Windsor Poets Laureate launches new collection inspired by Ojibway Park

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In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marty Gervais took long walks through parts of the Ojibway Prairie Complex with a notebook and camera in hand. Contemplating this unique space of nature became a daily ritual, regardless of the weather.

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Recently, the series of poems and photos that he composed on those many walks became Walk in the Woods: Portrait of the Ojibway Prairie Complex, a series of poems and photographs by the Poet Laureate of Windsor.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I was home and not going anywhere like everyone else, but I decided to stand in the sunlight and take a walk,” said Gervais, Windsor’s first poet laureate and former Star columnist.

“That spring, and all summer, all fall and winter, I went out every day, walking in the tall grass. Just walking alone, and kind of meditatively and photographing everything I was seeing,

Walk in the Woods is a collaboration between Gervais, Poet Laureate Emeritus; Mary Ann Mulhern, Poet Laureate; and young poet laureate Alexei Ungurenaşu.

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Walking through the woods, composing photos and writing poetry, Gervais said he never intended for his reflections to become a book, although one did eventually begin to take shape.

Mulhern and Ungurenaşu contributed their work, also reflections on the prairie complex and nature, from their own perspectives, and the collection is illustrated by the photos Gervais took during his walks, carefully selected by Windsor photographer Douglas MacLellan.

Gervais said the collections inspired by nature and the pandemic – long walks in the woods were something to rejoice in when much of the world felt different.

“People were scared, I was certainly scared. Even all these months later, almost two years later, we are still scared, a little depressed, ”Gervais said. “But I saw this as a time to be more optimistic about the things that are important in my life.”

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And for anyone reading, Gervais hopes that Walk in the Woods will inspire them to experience nature on their own terms.

“We have this beautiful area, this beautiful park, and it is very important to maintain and preserve it,” he said. “Treat yourself and get up early in the morning and go for a walk and connect with nature.

“When they look at this book, I want people to say ‘I want to go see that, I want to hear what these poets have heard when they go to the park.’

Walk in the Woods: Portrait of the Ojibway Prairie Complex, is now available at select Windsor bookstores, including Biblioasis Bookshop and Juniper Books, as well as at BlackMossPress.com . It will soon be available at the Chimczuk Museum gift shop and will be available at the Ojibway Nature Center when the facility reopens to the public. The book is the third in the South Shore Collections series, a series of works through Windsor’s Poet Laureate program that captures and shares Windsor’s unique stories with the community.

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