Cobourg Poetry Workshop
Third Thursday Reading Series
7:30 p.m.
doors open 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, 18, 2023
Poets:
Ayomide Bayowa
Poet Laureate of Mississauga
visits to give his Book Launch Reading for
“Gills” Wolsak & Wynn
MERKAT (Katie Hoogendam)
“Materials at Hand”
Marion Fuessel
“Flying My Own Compass”
host: Reva Nelson
The Northumberland Room
The Best Western Cobourg Inn
at the intersection of Elgin and Burnham
& Poetry Open Mike
after the three featured Readings there will be poetry Open Mike – approximate start 9:30 p.m.
Admission: PWYC (pay what you can)
Suggested minimum donation:
$2.00 … a toonie … two bux
Poetry Readings happen on the 3rd Thursday every month
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There is a writing workshop earlier the same day ...
| "haiku or senryu, what is the difference?
| Classic form or westernized variations,
| what is the difference?"
| facilitated by James Pickersgill.
| Bring pen and paper; you will be able to generate (short) poems.
| 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 18, 2023
| The Northumberland Room
| The Best Western Cobourg Inn
| Fee: $15
| Advance registration is required;
| limited to a maximum of 10 participants.
| (“Sign up early to reserve a seat.”)
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Ayomide Bayowa is the Poet Laureate of Mississauga, Ontario. His new collection, "Gills" was just released in mid-April by Wolsak and Wynn. He will visit to give his Cobourg Book Launch reading.
Ayomide is an award-winning Nigerian Canadian poet, actor and filmmaker. He holds a BA in Theatre and Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. He transferred from the University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria where he studied Theatre Arts.
"With poetry, the people oppressing you get to hear about what you’re experiencing, and they may realize how powerful your message is. It can be a catalyst for social and economic change.... we never had the luxury of internet, and we poets don’t write with laptops in Nigeria.... What the poet needs to do is read, write and listen to your soul."
His first chapbook, “Stream of Tongues (The Watercourse of Voices)” was published by the Poets in Nigeria Initiative in 2018.
Ayomide Bayowa's writing has appeared in a long list of literary magazines, including Windsor Review, Agbowó, Barren Magazine, Ampersand Review, Tipton Journal, Beyond Words, Guesthouse-Lit, Stone of Madness Press, Kreative Diadem, praxis-magazine online and more.
Ayomide is the editor-in-chief of Echelon Poetry and currently reads poetry for Adroit Journal.
He goes by the name "Ayomi."
He believes the fear of coffee is the beginning of wisdom.
He won ...
* first place in the Brigitte Poirson Poetry Contest (June/July 2021 edition),
* first place in the Open Drawer Poetry Contest (2020 July), and,
* second place in the 2021 K. Valerie Connor Poetry Contest’s Student Category.
Finalist the 9th Open Eurasian Literary Festival and Book Forum, UK (Poetry Category).
On the long-list for
* the Nigerian Students Poetry Prize 2018
for "How to Break-Loose from the Battle Field"
* the UnSerious Collective Fellowship, and,
* the Adroit Journal Poetry Prize 2021.
On the shortlist for
* the 2018 Eriata Oribabhor’s Poetry Contest, 2018, and,
* the 2017 Christopher Okigbo Inter-University Poetry Prize
for "The Flood"
The runner up of the 2020 On-Spot Poetry Writing Contest.
The second runner up of the maiden edition of Arojah Playwriting Prize, 2020.
A semi-finalist of the 2021 Cave Canem Poetry Prize.
His short films had been officially selected for the 2018 Kwara Film Festival, and won
* the 2021 International Black and Diversity Film Festival (Best short film - Canada),
* Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (Best short drama - Canada),
* Canadian and International Short Film Festival (Best Picture) and,
* UTM Film Festival (Best Picture)
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"Gills" is the debut collection of Ayomide Bayowa, a rising star in Canadian poetry. He is the 2021–24 Poet Laureate of Mississauga, Ontario (that municipality's 4th Laureate).
Born in Lagos, Bayowa found his path to poetry at the University of Ibadan, Oyo.
He brings a diasporic sensibility to his writing, which is an intricate meshing of narrative voices, dramatic tellings and hip hop rhythms. These poems interrogate belonging, race, identity and the diasporic struggle with the socio-economic system of debt. They are written for the millions of immigrants trying to keep their head up, trying to uphold skin and breath and bones. They are poems written to enable people to survive, even under water.
"'Gills' is a lyric, thoughtful exploration of the immigrant experience, the insurmountable challenges of economic inequality and a predatory debt system, and the body's ongoing, urgent quest for life. Called 'piercing and prophetic,' it heralds a major new talent. Bayowa's raw honesty and quiet mastery make Gills a note-worthy debut even in a season of spectacular poetic offerings."
~ Line & Lyric, Open Book
"Ayomide Bayowa’s 'Gills' is a formidable work which merged the African and American linguistic finesse into brilliant English verses. The author writes with such candor and melodic streak that could compel readers to find solace in the warmth of his words. Iṣẹ l’oṣe – a work well done!"
~ Soji Cole, Winner of the 2014 Association of Nigerian Authors Prize and the 2018 Nigeria Prize for Literature (Drama)
“To say that 'Gills' is a stunning lyrical offering would not be enough to capture its quiet majesty. These are textured poems that explore the range of a life between places and worlds – even in the oppressive halls of weighty silence. To curious readers: dive in and let these poems (and yourself) breathe between each page. Ayomide Bayowa is a piercing and prophetic bard.”
~ Adrian De Leon, author of "barangay: an offshore poem" and co-host of PBS’s A People’s History of Asian America
"While poets often write about identity, Bayowa’s words steer away from concepts of the self. His writing speaks for the hearts and the lives of those that have shaped him and those that continue to suffer."
~ Julia Skoczypiec, The Medium
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MERKAT (Meredith Katie Hoogendam) is a poet, writer and interdisciplinary artist.
A couple of her other incarnations include high school English teacher and local community radio host and producer--formerly, of "Carpe Noctem with Merkat," on Northumberland 89.7, a program devoted to the personal stories and poems of listeners; currently, "Nightfall with MERKAT," micro-episodes devoted to poetry from the public domain, focused on works from poets along the margins, outside the canon.
She holds B.A.s in English, Communications and Education and an M.A. in English and Film Studies.
Archetype, lore, and the natural world inform her work.
Her writing appears in publications across the U.S. and Canada, including Room Magazine, Geez Magazine, and Mutha, among others.
Her poem, "Courage" was shortlisted for the 2019 Room Magazine poetry prize.
Her play, "Plan X," debuted at the 2019 Northumberland Festival of the Arts.
"Spring Thaw," her fourth collection of poetry, dropped spring 2022 from Glentula Press.
"Materials at Hand," her most recent collection of poetry was released in November 2022 at the Art Gallery of Northumberland. That book release was done alongside a short film also named "Materials at Hand."
She is at work on a forthcoming collection of poetry, "Grief Forest," which is also a collaborative art project.
Born and bred in Michigan, after nearly 20 years in Ontario, Merkat is now a Canadian citizen. She is of the Great Lakes.
Find her in print at our local independent bookstore, Let's Talk Books, and follow her process online @merkatart on Instagram.
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This is a Book Launch Reading by Marion Fuessel, “Flying My Own Compass.”