of the people, places and events that have shaped our country, and build vibrant and healthy communities."
"We now can breathe a little easier knowing that our planned performance for the 2017 celebrations will be supported," said Larry Jensen. In September, he and Rob Rolfe will perform together for the last time as Poets Laureate in a show called Métissage: From Nawash to Mudtown. It will be a collection of poems, songs, indigenous drumming and spoken word that was created by the Métissage Collective: Rob Rolfe, Larry Jensen, Richard-Yves Sitoski, Mary Little and Susan Schank.
Members of the collective first came together through their shared interest in exploring local history through music, poetry and storytelling. The name Métissage refers to the existence of multiple roots and identities in a single individual and a community. The goal of the collective is to weave together various strands of local history with a focus on people and events that are often overlooked – stories of First Nations, Métis, Black and other working class people.
Part of the mandate of the Owen Sound Poets Laureate is to create a legacy project, something that will make a unique and lasting contribution to the community. Métissage: From Nawash to Mudtown will be part of that legacy project. "We appreciate the funding support from the Community Foundation Grey-Bruce helping us to present some of the untold stories of this area," said Rolfe. "This grant will enable us to work with additional musicians, and to document our performances through collaborative work with a local filmmaker." The film, and a CD entitled Mudtown Songs and Poetry, which the Poets Laureate have already released, will comprise the other elements of the legacy project.
The Poets Laureate and the collective will perform Metissage: From Nawash to Mudtown at Heartwood Hall in downtown Owen Sound on September 14, 2017.
The Poet Laureate 2015 to 2017 is a program of the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library with support from the Owen Sound Little Theatre and a generous community.
