Renowned writer Sky Dancer, otherwise known as Louise Bernice Halfe, is Canada’s ninth parliamentary poet laureate. “It is a privilege to bring the First Peoples’ voices and stories, poetry and whatever genre they are bringing to life to the forefront,” Halfe said in a statement. The role of the parliamentary poet laureate is to write poetry for parliamentarians or for special occasions, to hold poetry readings, and to help curate the Library of Parliament’s poetry collection. The position, created in 2001, comes with a $20,000 stipend, $13,000 for travel expenses, and a budget for planning programming and translation services. An award-winning writer, Halfe won the Latner Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize in 2017 where she was described as “an extraordinary storyteller, okihcihtâw-iskwew (a warrior woman): one whose voice emerges from profound solitude, and simultaneously opens to a vast polyphony of voices.”
Louise Bernice Halfe is appointed Canada s ninth Parliamentary Poet Laureate theturtleislandnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theturtleislandnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.