Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate marks
First Capital Day in verse
Eric Folsom read "Charles Baron Sydenham on the Morning of June 15, 1841" at this year's First Capital Day — the day Kingston celebrates its role as the First Capital of a united Canada.
On Jan. 18, 2011, Eric Folsom became Kingston's first-ever Poet Laureate.
Serving a four-year term, Folsom will be the spokesperson for the literary arts in this city — home to Kingston Writersfest and a prodigious number of celebrated authors. He will be required to write a poem during each year of his appointment that addresses aspects of life in Kingston. He will read the poems at the Mayor's annual New Year's Day Levee.
About Eric Folsom
ERIC FOLSOM (Photo by Colleen Richardson)
He is the author of three books of poetry: Icon Driven (2001) What Kind of Love Did You Have in Mind? (1997) both published by Wolsak and Wynn, and Poems For Little Cataraqui, published in 1994 by Broken Jaw Press.
Folsom has been at the centre of Kingston literary life since making his home here in 1974. He was an editor for Quarry Magazine, has taught at The Upper Canada Writers' Workshop, St. Lawrence College and in the Limestone District School system. For seven years he organized and hosted a reading series, Cargo Kulture, which brought poets from across Canada to town. He helped found and run the literary quarterly, Next Exit, giving voice to several generations of emerging writers.. Folsom has been Ontario's representative for The League of Canadian Poets, reviewed books, read on Stuart McLean's The Vinyl Café and his work has been published widely in Canadian literary journals and anthologies. Most importantly, Folsom's work is respected by fellow writers, and widely-appreciated across Canada and internationally.
You can email Kingston's Poet Laureate, Eric Folsom, at poetlaureate@cityofkingston.ca.
