September 30, 2011—The City of Mississauga is now home to the seventh installation in the Project Bookmark Canada series. This Bookmark features “Song for the Field Behind Mississauga Valley Public School,” a poem from the Trillium Book Award-winning collection Tiny, Frantic, Stronger by Jeff Latosik, who grew up in the Bloor and Cawthra area. The collection is published by Insomniac Press.
“We’re very pleased to bring Jeff Latosik’s beautiful poem to the community where it’s set,” said Miranda Hill, Founder and Executive Director of Project Bookmark Canada.
Project Bookmark Canada installs plaques (called “Bookmarks”) bearing text from stories and poems in the exact physical locations where literary scenes are set. The nationally registered charitable organization is building a cross-Canada network of site-specific literary installations that will allow Canadians and visitors to read their way right across the country.
This seventh Bookmark is made possible through an initiative called Ontario: Read It Here, produced in partnership with Open Book Ontario (OpenBookOntario.com)—the organization that connects the public to Ontario’s vibrant literary scene—and the Creative Book Publishing Program at Humber College. Ontario: Read It Here is generously funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
Each Bookmark in the Project Bookmark Canada series is installed on public—or publicly accessible—land, and the enthusiasm of local governments is vital to the initiative. “The City of Mississauga is a wonderful host community for this Bookmark, working with us to find the perfect positioning for the Bookmark and suggesting that we unveil the Bookmark during their Culture Days celebration,” Hill said.
"Infusing our city with public art, such as this Bookmark, contributes to shaping our identity and the unique character of our city as we continue to move forward into the 21st century," said Susan Burt, Director, Culture Division, City of Mississauga. "Through our dedication to the Culture Master Plan, we enrich the lives of our residents and visitors, making Mississauga a place where people choose to live, work and visit."
The participation of the publishing community is also key to seeing a Bookmark realized. Insomniac Press, publisher of Tiny, Frantic, Stronger applauded the selection of Latosik’s poem for the Project Bookmark Canada series.
"Many of the poems in Jeff Latosik's Tiny, Frantic, Stronger are concerned with questions of permanence, location and memory, so we at Insomniac are pleased to see one of Latosik's poems commemorated with the installation of a permanent Bookmark in one of the locations that inspired him,” said Paul Vermeersch, poetry editor for Insomniac Press.
“Project Bookmark Canada serves to remind us that our literature occupies a living space, a space that we share with it. This brings us closer to our literary heritage by emphasizing its connection to our daily lives,” said Vermeersch. “Congratulations to Jeff Latosik, and thank you to Project Bookmark Canada, for the honour bestowed on this remarkable book."
Poet Jeff Latosik said he is very happy about this ongoing tribute to his work. "I’m ecstatic about having a poem selected from my book for Project Bookmark Canada,” Latosik said. “This poem in particular was re-written many times over the period of a year or so but always seemed anchored by this inconspicuous field,” said Latosik, who played in the area as a child attending Valleys Senior Public School.
“It's hard to say why these places stay with us, but I'm glad that someone can come to this seemingly commonplace area and maybe spend a few moments pondering it,” Latosik said. “Because nothing is inconspicuous if it is attended to."
The Bookmark for “Song for the Field Behind Mississauga Valley Public School” was unveiled by poet Jeff Latosik and Director, Culture Division Susan Burt on Friday, September 30th at 11 a.m. along the footpath on the east end of Mississauga Valleys Park behind the Valleys Senior Public School and near the intersection of Central Parkway East and Bloor Street. Members of the public are invited to learn more about the Bookmark series at projectbookmarkcanada.ca and to find articles and interviews about the poem, the poet and the area at OpenBookOntario.com.
-30-
Contact:
Miranda Hill, Founder and Executive Director
Project Bookmark Canada
905-975-1797
miranda.hill@projectbookmarkcanada.ca
www.projectbookmarkcanada.ca
@BookmarkCanada
Lindsay Noronha, Public Affairs Consultant, City of Mississauga
Corporate Services Department
Communications Division
905-615-3200, ext. 5053
lindsay.noronha@mississauga.ca
