Stroll of Poets Society

The Stroll of Poets Society is looking for a facilitator to lead a virtual Writing Circle to help members get feedback and edit their poems.

The facilitator will set guidelines and ensure that all participants have an opportunity to have their work discussed in a constructive manner. We need someone who is familiar with setting up and hosting online meetings, is familiar with poetry tools and techniques to help other writers, and who can lead the group’s discussions in a respectful, positive spirit.

The Writing Circle will take place in May and June this year. (The schedule will be finalized in consultation with the facilitator.) The successful candidate will receive a fee of $500 for their work. If you are interested in this position, please send an email  to strollquestions@gmail.com for further details. Please include a brief summary of your background and qualifications related to this role. Deadline May 5.

Hello Strollers!

Do you know any young poets in the high school to 25-year age range who would like an opportunity to share their verse with other young poets in a fun and supportive atmosphere?

The Edmonton Stroll of Poets is sponsoring an event called Fresh Verse to be held online on Monday, April 26 at 7 pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm). The event will feature eight poets sharing five minutes of their verse with a two-minute open mic (open to all ages) to follow. If you are interested send us an email at strollquestions@gmail.com

Join us for our last regular Haven of the season! 

Monday, April 12th, 7:00 pm, “Doors” 6:30 pm

Featured Readers: Stef Guilly, Lorraine McFaddin, Daniel Piller & Ruth Anderson Donovan

Mic Host: Alice Major

Open Mic:  Sign-up (2-min. poem) New and first-time readers are always welcome and given priority during the Open Mic.

Zoom invite
If you know anyone who would like to join our online reading nights and is not a Stroll member please direct them to strollquestions@gmail.com.

Please note all requests for Zoom links to “Haven at Home” evenings need to be done before 5pm.

The Proofreading Bee for the Stroll of Poets’ Anthology 2021 is scheduled to be held in the Olympic Room at the Percy Page Centre, 11729 Groat Road, on Wednesday, April 21, 2021.

Due to physical distancing limitations, we will be able to accommodate only about half as many volunteers as we’ve had in the past few years. This means the evening is likely to be a little bit longer than usual, so the time will be from 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM. If we finish earlier, we can all go home sooner!

A number of you have already indicated you would like to be involved, but it would be very helpful if you could respond again by emailing me at strollantho@writersguild.ab.ca. In addition to your keen proofreading skills, I still need your eyes (and votes!) to contribute toward choosing the anthology cover image.

I look forward to hearing from those who are interested in taking part.

Deborah Lawson
Managing Editor
Stroll of Poets’ Anthology 2021

Dear Strollers,

On Sunday March 21^st, we completed a successful AGM on Zoom with 26 Stroll members in attendance. A round of applause goes out to Naomi McIlwraith for her technical support-with-pizzazz. A big thank you to Don Perkins, our Returning Officer, who joined Lisa Mulrooney in a behind-the-scenes ballet of ballots! The successful AGM team effort was led by former President John Leppard, and John has now passed his excellent leadership torch to myself, Janis Dow. As your new President, I shall carry the Stroll torch with love and respect.

This season, we’re excited to welcome Loren Marsden and Max Vandersteen to our leadership team! Loren and Max have both been enthusiastically active in “Haven at Home” evenings as well as Parkland Poetry readings. Our returning group of board members consists of Alice Major, Anne Gerard Marshall, Naomi McIlwraith, Markus Eymann and Shirley Serviss. We’re so fortunate to have this wonderful and dedicated group of individuals to run this long-standing organization.

Our new board will hold their first meeting in April and we look forward to a new season to celebrate 30 amazing years of the “Stroll of Poets”!

May this find you and your families safe and well as we move into the last portion of our season before summer. In the fall we plan to welcome you back either face-to-face or online as we move forward with anticipation of great things to come.  

Best regards,
Janis Dow