News Releases
Toronto, December 6, 2010
New ”Poetry is Public is Poetry” installation part of Cedarbrae Branch reopening
The first permanent “Poetry is Public is Poetry” installation features verse from Toronto poet Rosemary Sullivan and is displayed at the main entrance of the Cedarbrae Branch public library, which reopens on December 6.
The three lines “a man packed a country/in a suitcase with his shoes/and left” are permanently mounted in bronze lettering and embedded in the walkway to the library. Taken from the poem Exile (from Sullivan’s 1991 collection Blue Panic) these words were chosen by City of Toronto’s Poet Laureate Dionne Brand and her advisory committee as a way to provoke a sense of inquisitiveness in visitors as they enter the recently renovated public library.
Rosemary Sullivan is a poet and bestselling author of Labyrinth of Desire: Women, Passion, and Romantic Obsession and The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out. Her biography of Gwendolyn MacEwen, Shadow Maker, won the Governor General’s Literary Award for non-fiction. Sullivan is also a professor of English at the University of Toronto. For more information, visit http://www.rosemarysullivan.com.
A Toronto Poet Laureate initiative, “Poetry is Public is Poetry” showcases and celebrates the work of Canadian poets to help transform Toronto’s public realm into an illuminating forum for the written word. In August, a temporary installation of five panels featuring passages from 34 prominent writers was launched at the Toronto Reference Library. Each installation is also featured at http://www.poetryispublic.ca.
“Poetry is Public is Poetry” is a collaborative endeavour involving the City of Toronto’s Cultural Services and Transportation Services working in co-operation with the Toronto Public Library and the Toronto Public Library Foundation. Part of the Poet Laureate’s legacy project, this ongoing program merges poetry with public art in order to claim permanent public space for Canadian poetry on Toronto walkways.
More information about Toronto’s Poet Laureate is available at http://www.toronto.ca/culture/poet_laureate.htm.
Toronto Public Library Welcomes Community Back to Cedarbrae Branch
Over one thousand visitors expected in the first hour
Toronto Public Library will welcome the Scarborough community back to its much loved Cedarbrae Branch today at 4:00 p.m. The beautifully renovated library has been redesigned to create an accessible, welcoming environment with improved customer service and more access to technology and collections.
What: Cedarbrae Branch Official Reopening
Where: 545 Markham Road (below Lawrence Avenue East), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: Monday, December 6, 2010; Doors open at 4 p.m.; Official ceremony at 4:30 p.m.
Who: Toronto Public Library Board Chair Matthew Church, City Librarian Jane Pyper;
Local Councillor and Toronto Public Library board member Paul Ainslie,
and Poet Laureate Dionne Brand
Designed by Makrimichalos Cugini Architects, the renovations include:
• Accessible community space: new convenient layout, with barrier-free access and more meeting room space available for the community.
• Improved customer service: Self-service technologies including express check-out, and Toronto Public Library’s first automated express check-in system.
• More access to technology for research, learning, working and recreation: 62 public access computers (a 22% increase), free Wi-Fi, CD listening stations and a collaborative learning studio.
• Welcoming for everyone: An urban living room; reading lounges; an interactive early literacy centre, KidsStop; Teen Zone with large screen TV; and an outdoor reading garden.
• Sustainable: New energy efficient systems with maximized use of sunlight; expanded landscaping and additional trees.
• Relevant: Over 35,000 new books, CDs, magazines and DVDs.
• Poetry is Public is Poetry: The inaugural Poetry is Public is Poetry installation will be unveiled near the main entrance. This is a collaborative endeavour with Toronto Public Library, Toronto Public Library Foundation and the City of Toronto’s cultural and transportation services.
Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 17.5 million people visit our 99 branches and borrow more than 31 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131.
Toronto is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government, and home to a diverse population of about 2.6 million people. It is the economic engine of Canada and one of the greenest and most creative cities in North America. Toronto has won numerous awards for quality, innovation and efficiency in delivering public services. Toronto’s government is dedicated to prosperity, opportunity and liveability for all its residents. For information about non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can dial 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.