A Gleneagle Secondary graduate is out with a new book of poems that reflect on Port Moody’s natural environment.
And, on Friday, May 24, Rob Taylor will read and talk about his new collection, Weather, at the Old Mill Boathouse (2715 Esplanade Ave., Port Moody) at 7 p.m.
The event is free and family-friendly, and will also feature fellow poets Raoul Fernandes and Kayla Czaga.
Penned over the first three years of his daughter’s life, Taylor sought refuge in Port Moody’s woods during the COVID-19 pandemic for quiet and inspiration.
Specifically, Taylor turned to the Shoreline Trail to write 156 short poems and haikus.
In a statement to the Tri-City News, Taylor said his plans for the book prior to the pandemic lockdown were different.
“I set out to write a book about parenthood, composing a poem a week during the first three years of my daughter’s life,” Taylor wrote.
“While I did succeed at that, COVID forced me to do my work out of the house as our small apartment was too noisy with both kids at home.”
In the park, wildlife and joggers kept Taylor company and, as a result, his focus for the poems shifted to nature and climate change, as well as their legacies for future generations.
Weather is published by Gaspereau Press and follows four poetry collections:
- Strangers
- Oh Not So Great: Poems from the Depression Project
- The News
- The Other Side of Ourselves
In 2017, The News was shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and, in 2010, the manuscript for The Other Side of Ourselves clinched the Alfred G. Bailey Prize.
In 2004, Taylor co-founded High Altitude Poetry, a student poetry zine at Simon Fraser University. He also blogs about Canadian poetry in an online publication called Roll of Nickels.
