Calgary Poet Laureate
The Oyster's Autobiography
This piece was written for the YYCArtsPlan Citizen's Reference Panel.
New Works by Kris Demeanor
Kris Demeanor - Calgary Poet Laureate
Calgary-born songwriter Kris Demeanor delights in exposing the underbelly of western Canadian culture - gambling, drug use, murder, religion, the suburbs. His numerous CDs of original work explore the darkness and absurdity of these corner of Alberta life.
While Kris' music has taken him around the world performing, he has become a fixture of Calgary's spoken word, theatre and music communtites, creating music and lyrics for numerous award-winning projects.
Career highlights include taking the award-winning short film based on his song "I Have Seen the Future" to the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, collaborating with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on the 2011 event "Acres of Dreams," and sharing a beer with David Byrne.
In addition to his musical work he writes extensively. Kris' work has appeared in magazines like Alberta Views and Canadian Geographic. In 2009 he was awarded the Best New Magazine Writer Award for his feature piece 'Get a Real Job' in Unlimited. He performs regularly at the Banff/Calgary WordFest and the Calgary Spoken Word Festival.
Read the News Release of the Calgary Poet Laureate Announcement
Email: poet@CalgaryArtsDevelopment.com
Websites: www.krisdemeanor.com, www.cutestkittenever.com
Twitter: #yycpoet
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CalgaryPoetLaureate
About the Calgary Poet Laureate
Historically, a Poet Laureate served as the official chronicler of state events and occasions. More currently, the role of a Poet Laureate has been to reflect the life of a city through presentations of poetry. As an ambassador of the literary arts, the Laureate incorporates poetry into a range of official and informal city activities.
The Calgary Poet Laureate will compose and present poetry for official City of Calgary occasions, raise awareness of local issues through commissioned works and act as an ambassador for the arts in Calgary. The Calgary Poet Laureate welcomes invitations to attend and participate in community events. An honorarium for the Poet Laureate is suggested.
Calgary City Council approved a motion establishing a Poet Laureate for the city in July 2011. Calgary Arts Development will administer the program in conjunction with a volunteer selection committee. The Poet Laureate is funded by the Poet Laureate Ambassadors.
To learn more about the Calgary Poet Laureate selection process, please read the Calgary Poet Laureate Guidelines.
For more information on Calgary's Poet Laureate, contact Emiko Muraki at Emiko.Muraki@CalgaryArtsDevelopment.com.
Poet Laureate Ambassadors:
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
