WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE?
What’s Your Favourite?
Curator of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project and CAA Member Andrew Porteus talks 19th-century authors, poems committed to memory and the “Time Warp.”
By Zoe Whittall
NIAGARA FALLS has long been commemorated through literature, and for retired librarian Andrew Porteus, that body of work is a source of inspiration. As the unofficial archivist for the region’s unique poetic history, Porteus is the founder and curator of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project. It’s dedicated to sharing the region’s rich history through its poetry, with a poetry map, Niagara Falls poetry walking tour and a podcast.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ANDREW PORTEUS
(From top) Snow-dusted Christmas trees at Porteus’s Bellyacres Farm; a wintry view of Niagara Falls — and a glimpse into the area’s less-developed past — from February, 1936. | PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) COURTESY OF ANDREW PORTEUS; FRANCIS J. PETRIE COLLECTION/GENERAL PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION/COURTESY OF NIAGARA FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on the poetry project?
We have a small pussywillow and Christmas tree farm. We travel a lot, usually taking three to four trips a year. I also index books, mainly local history. Everyone should read the book I just indexed — Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest-Running Residential School.
What do you love about living in the Niagara Falls region?
There’s a mixture of farmland and urban areas. You see the seasons go by very quickly. I can just look out my window here and see the tops of the ships going through the Welland Canal. There’s so much history here as well.
Is there an independent local bookstore in the region that you like?
Yes, it’s on King Street in St. Catharines. Someday Books.
Do you have any poetry memorized?
In Grade 9, we were required to memorize a poem of our own choosing, which I’ve managed to keep in mind for over 55 years now! Mine was Colley Cibber’s “The Blind Boy.” I still recite it to myself on occasion to check on the old memory cells.
Do you have a favourite film?
Everyone should see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It is so camp and has so many pop culture references and is lots of fun. At my daughter’s wedding for the father/daughter song, we chose Chris de Burgh’s “For Rosanna,” which the DJ then morphed into “Time Warp.”
Is there a Niagara writer that you think everyone should read?
Erieus. He wrote back in the [1800s]. One of my favourites is Journal of the Day’s Journey in Upper Canada in October 1816. You can find it on my website.
Still from the 1975 film Rocky Horror Picture Show. | PHOTO: PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
NIAGARA FALLS has long been commemorated through literature, and for retired librarian Andrew Porteus, that body of work is a source of inspiration. As the unofficial archivist for the region’s unique poetic history, Porteus is the founder and curator of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project. It’s dedicated to sharing the region’s rich history through its poetry, with a poetry map, Niagara Falls poetry walking tour and a podcast.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ANDREW PORTEUS
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(From left) Snow-dusted Christmas trees at Porteus’s Bellyacres Farm; a wintry view of Niagara Falls — and a glimpse into the area’s less-developed past — from February, 1936. | PHOTOS: (FROM LEFT) COURTESY OF ANDREW PORTEUS; FRANCIS J. PETRIE COLLECTION/GENERAL PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION/COURTESY OF NIAGARA FALLS PUBLIC LIBRARY.
What do you like to do when you’re not working on the poetry project?
We have a small pussywillow and Christmas tree farm. We travel a lot, usually taking three to four trips a year. I also index books, mainly local history. Everyone should read the book I just indexed — Behind the Bricks: The Life and Times of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s Longest-Running Residential School.
What do you love about living in the Niagara Falls region?
There’s a mixture of farmland and urban areas. You see the seasons go by very quickly. I can just look out my window here and see the tops of the ships going through the Welland Canal. There’s so much history here as well.
Is there an independent local bookstore in the region that you like?
Yes, it’s on King Street in St. Catharines. Someday Books.
Do you have any poetry memorized?
In Grade 9, we were required to memorize a poem of our own choosing, which I’ve managed to keep in mind for over 55 years now! Mine was Colley Cibber’s “The Blind Boy.” I still recite it to myself on occasion to check on the old memory cells.
Do you have a favourite film?
Everyone should see the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It is so camp and has so many pop culture references and is lots of fun. At my daughter’s wedding for the father/daughter song, we chose Chris de Burgh’s “For Rosanna,” which the DJ then morphed into “Time Warp.”
Is there a Niagara writer that you think everyone should read?
Erieus. He wrote back in the [1800s]. One of my favourites is Journal of the Day’s Journey in Upper Canada in October 1816. You can find it on my website.
Still from the 1975 film, Rocky Horror Picture Show. | PHOTO: PICTORIAL PRESS LTD/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO