City of Windsor’s Poets Laureate Bringing Poetry to the Community with 2026 “Windsor’s Voices” Initiative

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The City of Windsor’s Poet Laureate Peter Hrastovec is once again planning to bring poetry to the community in a meaningful way as part of National Poetry Month 2026.

“Windsor’s Voices” is an initiative to celebrate National Poetry Month that will once again place short, six-to-ten-line inspirational poems on television screens in select City-owned facilities across the community, and as part of an online Zine to be published in April, with copies available to view at Windsor Public Library branches.

Submission Period:

From February 23, 2026, to March 20, 2026, interested Windsor poets and photographers of all ages, including youth (14 to 24), are encouraged to submit original poems or photos on one of two themes: 

  • Theme # 1: Contributors are asked to share what Windsor means to them, from neighbourhoods, events, work and labour, art and imagination, and cultural traditions to important landmarks, places, people, experiences and inspirations. Contributions will reflect on what makes Windsor special.
  • Theme # 2: As we say in Windsor, “The River and the Land Sustain Us.” Contributors are asked to reflect on the theme of “LAND & SEA” — which is the League of Canadian Poets’ 2026 theme for National Poetry Month. The organization describes the theme as follows: “Mother Earth began with spirit — first water, then land — alive and sacred. To walk on the land and touch her waters is an act of respect and gratitude. Every stone, stream, mountain, and drop of water is a teacher; every breeze, a messenger. We are called to listen, honour, by giving thanks through acts of care. Speaking with water and land we acknowledge its life-sustaining gifts; carrying the lessons of the past into the future through ceremony… explore the relationship with water and land — write, reflect, and celebrate our shared responsibilities and the sacred bonds that sustain us all.”

Submission Requirement:

  • Email culturalaffairs@citywindsor.ca 
  • Subject Line: Windsor Voices Initiative 2026
  • Include in the body of your email:
    • Full name
    • Full mailing address
    • Let us know if you are submitting a poem and/or photograph.
    • Let us know which of the two themes your work connects with.
    • Attach your six-to-ten-line poem/reflection and/or photograph.
    • Limit of one submission only per person

Those submitting will hear from a program representative in late March 2026. The City’s Poet Laureate and Poet Laureate Emeritus will select the poems and photos that best capture and align with the two themes. 

This is the third instalment of “Windsor’s Voices”. A 2024 Zine was published with creatives reflecting on the theme of “weather.” For the 2021/2022 campaign, a similar initiative that focused on the theme of “resilience” had poems printed and displayed in City facilities, mass vaccination sites, and hospital sites across the community to bring messages of hope during the pandemic. 

“Windsor’s Voices” is, as always, intended to be a positive, hopeful, uplifting creation to celebrate Windsor and the creative voices that fill the community. 

Quotes

“It’s great to see this initiative return. In Windsor, ‘The River and the Land Sustain Us,’ and this campaign provides another opportunity to showcase unique voices and perspectives that help to build and sustain a welcoming, diverse, inclusive and creative Windsor for all while celebrating some of what makes this community shine.”
- Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens

“Upon hearing Windsor’s many distinct and varied ‘voices’ over the years, I have come to learn that there is a certain harmony and pitch that is recognizable, a joyful rhythm at play, a uniquely innovative tone that is remarkably our own. This initiative is about continuing to find new ways to tell our stories and welcoming fresh voices to align with some of our more recognizable talents. This is a wonderful opportunity to reflect and share the voices that make a community.”
- Peter Hrastovec, Windsor’s Poet Laureate

Submission Examples from 2024:

Here, on this south shore, 
stories were told, 
poignant forest fables, 
wonder-moon myths, 
the generations reverent, 
their gratitude 
carved into ritual,
embedded in their soul.

By Peter Hrastovec, Poet Laureate

You can get lost in the maze of alleyways that run behind the huddle of neighbourhood homes, especially when the fog rolls in like a slumbering ghost that dares you to wake it. Keep walking, it’ll say. Keep silent, if you may. Keep moving till you find your way.

By Marty Gervais, Poet Laureate Emeritus

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