Item - 2015.ED7.3
Tracking Status
- City Council adopted this item on November 3, 2015 without amendments.
- This item was considered by Economic Development Committee on October 14, 2015 and was adopted with amendments. It will be considered by City Council on November 3, 2015.
ED7.3 - Appointment of Fifth City of Toronto Poet Laureate
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Adopted
- Wards:
- All
City Council Decision
City Council on November 3 and 4, 2015, adopted the following:
1. City Council appoint Anne Michaels to the position of Poet Laureate for the City of Toronto for a three-year term beginning December 1, 2015 until November 30, 2018, or until a successor is appointed.
City Council Decision Advice and Other Information
Appointee's biography
Anne Michaels
Anne Michaels was born in Toronto. She is the author of five acclaimed poetry collections: The Weight of Oranges (1986) which won the Commonwealth Prize for the Americas; Miner’s Pond (1991) which received the Canadian Authors Association Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award and the Trillium Award; Skin Divers (1999) and Poems (2000). Michaels was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2014 for her most recent collection, Correspondences.
Fugitive Pieces (1996), Michaels’ internationally best-selling first novel, was the winner of the Toronto Book Award, Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Guardian Fiction Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction, among many other Canadian and international awards. Fugitive Pieces was also adapted as an internationally released feature film. Her second novel, The Winter Vault (2009), was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Trillium Book Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Background Information (Committee)
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-84240.pdf
(October 27, 2015) Attachment 1 - Name and biography of candidate recommended for appointment made public on October 14, 2015
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-84241.pdf
Motions (City Council)
ED7.3 - Appointment of Fifth City of Toronto Poet Laureate
- Decision Type:
- ACTION
- Status:
- Amended
- Wards:
- All
Confidential Attachment - Personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees
Committee Recommendations
The Economic Development Committee recommends that:
1. City Council appoint Anne Michaels to the position of Poet Laureate for the City of Toronto for a three-year term beginning December 1, 2015 until November 30, 2018, or until a successor is appointed.
Decision Advice and Other Information
Anne Michaels was born in Toronto. She is the author of five acclaimed poetry collections: The Weight of Oranges (1986) which won the Commonwealth Prize for the Americas; Miner’s Pond (1991) which received the Canadian Authors Association Award and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award and the Trillium Award; Skin Divers (1999) and Poems (2000). Michaels was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2014 for her most recent collection, Correspondences.
Fugitive Pieces (1996), Michaels’ internationally best-selling first novel, was the winner of the Toronto Book Award, Lannan Literary Award for Fiction, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Guardian Fiction Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction, among many other Canadian and international awards. Fugitive Pieces was also adapted as an internationally released feature film. Her second novel, The Winter Vault (2009), was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Trillium Book Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her work has been translated into more than 40 languages.
Origin
Summary
The purpose of this report is to recommend the appointment of the fifth City of Toronto Poet Laureate. It recommends that City Council approve the candidate identified in Confidential Attachment No. 1 for a three-year term under the terms outlined in this report.
The position of The City of Toronto Poet Laureate honours a poet who writes excellent poetry and focuses on themes that are relevant to the people who live in the city. Toronto’s Poet Laureate advocates for poetry and the arts-particularly literary arts, attracts people to the literary world, and uses his or her unique perspective to create a dialogue on contemporary issues.
Background Information
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-84240.pdf
(October 27, 2015) Attachment 1 - Name and biography of candidate recommended for appointment made public on October 14, 2015
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/ed/bgrd/backgroundfile-84241.pdf
Motions
That:
City Council appoint the selected individual named in Attachment 1 to the position of Poet Laureate for the City of Toronto for a three-year term beginning December 1, 2015 until November 30, 2018, or until a successor is appointed.