Press Release ; Archibald Lampman Award merges with Duncan Campbell Scott Foundation

Arc Poetry Magazine is pleased to announce the merger of the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry with the Duncan Campbell Scott Foundation and the creation of the new $1500 annual Lampman-Scott Award. The Lampman-Scott Award recognizes an outstanding book of English-language poetry by an author living in the National Capital Region and will be announced at the Ottawa Book Awards ceremony in October. A reading featuring all eligible poets in conjunction with he Poets’ Hill Committee will be held at Beechwood Cemetery on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007.

Established in 1986, the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry was inspired by Archibald Lampman, Canada’s finest 19th century poet. Born in 1861, Lampman graduated from Trinity College (Toronto) in 1882, and then moved to Ottawa where he worked for the Post Office until his death in 1899. He is known for his ability to immerse metaphysics in the details of nature, which he observed while hiking round what was then the wilderness capital of a new country. His books include Among the Millet (1888), Lyrics of Earth (1895) and the posthumous Alcyone (1900). Previous winners of the Archibald Lampman Award for Poetry include Laura Farina, Stephen Brockwell, David O’Meara, and Stephanie Bolster.

Duncan Campbell Scott was born in Ottawa in 1862 and died here in 1947. He had a controversial, but highly successful 53-year career in the civil service and was a tireless contributor to the cultural life of the national capital. With Ottawa’s Archibald Lampman and Fredericton’s Charles G.D. Roberts and Bliss Carman, Scott was a leader of the influential group of “Confederation Poets” who comprised the first full flowering of Canadian literature, especially poetry, in the late nineteenth century. Lampman wrote of reading, in 1881, Roberts’ first volume, Orion and Other Poems (1880) and being inspired to become a poet. Subsequently Lampman convinced his friend Scott to write poetry. The two remained fast friends, frequently taking wilderness trips together, till Lampman’s early death in 1899 from complications associated with the rheumatic fever he’d contracted in boyhood. Scott suffered much guilt because Lampman had lapsed into his final illness following one of their trips. For the rest of his life in response to any mention of Lampman’s name, Scott would sigh, “Poor Archie.” Scott became Lampman’s literary executor, and his tireless labours in this role were instrumental in keeping his friend’s poetry alive.

The Lampman-Scott Poetry Award is a fitting tribute to the intertwined lives and accomplishments of these two makers of local, national, and international culture. This year’s contestants are:

* Sylvia Adams: Sleeping on the Moon (Hagios Press)
* Ronnie R. Brown: Night Echoes (Black Moss Press)
* Terry Ann Carter: Transplanted (Borealis Press)
* Michael Dennis: Arrows of Desire (General Store Publishing House)
* Oni The Haitian Sensation: Ghettostocracy (McGilligan Books)
* Christopher Levenson: Local Time (Stone Flower Press)
* rob mclennan: aubade (Broken Jaw Press)
* rob mclennan: name, and errant (Stride Publications)
* Monty Reid: Disappointment Island (Chaudiere Books)
* Grant D. Savage: Their White with Them (Bondi Studios)

To follow this story, look for updates on the Lampman-Scott Award archive <http://www.arcpoetry.ca/logentries/contestslampmanscottaward/"
or contact Paul Tyler at <http://by142fd.bay142.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=63f68b54059974c1a522f6a0d060766bb1f4b7936dc75ec8bdba826cf0423662&mailto=1&to=contests@arcpoetry.ca&msg=AF567327-4DDE-4E73-9943-DB9247160598&start=0&len=7314&src=&type=x>.

other happenings

April is Poetry Month. If you haven't taken in some of the terrific poetry events happening across the country, there's still time. Google around or explore Portage, the poetry routes map at <http://www.arcpoetry.ca/portage/>.

It's a busy time for Arc too, so you might find more than usual number of announcements in your inbox in the next week or so. Last April, along with the Scottish Poetry Library Arc launched Great Scots: The Canada-Scotland Exchange with poets introducing poets from across the Atlantic. If you haven't already checked out these fascinating portraits, now is the time.

In the latest edition <http://www.arcpoetry.ca/greatscots/features/2007_04_john-burnside-introducing-aislinn-hunter.php>, John Burnside introduces Aislinn Hunter, the instigator of this international exchange. The series wraps up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned. Arc Poetry Magazine P.O. Box 81060 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1P 1B1 <http://by142fd.bay142.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=63f68b54059974c1a522f6a0d060766bb1f4b7936dc75ec8bdba826cf0423662&amp;mailto=1&to=arc@arcpoetry.ca&msg=AF567327-4DDE-4E73-9943-DB9247160598&start=0&len=7314&src=&type=x> <http://www.arcpoetry.ca>