Sunday, May 31, 2009

Cadence Weapon, P.L.

In a charming display of hipness, Cadence Weapon was named Edmonton's next poet laureate. Poet laureates are expected to compose works celebrating their district of laureatitude (that's not a real word, but whatever), which means that we can probably expect some upcoming Edmonton-centric electro-hip-hop from Rollie Pemberton. I, personally, cannot wait.


First of all, Edmonton has always struck me as being god-awful and boring - an impression I formed mostly during childhood visits to my aunt's house. As a single woman, there were none of the usual distractions (games, toys, dress-up clothes, other children) lying around, so my sibling and I had to make do with a single six-hour-long tape of Warner Brothers cartoons. Secondly, poetry has long been considered either inaccessibly dull, or the creative domain of melodramatic teenage girls. So, the potent cocktail of Edmonton + poetry should be eliciting the strong desire for naps. Instead, I'm kind of intrigued.


It's neat that Edmonton is choosing home-grown youth. Cadence Weapon is taking over from E.D. Blodgett, who seems lovely...but was born in 1935. In Philadelphia. Which is in America. Cadence Weapon, on the other hand, is 23-year-old, third-generation Edmontonian. Instead of ignoring the talent their city helped produce, Edmonton is celebrating it. I'm hoping for a large statue of the poet/Pitchfork writer to be erected (ha) in one of the city's 460 parks.


I've talked before about Canadian identity should, by now, be moving away from "lame yokel" and more towards "cosmolitan with a big backyard," but I didn't really think Edmonton was going to be the one leading the charge. Deadmonton no more! Can the day when Dallas Green is poet-laureated in St. Catharines be far?

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