Poetry is Public is Poetry celebrates its inaugural permanent installation.
On Monday, December 6 the Scarborough community celebrated the re-opening of Cedarbrae Library which included the unveiling of a fragment from the poem of Exile by Rosemary Sullivan. Located near the main entrance of library, close to 1,000 people came out to help mark this special moment. The reaction from the public and poet is captured in this lovely note Rosemary Sullivan wrote and agreed to share:
That was one of the most compelling events of my writing career! Please thank the library and staff on my behalf. I can't tell you how impressed I was with the excitement of the crowd at the reopening of their library. People lined up, anxious to enter. That doesn't happen without a great deal of work and dedication. What a publicity team you must have. And what a lovely festival--with magicians and stilt walkers, music and poetry.
And thank you for your exciting initiative on Poetry is Public is Poetry. Dionne spoke so beautifully about the meaning of a library. And I watched the nodding heads and excited faces responding to her words. It meant so much to them. I am deeply honored that the committee chose my poem and for the Cedarbrae library. It is exactly the right library for those words. A young woman came up to me afterward and said she had read my poem Exile years before and had been so moved by it that she had translated it into Arabic. Monday night she emailed me a copy.
That Dionne flew back for this event was beyond the call but it was so wonderful to have her there. The whole event touched me very deeply. My words in bronze leading into a library. It's a remarkable thought. And it is all a testament to the dedication of the Cedarbrae staff to their public. I never felt so profoundly how important libraries are to our cultural life. Bravo to all of you. All best, and by the way, what a beautiful renovation.
On Monday, December 6 the Scarborough community celebrated the re-opening of Cedarbrae Library which included the unveiling of a fragment from the poem of Exile by Rosemary Sullivan. Located near the main entrance of library, close to 1,000 people came out to help mark this special moment. The reaction from the public and poet is captured in this lovely note Rosemary Sullivan wrote and agreed to share:
That was one of the most compelling events of my writing career! Please thank the library and staff on my behalf. I can't tell you how impressed I was with the excitement of the crowd at the reopening of their library. People lined up, anxious to enter. That doesn't happen without a great deal of work and dedication. What a publicity team you must have. And what a lovely festival--with magicians and stilt walkers, music and poetry.
And thank you for your exciting initiative on Poetry is Public is Poetry. Dionne spoke so beautifully about the meaning of a library. And I watched the nodding heads and excited faces responding to her words. It meant so much to them. I am deeply honored that the committee chose my poem and for the Cedarbrae library. It is exactly the right library for those words. A young woman came up to me afterward and said she had read my poem Exile years before and had been so moved by it that she had translated it into Arabic. Monday night she emailed me a copy.
That Dionne flew back for this event was beyond the call but it was so wonderful to have her there. The whole event touched me very deeply. My words in bronze leading into a library. It's a remarkable thought. And it is all a testament to the dedication of the Cedarbrae staff to their public. I never felt so profoundly how important libraries are to our cultural life. Bravo to all of you. All best, and by the way, what a beautiful renovation.
-Rosemary Sullivan
