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It’s been a busy and exciting few weeks. I found out that a couple of my micropoems were selected for the Word On the Street project in the McCauley neighbourhood. One is on 107A Avenue near 95 Street, and the other is on 96 Street near 105 Avenue.

Then, on May 24 I received the Edmonton Social Planning Council’s Award of Merit for Advocacy of Social Justice.  A major reason I received the award is my leadership at Boyle McCauley News for the past 12 years, as well as my involvement in social justice initiatives like the Women’s March in Edmonton. This photo was taken with Ward 4 City Councillor Aaron Paquette, who was the guest speaker (the event was also the ESPC’s AGM).

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The following day, on May 25, I received the first ever MUSE Award from Edmonton Muse. To celebrate the online magazine’s first anniversary, the publisher decided to give back to the community by honouring people who are making a difference. I was thrilled to have my work with social justice initiatives recognized, such as Project Ploughshares, the Edmonton Coalition Against War & Racism, and #CompletingTheStory, as well as my songwriting.

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As followers of my blog probably already know, I won First Place in the 2016 Inner City Poetry Contest. I read my poem at an event last April as part of the 2016 Edmonton Poetry Festival.

The winning poem “A.M. in the ‘Hood” along with another one, “Memorial March,” were just published in the chapbook Inner City Beat (June 2017). I also provided the photographs for the chapbook. There is a small colour print run which will be followed by future black and white ones. However, you can download a full colour PDF of the book here.

Thank you to partners E4C, Wellness Network, Edmonton Poetry Festival, and Black Cat Press for making this happen.

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Work and life have been keeping me pretty busy these last few months, but I have some news to share: I was the first place winner in the 2016 Inner City Poetry Contest! The theme was “Inner City Drum Beats” and I was utterly stunned when my poem “AM in the Hood” took first place. I read the poem at an Edmonton Poetry Festival event on April 17 and the poem (along with possibly a couple of others that I submitted to the contest) will be published in a chapbook this fall.

The video I am working on concerning social housing in McCauley continues to roll along. The working title is now McCauley: A Caring Community – Conversations on Social Housing. Most of the interviews have been completed and editing has begun.

Musically speaking, I performed this past weekend at the Edmonton Earth Day Festival! Here are some videos from the three sets I did.