Under the Mulberry Tree: Poems for & about Raymond Souster

(The video/photos were provided by Herry Martinuk, please check video part1part 2)

Check NEWSZ4U.net for New Book and Launch event Honour Raymond Sousterreported by Patrick Connors

See more photos on SNAPNewspaper

Read the following summary by James Deahl

We had a real blast on Wednesday. For the record, and so you will have all their names, the following 14 poets read from our anthology:

Steven Michael Berzensky
Kent Bowman
James Deahl
Margaret Patricia Eaton
David Eso
Joe Fiorito
Michael Fraser
Ryan Gibbs
Debbie Okun Hill
Laurence Hutchman
Norma West Linder
Lynn Tait
Carleton Wilson
Anna Yin

Also present were 3 of the photographers from the anthology: my wife Norma West Linder (of course), Henry Martinuk, and Dori Mould. Plus, 2 of the 3 Souster scholars who helped me with my Introduction: Terry Barker and Bruce Whiteman.

In addition, quite a few well-published poets (by which I mean several books each) were in attendance: David Day, David Haskins (who drove in from Grimsby), Steven McCabe, Julie McNeill, Stan Rogal, and Karen Shenfeld among them. I think one measure of the success of a book launch it the number of the writers in attendance who are not there to read their own work or promote themselves, but to celebrate the poetry of some other writer. Also, several of my poet friends were there, too, Clara Blackwood, Andrew Brooks, Patrick Conners, Honey Novick, and Peter Rowe, to mention only five of them. More to the point, there were about 15 people in the room I had never seen before. When people attend a poetry event who you did not personally invite, that is amazing. It demonstrates the respect people have in their hearts for Ray Souster.

In total, there were 45 – 50 there for our launch! Probably more like 50 being part of the “Big Show”.
—-James Deahl