Mike Coleman would be delighted to know poetry is alive and well with young people like Chemainus’ Grace Lavigne and others who entered a contest in his name.
The former City of Duncan Mayor, who died on June 29 of last year, was an avid writer with a specific interest in poetry and Lavigne is the winner of the first contest that graces his name, the Cowichan Foundation’s Michael Coleman Poetry and Spoken Word contest.
The honour of being the first contest winner came with a $2,500 award.
“I was kind of in shock,” Lavigne said of her initial reaction after being notified. “No way, not me. How could this happen?”
It happened because Amazing Grace 18, a 2022 graduate of Shawnigan Lake School, wrote an incredible piece that was accompanied by an extremely well-crafted video, even though she confessed to not spending a lot of time on it.
“We were very excited to see so many young poets from our community enter the contest,” said Foundation president Daniel Varga. “This competition is a wonderful opportunity to honour our beloved Michael Coleman, who was so many things to our community, a founder of the Cowichan Foundation and a passionate poet. We know Mike would have loved all the spoken word and poetry entries. The judges truly had some amazing admissions to evaluate and we thank each and every contestant for their entry.”
Along with her entry, Lavigne declared herself an avid writer, artist, nerd and costume-maker with a natural habitat that includes thrift stores, cafes and anywhere with cats.
“I love writing,” she said. “It’s always been my school talent. Writing was something that came very naturally to me. Ever since I was really young I would write these obscure poems.”
Born in Victoria, Lavigne has grown up in Chemainus while attending Shawnigan Lake School during her high school years.
“One phase is over and the next is to begin,” Lavigne confided. “I love to say I’m no longer a high school student. Wrapping my head around that I’m not going back to high school in September is really, really weird to me.”
Her writing skills were honed in many ways from high school courses and opportunities in the community like the annual Royal Canadian Legion Remembrance Day contest.
“I’ve entered a few contests,” Lavigne said. “It’s slowed over the years, my courses getting heavier.”
Lavigne found out about the Cowichan Foundation contest from Cari Bell, her Creative Writing 12 class teacher.
Some early poetry she did was more typical with a strict rhyming scheme, but she decided an ode was the way to go for the contest and thus created Ode To An Undetermined Phenomenon.
“It definitely takes a bit of a spin,” Lavigne said. “At first it’s not very ode. By the end, the speaker comes to a place of acceptance and even praise.”
A requirement of the contest was for participants to include a video of themselves reading it. Lavigne laughed she filmed with her iPhone in her bathroom, but it was a creative masterpiece to fit the poem.
Lavigne has been a teaching assistant for Bell’s Grade 10 Creative Writing class that proved to be a valuable experience. She also gives credit to Jay Connelly for half a year she spent in English Literature studies, a Grade 11-12 course.
“He was the one who really drilled it into me you want to be clear and precise,” Lavigne noted.
“I made memories and friends for a lifetime,” she added of her time at Shawnigan Lake School.
Lavigne comes by many talents naturally from her Chemainus upbringing with parents Alice and famous singer Ken Lavigne as well as grandparents Helen and Jamie Stephen and is close to her two siblings, Lucy and Geordie.
What happens next remains to be seen because Lavigne has the capability to go in so many different directions.
For now, “I’m taking a gap year,” she said.
Lavigne has taken a job at the Public Market in Chemainus and her boss, Patricia Berry, speaks highly of her.
“She is an exemplary employee with a strong work ethic, such a pleasant individual and wonderful customer service,” said Berry. “She’s such a special kid.”
You can view Lavigne’s video here and more on the top three entries in the poetry contest here.
Here’s the written version of Lavigne’s winning poem:
Ode To An Undetermined Phenomenon
Who are You? You will not say—
You never speak until spoken to, even then,
You interrupt my carefully constructed ultimatums,
Howling over my sentiments as if breath grew on trees.
You’re a ghost, aren’t you? Some kind of spectre?
You clothe Yourself with truths I wish were lies.
Like a shadow, You depend on light for Your life
But You are not so blurry as a shadow is—
No, You are well defined.
I often belittle Your mind and Your body,
Your bloody, flushed cheeks,
Your spidery blue veins sprawled like frozen lightning,
The dark spots all over Your body like macabre constellations.
You always take it, steadfast, steady.
You don’t do much but lip sync to the words
Of my life soundtrack. Despite Your idiosyncrasies, Ghost,
I am glad to count on You.
For even in the dark I am not lonely, because I know You wait for me.
Locked in walls of thin glass and puddles after rain
And ornate, polished silverware.
You do not respond to any other master.
You live as I do, and when I die, You will too.
You must be a saint—either that or cursed,
Doomed to spend your eternal afterlife chained to my soul.
Either way, I appreciate Your patient understanding
When You show up to work on time, like always,
Or You watch my work intently, as though I am exceptionally important.
You put up with my antics—
I make stupid faces at You, cross my eyes,
Pose for You, pinch You, examine you, hate You and love You.
Oh patient Ghost! Oh enduring Soul!
If I only trusted You earlier,
If only my younger self realized how much I
Owed to my Reflection.
