The power of positive poetry

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2020 (1882 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A North Kildonan man who turned to poetry during the pandemic quickly discovered he wasn’t alone.

Laurie Fischer is known to many in the community as one of the driving forces behind the North Kildonan Community Players, a local community theatre group that has been producing shows for over two decades. But when the COVID-19 pandemic led to a widespread lockdown in the spring, Fischer found he had a lot more time on his hands than he was used to.

“When your life goes 100 miles an hour doing all sorts of things and suddenly you’re at zero, I realized like a lot of people it’s pretty easy to go insane if you’re sitting around doing nothing,” said Fischer, who was in Clearwater, Fla., with his wife Cathie when the pandemic hit North America. “It just started a way to maintain my sanity. Thank God I did this, because I could see myself get very agitated otherwise.”

To pass the time, Fischer picked up his pen and a passion for poetry that he hadn’t explored much since his days as an English major at the University of Western Ontario.

“I knew the pandemic wasn’t going to end quickly,” he said. “So I decided that this is a way to reach out and help people get through a period of time which we have never really experienced before.”

Exploring themes like the natural world, friends and family, his battle with cancer, and the pandemic, Fischer polished his poems, then posted his work almost daily to Facebook.

“The reaction was inspiring,” he said.

After a while, the idea of putting together a book of his work took hold. With the help of his daughter Pamela Roz, Fischer assembled nearly 100 poems and began whipping them into shape.

“I owe a deep gratitude to my daughter,” Fischer said of the process. “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. She’s helped me overcome a lot of my stubbornness. She’s put a lot of time and energy into the project.”

The result is Poetry of the Pandemic, Fischer’s debut as an author. The book was published by Friesen Press, and proceeds from its sale will benefit the Never Alone Cancer Foundation. Diagnosed in 2018 with Stage 4 prostate cancer, Fischer is a big believer in the work Never Alone does, and was happy to be able to give back.

While drawing inspiration from masters like William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and Rudyard Kipling, Fischer believe he has a style all his own.

“I like the way they are able to put their view of their lives at their time in perspective,” he said. “Here we are, hundreds of years later, able to view the world from their eyes. When I’m gone, people will be able to read my poems and think, this is how things were in 2020.”

In the end, Fischer is happy that his poetry has connected with people, and hopes his words will enjoy a life of their own.

“I’m thrilled from the reaction it’s gotten so far,” he said. “I believe that this is a bathroom book, in that you can leave it there and read a poem or two while you’re there.”

For more information, or to order a copy, visit www.blackfrog.ca/product/poetry-of-the-pandemic

Sheldon Birnie
Community Journalist

Sheldon Birnie is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. The author of Missing Like Teeth: An Oral History of Winnipeg Underground Rock (1990-2001), his writing has appeared in journals and online platforms across Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. A husband and father of two young children, Sheldon enjoys playing guitar and rec hockey when he can find the time. Email him at sheldon.birnie@freepress.mb.ca Call him at 204-697-7112

   Read full biography