From my kitchen table, windows closed because construction (aka summer) has finally come to my neighborhood, I write these words, my first blog as Mayor’s Poet Laureate. I feel much more like Tanya Davis, however, than Mayor’s Poet Laureate. Or perhaps Tanya Davis acting as poet laureate, a hat on that could be a beret but is more likely a handmade little number from Nova Scotia’s south shore or the farmers’ market.
Outside, they are tearing up the street. I’m not sure why but I like that a tractor was parked beside my house all night. Officially, I suppose, it’s not a tractor. Its a loader or an excavator or something more focused. It is an urban machine whereas tractors live on dirt roads, in fields, and no one bothers wearing hard hats while operating them. But tractor is just such a good word. Tractor. Aside from that, it’s versatile, it can do many things, it is a multi-tasker.
I strive to be an artistic tractor.
I didn’t plan on writing today about tractors, artistic or otherwise. I have never, before this morning, contemplated their qualities enough to realize they were admirable and worth emulating. It’s a tractor, after all. But, my life and this work I do allows for such contemplation; what I have, as a working poet and musician, is time. Unbridled and self-directed time. And I can spend that time writing poems and songs and emails or I can spend that time measuring my worth against that of a tractor. What I need is all of these options. What I cherish is the luxury to steer my own day, devoting so called precious moments to so called ordinary things. It doesn’t always feel like a luxury, however; some days it feels like a burden. And then I feel unworthy of the trade or else heavy with guilt for calling it a burden in the first place. Did I not, just two sentences ago, admit that I spend time considering the merit of heavy machinery and calling that ‘a day at work’? Woe is me…
Well, life is lived on the gray scale, at least mine is.
Some days poetry is marvelous and some days it simply isn’t.
On most days it’s a mix of both and on all days it’s different
Beautiful and difficult.
And back to tractors (I’m stuck on them for a reason): if one is to survive – emotionally and financially – in the arts world, it helps to be versatile. Unless, of course, you are a master craftsperson and you do one thing extremely well. I admire that characteristic but I don’t have it. I flit around between tasks and genres, poems and songs and vague ideas. And now I am a poet laureate, gracious and wide-eyed. I will step forward, then, out of my office, out of my house and into our city, with this hat on, too. And I will take my varied ideas and make some of them become actions, as I would take any of your poetry-related ideas (and I mean that in the broadest sense, as broad as poetry can be) and help to make some of them become actions. This poet laureateship, as with all of my roles, is just another field to cultivate. And I am just a hopeful tractor.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2011.
FYI – here’s a quote from the HRM website, re. duties of the Mayor’s Poet Laureate: “The Poet Laureate will engage the community in activities, programs and events that demonstrate the positive impact of literature, poetry, and spoken word.” Considering my taxpayer dollars are paying for your sinecure, exactly what COMMUNITY activities are you engaging in to demonstrate the positive impact of poetry? From all I have read from/about you Tanya Davis, you excel at: writing about yourself; talking about how difficult you find it to write poems (see above blog)… poems that focus almost exclusively on yourself and your feelings; and generally promoting, well… yourself! I’m not sure who picked you as Poet Laureate, but frankly your YouTube poetics exhibit a stunted repertoire of self-obsessed subject matter. Apparently you are about to launch your first book of poetry – surely another riveting exposition of Tanya Davis on Tanya Davis – and no doubt the entire city holds its breath in anticipation.
Hmm, I wonder if the city can get its money back when City Hall determines that the mandate of a Poet Laureate’s is not fulfilled by the tireless self-promotion of your poorly written, narcissistic “spoken word” artistry, which is consistently of lesser quality than that created by many local junior high school students.
Guh. Bad troll trolls badly.
Thank you Tanya Davis, for your talent and contribution.
We are fortunate to have you in our community and congratulate HRM for appointing you as Poet Laureate.
Looking forward to Tanya’s show at Kejimkujik on July 2nd!
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I’m sick of mayor Kelly
did he hire you?
Waste of money and pretentious nonsense.
Any person with a modicum of self respect would resign any post with a title beginning with ‘Mayor’s…” as long as Peter Kelly is our Mayor.
Tanya, I commend your work. Although I am not a fan of our mayor, I am a fan of you. I think we should all truly appreciate the gifts of the people in our city. Your work is relevant to so many people and although many are not supporters of the arts in HRM, there are also many who are. Your work inspires them and adds to the rich art community flourishing in our little town. I’m happy that tax payers’ money is going to something positive. Not everything has to be seen in such a negative light. Art can be a good thing people. Just relax and enjoy it, think about something in a different way for a change.
disclosure: I saw Tanya Davis in concert (was bowled over), bought one of her CDs (Clocks and Hearts … was bowled over), watched her Canada Games performance as HRM poet laureate (on YouTube – was bowled over). I think she is a very big talent. Of course, different people have different tastes. Not everyone likes Leonard Cohen (I do), Bob Dylan (I do), Dean Martin (once in a while), The Black Keys (oh yes), Anne Murray (not really), Black-Eyed Peas (not me), Metallica (not me), but most people, I think, have some musical taste, whatever it is. Anyone not into Tanya’s genre and/or mad at Peter Kelly who happened upon this article/column may not have been inspired – I get that. Tanya: please continue – I think you have a lot to offer us for a long long time.
For a poet laureate, this is poorly written: comma splices, run on sentences, improper use of commas, poor and heavy-handed diction. I’d give it a C+. Disappointing to say the least.