Winnipeg Arts Council

THE STORY OF WINNIPEG, a collaborative city-wide poetry project

Winnipeg’s Poet Laureate has launched her Winnipeg city-wide poetry project, The Story of Winnipeg. The Story of Winnipeg is an invitation to all Winnipeggers to share their lyrical and literal interpretations of our city.

This project is in collaboration with the Winnipeg Arts Council and the Winnipeg Public Library. Each library branch in Winnipeg will provide participants with folded City of Winnipeg map books that Still has crafted out of City of Winnipeg archival materials. These fill-in-the-blank tiny map books are created out of a single piece of paper opened in the center and folded into a new structure. Participants are invited to fill in the blanks Still has provided with their versions of Winnipeg. They can keep the books for themselves, or they can “mail” their poems to Still in a paper mailbox located at each library branch. These poems will be collected, read, and shared as part of a city-wide mini-book installation in 2026.

"The response to this project is already surprising me!” says Still, who soft-launched the project at Plume Winnipeg’s Thin Air Poetry Bash and John Samson Fellows’ concert in September, “I love unfolding the pages and being greeted by handwriting. I’ve cried and sighed and laughed out loud and I only have a few dozen so far. People immediately amend and shape the prompts and make the space their own. Hearing all these takes on Winnipeg reminds me how connected we are. We are here. Together. In a city made of miles of shoes on power lines, miles of lost mittens, miles of stripmall nail salons! A city controlled by geese and potholes. Winnipeggers are generous and concerned and filled with hope all at once. I’m amazed at how much people share in just a few blank spaces. I’m moved that they have taken a moment to consider these openings. I’m already hearing the ‘we’ and ‘us’ and the poetry in every voice. I am listening for what the whole wants to be."

As Poet Laureate, one of Still’s goals is to “promote poetry as a tangible, practical, even crafty, form of expression accessible to all”. With her unique approach to poetic form, Still aims to create conversations around poetry as a physical performance piece. She believes that “a poem is not limited to existing on a page” and hopes that her unconventional poetry mediums will evoke emotions and interest even from those who have not had much exposure to the wonderful world of poetry.

The Story of Winnipeg mini books are available to fill out and drop off at all Winnipeg Public Library locations beginning October 2025. This project will run until December 1, 2025.

Need help? Want to learn more? Email Jennifer at [email protected].