Local Scene
Archibald Lampman Commemorative Reading
On Sunday, February 9, 2003, a group of writers, artists, actors and admirers of Canadian literature braved a characteristically icy Ottawa evening to gather at 369 Daly Avenue, where they participated in a celebration of the city’s rich literary culture. The venue was the former residence of the poet Archibald Lampman, and the occasion was a Commemorative Reading marking the eve of the poet’s death on February 10, 1899.
Hosted by Seymour Mayne of the University of Ottawa, the event represented the third Commemorative Reading at Lampman House since 1998. Each of these readings have explored the continuity of creative endeavour at Ottawa, with contemporary poets reading their own work as well as selections from Lampman’s nineteenth-century verse. This year the vitality of the capital’s literary culture was given full voice with the participation of award-winning poets Andrée Christensen and Jacques Flamand, who provided moving French translations of Lampman’s “In Beechwood Cemetery,” “In the Pine Groves” and “We Too Shall Sleep.” Archibald Lampman himself, embodied by actor Mark Leahy, also was on hand to read such works as “Heat” and “Winter Uplands,” as well as to recount his experience of Ottawa’s inspirational character.
Literary historian Steven Artelle provided context for the evening’s proceedings, as he described the literary community active in Ottawa during Lampman’s lifetime. When Lampman arrived in the capital in 1883 to assume a position in the civil service, the city already boasted a substantial bicultural literary scene, as a number of prominent littérateurs had migrated to Ottawa when Canada’s federal government relocated from Quebec City in the mid-1860s. At the height of his career in the 1890s, Lampman’s contemporaries at Ottawa included prominent Canadian writers such as Benjamin Sulte, William Wilfred Campbell, Alfred Garneau and Duncan Campbell Scott.
The Commemorative Reading’s participants included Bywords editors Amanda Earl and Christal Steck, whose contemporary selections spoke to the enduring influence of the local environment on the rhythms and themes of Ottawa verse. Likewise, Seymour Mayne confirmed the importance of wit and satire for writers operating in the shadow of the Parliament Buildings, as he matched these qualities in his own work with Lampman’s “The Poets,” “The Modern Politician” and “To A Millionaire.”
Lampman House owners Gil and Dan Litchinsky have graciously made their home accessible in support of Ottawa’s cultural heritage (Lampman House also operates as a bed and breakfast), and the pervasive effect of their generosity was evident in the range of guests attracted to the reading, including fine artist Dr. Jennifer Dickson, and Betty Gustafson, wife of the late Canadian poet Ralph Gustafson. As the evening came to a close, talk had already turned to plans for the next Commemorative Reading, as well as efforts to recover, translate and publish more of Ottawa’s literary heritage, past and present, all of which served to confirm Lampman’s enduring contribution to Canadian letters.