In this discussion I will explore two complimenting versions of the Canadian poet from Northrop Frye and Margaret Atwood and consider their continuing relevance for artists in the Maritimes. In Canada and Its Poetry Northrop Frye asserts “The colonial position is therefore the frostbite at the roots of the Canadian Imagination, and it produces a disease for which I think the best name is prudery.” And in The Paralyzed Artist Atwood states “Usually he found that his own work would be dismissed by sophisticated Canadian critics as ‘second rate,’ ‘provincial,’ or ‘regional,’ simply for having been produced here; by the unsophisticated it might well have been denounced as immoral.” Though they seem antiquated, I think these statements still express the authentic situation for many artists in the Maritimes. Shane Neilson’s book New Brunswick was an essential act because the very naming of the title means art can happen here. In some sense the need for this book is proof of the continuing relevance of Frye’s and Atwood’s conceptions. Why is simply naming a location still a radical act? We struggle to form a cultural cannon and even the relevance of our great poets, such as Alden Nowlan, is continuously forgotten. Why hasn’t Canada produced a Walt Whitman? Could a pleasure seeking and life affirming poet like Alex Dimitritov exist in Canada? I will also look at counter examples such as the Acadian racialism of Rose Després, a voice seemingly free from this “prudery”.

In the second part of this discussion, I will explore some of the new independent platforms such as Patreon, independent presses such as Hyperidean, Pilot, Canadian micro presses, and then consider how they bypass the curatorial goals of established publishers and arts organizations. Arts institutions and arts funding are essential, their resources and work are vital to communities. However, there is the risk of a relationship where the role of the artist is simply a vehicle to proselytize the social education/engineering projects of the arts institutions themselves. Relying on the essential funding these institutions provide, artists compete to tailor their work to meet the vision and goals of arts bureaucracies. Authentically radical voices are silenced, truly original work never sees the possibility of finding an audience. What is the role of radical art today and where is it being produced? This talk will briefly examine the importance of risk taking and bravery in creating authentic art and will look at outsider publishing platforms from the historical Grove Press to Arsenal Pulp, to independent presses such as Hyperidean and ExPat, and consider the vital role of micro presses in Canadian poetry publishing; many artists are bypassing grants altogether and funding their work through platforms like Patreon.

Drew Lavigne is the anglophone Poet Laureate of Moncton, New Brunswick. A member of the editorial board at The Fiddlehead and host of the Attic Owl reading series. Recent work has appeared in Vallum: Contemporary Poetry, Tourniquet Magazine, and with Éditions Rhizome. He is the editor of Labyrinth Press, and author of the forthcoming collection The Golden Snare.