Poetry on the fly

Poetry on buses? It's not something you see often. However St. Albert Transit riders coming back from vacation might be surprised to find themselves reading poetry instead of scanning advertisements.

The St. Albert Cultivates the Arts (SACA) committee just announced the four winners of the Poetry on the Bus competition. They are all St. Albert residents — Kyle Perry, 22, Curtis LeBlanc, 20, Rebecca Zuk, 14, and Tyler Lesenko, 14.

As of this week, 48 local and commuter St. Albert Transit buses have been installed with placards featuring the four poets' works. The poetic placards will be in the public eye travelling to Edmonton and through St. Albert until the StArts Festival from Sept. 17 to 19.

"The two adult poets — Kyle and Curtis — connected well. Their poetry was lyrical, almost songlike. We could hear the music in our head. For me personally, they offered hope. And what I really like about the youth poetry was that it was very happy," said literary arts committee representative Sandra Mooney-Ellerbeck.

There were about 65 submissions, all 10 lines or less. "We were very excited by the numbers. What surprised us was there were entries for the 12 to 14 years category and the 18 and over. But there was not a single entry for the 15 to 17 category. We were wondering if it's that age where it's not cool or if they were busy with exams."

The judges — playwright Tracey Aisenstat, music teacher Nancy Watt, art gallery owner Eric Outram and Mooney-Ellerbeck — judged the blind submissions. "We were looking for pondering poetry, something that offered an insight or provoked a smile. Something that would give a rider encouragement."

In addition to having their verses read by thousands of transit riders, the four winning poets each receive a $50 honorarium and the opportunity to do a poetry reading on Saturday, Sept. 18 at St. Albert Place.

The project cost about $2,000 and is funded as part of the province's Alberta Arts Days celebrations. As one of five featured cities for 2010, St. Albert is eligible for a Community Incentive Program grant of up to $75,000 to cover costs for StArts Fest.

Below is a brief sketch on each poet and their poem.

Between

By Kyle Perry

The young man sitting a couple of seats ahead of you on the bus just might be Kyle Perry, a poet and NAIT business administration student. Intrigued by existentialism, he spends a great deal of time meditating on the meaning of life and how the world works.

Alerted about the competition by a friend, the 2005 Bellerose graduate took up the challenge to write a short verse with a simple rhyme scheme, a style opposite his usual long, free flowing form.

His entry, Between, starts with sadness and despair, but ends on a note of optimism. "I'm trying to say that although life can be hard and tough, there's still hope and it will come around," Perry said.

Added Mooney-Ellerbeck, "The poem has a quality that today is the first day of your life. The way Between is worded really drew us in."

Surprised at winning, Perry is delighted that many will share his thoughts. "I've done something with my poetry that is based on merit and I'm proud of that.

2:31

By Curtis LeBlanc

Curtis LeBlanc's poem 2:31 is an old poem that was penned during a Grade 12 math class. "It all came out at once," said the 2009 Paul Kane graduate. "For me 2:31 is a rationalizing moment, how you can over-think something."

A songwriter since he was about 13, LeBlanc is also a member of the folk punk band Free Shots on Nic, a foursome that includes Matthew Punyi, Dan Rawlick and Nic Mac. Drawing on his songwriting and stage experience, the poem carries a lyrical quality with a hint of drama.

"We loved the mystery in it especially the line 'that life is more than lines.' It's fresh. It talks about time and it has hope," Mooney-Ellerbeck said.

Now a concession services attendant for the City of St. Albert at Red Willow Park, LeBlanc is heading to the University of British Columbia this fall with hopes of enrolling in the creative writing program.

Tomorrow Will Come in Time

By Rebecca Zuk

Rebecca Zuk's Tomorrow Will Come in Time was a class assignment where nothing clicked. "I went home and my mom had just set out tulips in my room and it came from that," said Zuk, who just completed Grade 8 at école Secondaire St. Marguerite d'Youville.

"Rebecca's poem was full of a stream of images about tulips. It was fresh and it had a lot of insight for a 14-year-old. There's a line, 'It lies there incomplete, undemanding, broken, beautiful.' For all of us, it's the idea of relating tulip petals to how her life feels at times," Mooney-Ellerbeck said.

As for how Zuk feels about riders reading her personal poetry, "It's hard to wrap your head around everyone reading it. Usually I just write for myself. It makes me a bit nervous putting yourself out there. You never know how the world will react."

Meghan

By Tyler Lesenko

Occasionally, a simple conversation percolates with fresh ideas. Tyler Lesenko, also working on the same class project as Zuk, drew a writer's block. His friend Meghan overheard him muttering and she volunteered herself as a topic.

The only class redhead with an eyebrow piercing, she was the perfect muse. "When you talk to her she's really nice and she always makes jokes out of little things," explained Lesenko, who wrote the poem in about 10 minutes.

"What we liked about it is the lingo. It was written like a spoken word poem. We liked his sound poem. It's very conversational," Mooney-Ellerbeck said.

As for Meghan, Lesenko has tried telling her the poem he wrote would be on buses. "She doesn't believe me. She must not have seen the artistic value in my poem," he laughed.