Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson announced Tuesday that Pierrette Requier is Edmonton’s newest Poet Laureate.
“Poetry is an important canvas for us to capture Edmonton's history and stories,” Iveson said in a statement.
“As our newest Poet Laureate and a Franco-Albertan, Pierrette's unique voice will add new perspectives to our city's narrative and enhance our artistic and cultural diversity,” he added.
Requier, who was raised in the Peace River region of northern Alberta, has been involved in Edmonton’s literary community for more than 20 years.
“Writing poetry is at once terror and playfulness. It is jumping into a void, and at the same time, immersing oneself into the now of play,” said Requier.
“Poets hang out with words long enough to watch the magic of an image arise out of nothing,” she said.
Requier has served as Grant MacEwan University’s writer-in-residence and a poet mentor for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta Mentorship Program – her poetry has also been printed in over ten publications.
For the past 15 years she has also encouraged the local literary community by designing and hosting monthly seminars.
Requier will serve a two-year term starting in July.
Edmonton’s Poet Laureate program is supported by the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Arts Council and the Edmonton Public Library.
