Edmonton’s Stroll of Poets Society launches new book

Edmonton’s Stroll of Poets Society is an organization that originated in 1991 and is dedicated to providing an outlet for local poets. According to President of the Stroll, Max Vandersteen, the name comes from when the group would walk down Whyte Avenue. They would go from venue to venue to do readings. Even though that practice is obsolete, the Stroll still remains as an invaluable foundation for poetry in the city.

Every year the Stroll puts out an anthology, consisting of written and visual work by its members. This year, the organization is releasing its newest book, Poets Re-Imagine Canada: A Primer for a Land beyond Acknowledgements. The idea came about after Vandersteen and the Stroll noticed how the land acknowledgements they did felt “rote.”

“We noticed that there just wasn’t a lot of heart in [the land acknowledgements]. It was like it was another box to check off,” Vandersteen said.

After this realization, they began to make their acknowledgements more personalized, starting with their newsletter. This then evolved into the idea of an anthology.

“We wanted to make the acknowledgements more personal [and] to go beyond just an acknowledgement, to a real attempt at reconciliation. To recreate the relationship between settlers and First Nations people and to create a new and just relationship.”

The book’s contents are “based on experiences on living within Edmonton [and] within Treaty 6 territory.”

The anthology consists of 37 personal statements about land acknowledgements from both Stroll members and other contributors. The Stroll worked alongside Indigenous people in terms of “approval and participation,” according to Vandersteen. The numerous statements in the book are “based on experiences on living within Edmonton [and] within Treaty 6 territory.”

The book’s contributions are not limited to strictly poetry — there are also anecdotal pieces and statements as well.

“The contributions are very genuine and sincere attempts … at connection and opening that meaningful dialogue to repair the relationship,” Vandersteen explained.

He described how within the Stroll there are several Métis and Indigenous members who have made contributions to the book. As well, the book’s cover is intentional as it conveys a strong message about the relationship between settlers and the land. The photograph of two bison on the highway is a “metaphorical picture” of settlers on Indigenous land, according to Vandersteen.

The Stroll of Poets Society will be launching Poets Re-Imagine Canada at Audreys Books on January 26 at 2:00 p.m.. There will be some readings from contributors in attendance, along with some discussion and Q & A.