After three years, Kamal Parmar’s term as the City of Nanaimo’s Poet Laureate is coming to an end, and she is reflecting on the work she has done and the lessons she has learned.
Parmar, who has a deep love for writing poetry, took on the position in 2021. As the Poet Laureate, she connected the community with poetry as a literary ambassador
She said her time as the Poet Laureate was one of the most memorable experiences in her life.
“I will always cherish these memories,” Parmar said. “I had developed a very deep and everlasting bond between myself and the wonderful talented set of writers and poets, both established and budding poets that our wonderful city has, and their poems touched my heart as I heard them at various you know, readings, panel discussions and book launches that I had organized.”
She has done several projects for the city including writing a poem for Canada Day in 2023 and organizing the Poems for Windows project in 2022 with the Urban Design Roster Program. In this project, community members were asked to contribute poems that were made into posters in response to the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure there was still the opportunity to connect with poetry during the pandemic. These poems were presented in civic facilities and shop windows around the city.
In 2022, Parmar worked on the Hidden Messages Poetry project that saw haikus she wrote combined with public art. Hydrophobic materials were used to install the poems along active transportation routes in ten locations across the city. When it rained hidden poems were revealed.
She also worked on the Poetry in the Park project that started in the spring of this year, which Parmar said was to add poetry to the natural landscape of Bowen Park. People can walk around the park and find QR codes that link to poems Parmar wrote about nature and the landscape.
“So there's a dual kind of benefit–you walk and also enjoy poetry and poetry in nature. As you know they have a symbiotic relationship,” she said. “We love nature, and you can connect with nature and write poetry, it's also a great healing tool, both nature and poetry.
Throughout her time, Parmar has also published several poetry books including Vanishing into the Blue which came out in February of this year and highlights her love for nature.
As the Poet Laureate, she also did readings across the central Vancouver Island area and on Gabriola Island. She spent time connecting with other poets and writers.
“They were very happy they really loved having this kind of get-together and they said we should have more of this,” she said. “I had poets coming from all the small islands out here and they came by ferry and to attend and to read.”
She was able to meet many people through readings and other literary events that helped grow her inspiration and reflect on where she was as a starting writer.
“You know, I learned from budding writers and established writers–they increased my love of writing poetry,” she said. “I also recollected the time when I was just a budding writer, and how I used to sit down, go to a park and read a poetry book and get inspiration, or get inspiration by just looking at a lake–or here, of course, we have the wonderful ocean.”
She said through her position she was able to learn a lot from the work she did and the people she met.
“Talking to them, getting to know them better, taught me many lessons; how the journey might be difficult, but never give up, have patience and perseverance,” she said. “That's the answer to being a true poet–never give up, you always have to have some resilience, you might get any amount of rejection slips, but do not give up, one day you'll reach your goal.”
She said she gets a lot of her inspiration from nature and different places around Nanaimo.
“If you go to any area, Brennan Lake, Divers Lake, go to the ocean, outside and bordering Lantzville and Nanaimo, it’s like paradise on Earth,” she said. “You can see the sunrise, the sunset, and you can get inspiration there.”
She said Nanaimo offers so many beautiful spots to seek inspiration from and she said she can find the beauty in any place.
“I think the whole of Nanaimo's beauty is like paradise to me,” she said. “Buttertubs Marsh has its own beauty, even though it is marshland, but the birds and the ducks are unique out there and they never fail to surprise me at any time.”
She said through the position her love for poetry has grown and she has strengthened her connection to other creative people in the community.
“So many creative people, artists, writers, sculptors, painters and dancers–and poetry is one of them. So it's all about creativity on a different scale,” she said. “So I think I felt deeply embraced, and I think it was a turning point in my writing career becoming the Poet Laureate. I feel deeply honoured and privileged to be able to serve my community.”
Parmar said as her time as Poet Laureate comes to an end, she will still continue to write and stay connected with other writers and poets in the community. She said she also wishes the best of luck to the next person who will take on the role of Poet Laureate for Nanaimo.
The deadline for the application to be the next Poet Laureate runs until September 16th, 2024. Information on the position and how to apply can be found on the City of Nanaimo’s Parks, Recreation and Culture website.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.