Gwynn Scheltema came to Canada in 1982, following the civil war in Zimbabwe, with her husband, 3 small children under 9, no jobs and $1000. Now she is retired, living peacefully in her lakeside home on Lake Seymour in Trent River. She spent 20 odd years as an accountant and then switched to writing and…
Category: Festival of the Arts
NFOTA is Back!
Sing it! Say it! Play it! Northumberland Festival of the Arts (NFOTA) is madly planning and preparing to amaze you once again with NFOTA 2024! NFOTA (pronounced en-phota) is a not-for-profit arts organization, and 100% of the work is done by volunteers. Our volunteers come from all over Northumberland County and many are artists and…
What Fun!
What I did at the Northumberland Festival of the Arts: I wrote a flash poem at Dane Swan’s Writing Our Shadows workshop. I started a long contemplated memoir at Cynthia Reyes’ and Carol Shaw’s memoir workshop. After untold eons, I picked up a paintbrush and made a painting with Ixchel Suarez’s Fall Inspiration. Since the…
2019 Festival Highlights: Allan Briesmaster
As we confirm the program for NFOTA’s upcoming festival, to be announced soon, we look back on previous festivals. Here is poet Allan Briesmaster reading at Words on a Wire 2019. About Allan: Poet Allan Briesmaster is a frequent visitor to Cobourg, where he has read at various poetry events over the years. He has…
2019 Festival Highlights: Antony Di Nardo
As we confirm the program for NFOTA’s upcoming festival, to be announced very soon, we look back on previous festivals. Here is Antony Di Nardo’s poetry reading from Words on a Wire 2019. About Antony Antony Di Nardo is the author of five books of poetry, with a sixth, Forget-Sadness-Grass, to be released this April…
Why Poetry? by Kate Rogers
A lot of writers and artists make Northumberland County home! One important reason my husband and I chose to settle here after two decades abroad is the many poets and visual artists who practice their craft here. What is poetry? According to Margaret Atwood, “Poetry is condensed emotion.” Poets often focus on epiphanies—flashes of understanding…