The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Creighton writer Brenda Schmidt has been chosen to represent Saskatchewan in a national poetry competition on CBC radio. Schmidt was one of five Saskatchewan poets invited to read their work in the 2004 CBC National Poetry Face-Off Regionals last month in Regina. The poems were broadcast on CBC Radio Saskatchewan's Morning Edition on Wednesday, with listeners encouraged to vote for their favorite by phone or online. They chose Schmidt's piece, The Latest From the ABC's of Ice Fishing, a narrative about the popular sport. With the poets asked to fuse the theme of 'belonging' into their pieces, she felt the sociable winter activity was a perfect choice. "I really wanted something that would speak to the rest of the country," said Schmidt, who left her job as a nurse in 1998 to write and paint full-time. "We're a northern nation, and ice fishing is such a popular sport across this country." Schmidt was asked to enter the contest by a CBC producer familiar with her body of work, which includes The Haunting Sun, a book of poems inspired by Flintabbatey Flonatin and the community bearing his name. "It was a nice surprise to be asked in the first place," she commented. Schmidt expressed her gratitude to local residents who voted for her poem and allowed it to go onto the national level. The final round of the 2004 CBC National Poetry Face-Off is scheduled to air on April 19, 20, 21, and 22 at 11:30 am on CBC Radio One's Sounds Like Canada. Listeners from across the country will be able to vote for their favourite by calling a toll-free number or going online.
