The St. Thomas Poetry Series

NEW PUBLICATION  On April 25, Slow Sunday on the Malaspina Strait by Hannah Main-van der Kamp was launched as the 26th book in The St. Thomas Poetry Series. The reading took place in the parish hall of St. Thomas’s Church, Huron Street, Toronto. WEB SPECIAL PRICE: $25 less 20% = $20 You may order by sending a cheque (payable to The St. Thomas Poetry Series) to The St. Thomas Poetry Series, 383 Huron Street, Toronto, ON M5S 1G5. Postage and handling: Add $5 for Canadian orders; $6.50 for orders from the U.S.; and $7.50 from overseas. Here’s the title poem from the new collection: Slow Sunday on the Malaspina Strait Mist, old friend, welcome. Though most October mornings you offer a taste of ease, today you fill the windows. Old acquaintance, again you dissolve islands. You were expected, though nasturtiums on the deck still hold up their heads and the scrub willow is not yet completely spent. Valued tutor, you teach gazing. Grant us a day for not trying out recipes or list making. Thank you. On unseen islands out there do others also laze and cease from labour, languid on sofas, idle as moist air? But “lazy” and “idle” give the wrong impression; we are engaged in slowness training. A day that hums without motors, a day set aside for some crying, soft without dramatic heaving. Hours stand still and also pass. The weeping relieves, ceases without shakiness. At sunset, low clouds lift, reveal the ferry’s languid traverse of the strait. Island lights regain clarity and the willow by the door is still not ready to shed its last, bright shards. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE ST. THOMAS POETRY SERIES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The St. Thomas Poetry Series: “excellence in both poetry and design” (Jeffrey Donaldson, University of Toronto Quarterly). “these are exquisitely produced books, with each cover adorned with a hand-printed impression from remarkable wood engravings by Nancy Ruth Jackson” (Klay Dyer, Journal of Canadian Poetry). ORIGINS Poetry readings at St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, Huron Street, Toronto, began in 1988 in connection with the launch of the anthology Christian Poetry in Canada (ECW Press, 1989) and featured five poets: Robert Finch (his final public reading at age 89), John Reibetanz, Tim Lilburn, Maggie Helwig, and Margo Swiss. Spring and fall readings soon developed and then continued on a regular basis for several years. Many well-known Canadian poets visited during that time and afterwards, including James Reaney, Colleen Thibaudeau, J. M. Cameron, Anne Corkett, Joy Kogawa, George Johnston, Richard Greene, Alice Major, Barry Dempster, Gail Fox, Douglas Lochhead, Richard Outram, Susan McCaslin, and many more. THE NEXT STEP  The publication series began in 1996 and was intended to draw increased attention to Christian poetry in Canada. As a result, the readings after that time were often connected with the launch of new books. These new books were not exclusively from our own series, as we were pleased to help launch, for example, some of John Terpstra’s publications with Gaspereau Press of Nova Scotia. In November 2008, in the 20th year of the series, John Robert Colombo, Barry Dempster, W. J. Keith, and John Terpstra were invited to help launch our twenty-fifth publication, Swim Class and other poems by George Whipple.   Hugh Anson-Cartwright with John Terpstra at the 2006 launch of Terpstra’s The Boys; Or, Waiting for the Electrician’s Daughter. LOCAL SUPPORT The poetry series has always identified itself with St. Thomas’s Anglican Church on Huron Street in Toronto. Both the former rector, Fr. Roy Hoult, and the current incumbent, Fr. Mark Andrews, have supported the series by allowing it to use the church and the hall for readings and receptions. There have been many loyal parishioners who have supported the series through their volunteer help, including antiquarian bookseller Hugh Anson-Cartwright (who suggested the elegant dimensions of the first books), professional editor Pat Kennedy, parish adminstrator Barb Obrai, Willem Hart, the late Bill Martin (who recorded many of the early readings), and John Meadows.  All twenty-five books may be seen in the display case at the rear of the church. If examined, you will see that the books also prominently feature the elegant logo that Alan Fleming designed for the parish centenary celebrations in 1974. It appears at the top of this page: a carpenter’s square with four spear tips. Below: David Kent, Margo Swiss, Susan McCaslin, and John Reibetanz after a reading at St. Thomas’s by Susan and John in 2005. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION The St. Thomas’s books are all printed on our neighbour’s presses, Coach House Printing, and its proprietor, Stan Bevington, has worked with Nancy Ruth Jackson to ensure the much admired design quality of the books. With the exception of Benedict Abroad (whose cover was designed by Barbara Howard), the covers for books in The St. Thomas Poetry Series have been designed by Nancy, who currently lives in New Jersey after many years working in the publishing industry in Toronto. The books have been produced at Coach House Press under the direction of Stan Bevington, and in several cases the covers were individually printed by Stan directly from Nancy’s wood engravings. OVERVIEW The series is intended to be a non-profit venture, all proceeds from the sales of one book being used for the publication of the next one in the series. Generating income has been a challenge, since poetry of any kind is not a popular genre and religious poetry is its least popular subset. Nevertheless, it is fair to say that all across Canada among readers of poetry there is now a strong association between St. Thomas’s Church and poetry of high quality. Please see the subsequent pages on this site for a list of available publications, for information about poets and specific publications, for selections from critical reviews, for links to relevant sites, and for ordering information. To access the website of St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, click here 8 JUNE 2011 Poetry Reading at St. Thomas’s We recently welcomed back two poets who have each read with us on several occasions and published in our poetry series. Susan McCaslin launched her new collection, Demeter Goes Skydiving (University of Alberta Press, 2011), and Richard Greene read from Boxing the Compass (Signal Editions, 2010), for which he received the Governor General’s Award for Poetry in 2010. An audience of 40 to 50 people enjoyed these two distinguished poets in the parish hall of St. Thomas’s Church. SUSAN McCASLIN & RICHARD GREENE http://www.stthomas.on.ca/http://livepage.apple.com/shapeimage_3_link_0