World Poetry New Westminster

Poetry Timeline Project

Be Part of History!

Introduction
World Poetry New Westminster has launched the exciting new Poetry Timeline Visit with a citizen whose hair
Project – Be Part of History. The project will bring together various age is silver now,
groups, and nationalities to join together in a living exploration of New
And ask about our city’s
Westminster History. This project will truly be history in action.
yesterday;
The stories they unfold will
The Poetry Timeline shine like burnished gold;
The project will create a history timeline starting from the First Nations to the
Please treasure them, before
present time, and a brief look into the future. Selected check points will be
they fade away.
mapped out for the timeline.

For each historical checkpoint, poems will be written by children, youth and From Golden Memories Of New
adults from New Westminster. A jury will select the winning poems. Westminster, a poem by Poet
Laureate Emeritus, Don Benson
The Project
The project consists of:
♦ poetry writing workshops during Arts and Culture Week (at the New
Westminster Museum and Archives) Workshop Dates:
♦ call for poems and adjudication Children, age 6-13 (parents
♦ framed and mounted historical poem displays (the physical timeline) welcome) April 18, Saturday, 10-12
am
♦ an accompanying History Timeline booklet
Youth, age 13-19,April 18,
♦ an interactive multimedia website (the virtual timeline) Saturday, 2-4 pm.
♦ a Poetry Extravaganza during New Westminster Cultural Crawl (at the Adults and Seniors April 22,
Arts Council of New Westminster Wednesday, 7-9 pm.
The project would create physical copies of the winning poems which will be
framed and mounted on plaques at the corresponding historical locations.

Website and Booklet

To assist future visitors to New Westminster, the project will also create an interactive Poetry Timeline website. A
historic virtual time map will be placed on the website and the poems will be placed on the historic locations together with
a brief history of each event and a video of the historical location. The website will allow visitors to download and print
walking guides.

The project will also publish a booklet/guide containing walking guides and the material on the website with illustrations
from selected New Westminster Artists.

Poetry Extravaganza Partners

The project would end with a two-day Poetry Extravaganza during New World Poetry New Westminster is
Westminster Cultural Crawl. This event will take the form of a mini poetry collaborating with local partners:
festival and will give an opportunity for all participants in the project to read and ♦ City of New Westminster
showcase their poems. ♦ Arts Council of New
Westminster
World Poetry New Westminster Project Contacts ♦ Poet Laureate Emeritus Don
Ariadne Sawyer, MA, project coordinator, poetry workshop leader, 604-526-4729 Benson
Heidi Mueller, project promotion, book and website, 778-887-1523 ♦ Tourism New Westminster
♦ Museum and Archives
♦ Downtown BIA
1
♦ Sponsors