Poet Laureate Map of Canada

Welcome to the Poet Laureate Map of Canada. This may very well be a world first. There are literary maps and poet maps, but we haven’t yet found a poet laureate map. Our map features a photo, bio and poem from Canada’s laureates, past and present, as well as links, and when available, audio and video files.

My initial reasons for producing the map were to showcase Canada’s poet laureates – municipal, provincial and federal - and to provide models for communities that want to have a poet laureate.

We welcome additions to the map - such as newly appointed or left out laureates (we’ve discovered 30 so far), as well as other suggestions or comments. Send us an email  to share your ideas.

I encourage you to find a way to insert poetry into the everyday.  Feast on these poems. Follow the links. Share them with your community, for poetry is truly a community beyond borders.

I hope this map will also provide a conversation among poetries, helping us to share the songs of our species. In my community, Owen Sound  City Council members will each read a poet laureate’s poem at Council meetings.

Elizabeth  Zetlin
Poet Laureate, 2007 - 2009
City of Owen Sound, Ontario