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From The November 2024 Magpie Newsletter

Here is the full Mixed Media feature from the highlights in the November 2024 Festival newsletter, The Magpie. 

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    Controversy at Noon

    Is there a pressing literary topic you want to hear more about? How about the banning of books? Ageism in the publishing industry? The ever-looming presence of AI? 

    The Writers’ Guild of Alberta has produced a series within its podcast show called Controversy at Noon. So far, the eight episodes have explored book banning, the ethics of writing on social issues, ageism in the literary world, the impact of artificial intelligence on writing, traditional publishing vs self-publishing, and more.

    Controversy @ Noon aims to address the interests and concerns of our membership and the Alberta writing community, while fostering a fresh collaboration dynamic and providing stimulating discussion, straightforward facts, and clear calls for action — without having to wait for our next annual conference or festival panel. Local authors, literary professionals, and experts will be given the chance to explore a number of important current topics.

    These are great episodes and well-worth a listen.  Discover more at The Writers’ Guild of Alberta.

    St. Albert poet laureate receives Alumni Horizon Award

    University of Alberta alumna and 2022-24 St. Albert poet laureate Lauren Seal is a recipient of the 2024 U of A Alumni Horizon Award. As an assistant director of YouthWrite and a volunteer for its Spoken Word Youth Choir (SWYC), Seal helps “youth and teens to find their own voice” through writing.

    Despite not pursing poetry in university, Seal said her university experience allowed her to “explore [her] voice through creative non-fiction writing” and lay the groundwork for her writing career.

    Seal joined YouthWrite as a teen to develop her writing. “It was a very empowering experience,” she said. “It was one of the first places where people were taking my writing seriously. Previously, I felt like nobody noticed me.”

    Now, as a mentor with the organization, Seal finds it rewarding to “watch everyone in SWYC grow and see how they change as writers.”

    “It’s incredible to watch teens find their own voice, their own confidence, and then watch them just blossom,” Seal said.

    Read the full story in The Gateway.

    How do I know if a poem is good?

    How often do aspiring poets ask this question!? But poet and humanities lecturer Richie Hofmann at the University of Chicago says it’s the wrong question to ask. He explains how he works with students to evaluate poems in his poetry workshops. Read the full article in UChicago Magazine.

    This pharmacy dispenses poems instead of medicine

    Writer and editor Deb Alma has opened a London, UK, branch of the Poetry Pharmacy on the most famous shopping street in the world—Oxford Street. It’s the much-anticipated second Poetry Pharmacy, joining the first located in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire. Both branches sell literary first aid from poets such as Derek Walcott and Elizabeth Bishop. Read the full story in Positive News.

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