Summertime Poets by Wally Keeler

Film Access Northumberland recently hosted the 2nd annual Eye2Eye International Film Festival in the grand Concert Hall in Victoria Hall in downtown Cobourg. A full roster of all genres of film was presented, all under the theme umbrella of “What Unites Us.” Summertime, directed by Carlos Lopez Estrada, is a film that is hectic frantic…

We All Bend Toward the Light by Katie Hoogendam

“Who can bend and not break? Not one of us. And yet, the moon also rises. The peonies bloom. Someone hands you a glass of water. Your thirst is quenched, for a moment, and you are touched by the kindness of that person, the significance of that glass of water.” Katie Hoogendam What do we…

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…

Meet the Faces behind NFOTA: Katie Hoogendam

“Art to me is the ground of being–not a noun, but a verb; something primordial that defies and predates the bounds of language.”–Katie Hoogendam. Writer and artist Katie Hoogendam serves on NFOTA’s Program Committee. Who are you? Hi, I’m Katie Hoogendam (“Merkat”). I’m a local writer, poet, playwright and interdisciplinary artist. Why do you believe…