January 18, 2005      
For Immediate Release
Media Release                                                       

Saskatchewan Poet Laureate Announced

Louise Halfe will be Saskatchewan’s new Poet Laureate.  The selection was made by an independent committee consisting of representatives of the literary, academic and government communities.

Louise, also known as Sky Dancer, has lived in Saskatoon for 18 years.  She has written two acclaimed books of poetry and her work has appeared widely in anthologies and periodicals.

"I am honoured to be selected as the provincial Poet Laureate,” Halfe said.  “I hope to use this platform to promote not only poetry but the arts in general.  It is the desire of most artists that we move toward a vision of wholeness."

Glen Sorestad, whose term as Poet Laureate ended on December 31, is pleased about his successor.  “Louise Halfe will add a fresh dynamic and highly positive dimension to the role of Poet Laureate,” he said.  “I anticipate that she will extend the reach of Poet Laureate activities to even more communities during her term.”

Halfe has had a distinguished career as a poet.  She made her writing debut as a poet writing in Writing the Circle: Native Women of Western Canada, an anthology of life-writings by Native women.

Bear Bones & Feathers, her first book of poetry, was short-listed for the Spirit of Saskatchewan Award, the Saskatchewan First Book Award, the Gerald Lambert Award, and the Pat Lowther First Book Award.  In 1996 it won the Milton Acorn Award.  Her second book, Blue Marrow, was short-listed for the 1998 Governor General's Award and in three categories in the Saskatchewan Book Awards:  the Saskatchewan Book of the year, the Saskatoon Book Award and the Saskatchewan Poetry Award.  

Halfe has traveled extensively across Canada and abroad giving readings and presentations of her work andconducting writing workshops.  She has also served as writer-in-residence at the Markin-Flanagan Distinguished Writer program in Calgary, the Native Earth Performing Arts Weesageechak Festival in Toronto, and at the University of Windsor.

Born in Two Hills, Alberta, Louise Halfe was raised on the Saddle Lake First Nation and attended Blue Quills Residential School.  She has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Regina and certificates in Addictions from the Nechi Institute.

Halfe is married, the mother of two adult children and the proud grandmother of two.  She is a member of the Saskatchewan Arts Board.  In recent years she has also served as the President for the Sage Hill Writing Experience.

Begun in 2000, the Saskatchewan Poet Laureate Program is the first provincial program of its kind in Canada. The Poet Laureate Program is funded by the Saskatchewan Arts Board under the patronage of the Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Lynda Haverstock.  The program is administered by the Saskatchewan Writers Guild in partnership with the Saskatchewan Arts Board and the Saskatchewan Book Awards. 

The first official appearance of the new Laureate will be at a tea at Government House on February 24, hosted by the Lieutenant Governor.                                                  

Further information or to arrange media availability for Louise Halfe:

Susan Hogarth, 1-306-791-7742