The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

34 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday August 27, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Artscene Oakville Beaver · WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008 By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, piano and voice lessons OAKVILLE'S MUSIC STORE Poetry group scouting for new members Are you a poet and know it? If you are, then The Inkwell is looking for you. Oakville's longest-running poetry group is changing its focus in an effort to draw new members. The meetings, held the second Thursday of each month, will now feature one member reading selected works by two poets, followed by a general discussion. Members are then invited to share their own poetry. The new format should appeal to poetry lovers of all types and ages, according to Elka Ruth Enola, founder and coordinator of the Oakville Poetry Alliance, of which The Inkwell is a member. "Inkwell is a very important part of the community and it is open to everybody on every level," she said. "If you are a very experienced poet, your input will be valued. If you've got six shoeboxes of poetry hidden in the closet that no one knows about, this is perfect because there's a lot of people here like that. Inkwell is the place many people have come for the first time to literally come out of the poetry closet." The Inkwell formed in 1994. The group initially met at the Second Cup in downtown Oakville and later moved to Bookers Bookstore. This was the heyday of the group, with about 10 to 15 members. Growing membership forced the group to relocate to its current home at Timothy's World Coffee on Lakeshore Road East. "In the beginning, there wasn't really anything else (poetry groups), so everybody with any kind of interest came to Inkwell," Enola said. "What has happened since then is that there are many more groups and outlets for poetry, and people's time is limited, so they had to choose where they want to go." As more poetry groups started to form, each with a specific focus, numbers decreased for The Inkwell. The group has seen steadily declining numbers during MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER POETRY READING: John Hastings, left, president of The Inkwell, and Elka Ruth Enola, founder and coordinator of the Oakville Poetry Alliance, discuss poetry at Timothy's World Coffee in downtown Oakville. The poetry group has shifted its focus with the hope of attracting more members. the past two years. Only a handful of peo"Some might go to one, two or all of them. "Inkwell is the place many people ple have come out for the last few meetThis gives them a choice." have come for the first time to ings, according to Enola. The Inkwell runs the second Thursday literally come out of the poetry "What happened to the Inkwell is it lost of each month from 7 to 9 p.m. in the its focus," she said. "The other groups each upstairs lounge at Timothy's World Coffee, closet." had a focus and Inkwell didn't, so it start129 Lakeshore Rd. E. There is a small ed to disintegrate." membership fee. Elka Ruth Enola After trying a few different activities, Upcoming meeting dates and poets for Coordinator of Oakville Poetry Alliance The Inkwell members have found a format The Inkwell are: Sept. 11 - Shakespeare they think will resonate with the commuand Pablo Neruda presented by Masayuki nity. munity are under an umbrella association, Tanabe, Oct. 9 - regular meeting, Nov. 13 "By looking at the poetry community the Oakville Poetry Alliance, there isn't Amy Lowell and Dylan Thomas presented and what is being done, we've found some- competition among the groups for mem- by Elka Ruth Enola, Dec. 11 - two poets thing other groups aren't doing that we bers. It is about spreading the word about presented by John Hastings followed by can do," Enola said. "We found that a lot of the various groups, so that all enjoy discussion of plans for Inkwell 2009. groups were doing their own poetry, but healthy memberships. For information on The Inkwell, e-mail not reading and discussing poets." "If every group has a focus, then we are group president John Hastings at venSince the six poetry groups in the com- meeting everyone's needs," Enola said. tureprise@cogeco.ca. THIS WEEKS GREAT FLOORING SPECIALS! www.searsfloor.ca CARPET LAMINATE Imperial Treasures · 65 oz. Stainmaster · 10 year wear warranty · 6o designer colours Revolutions Plank by Manington · Premium Bevelled Edge · 25 year warranty $ 49 Reg. $699 sqft. QEW 3rd Line 4th Line 3 Now $ 99 Reg. $499 sqft. 1027 Speers Road, Oakville 3 OUR PROMISE TO YOU: · Quality of service · Knowledgeable sales people · Courteous staff · Reasonable prices · Sears guarantee of satisfaction* * Details in store CARPET · CERAMIC · HARDWOOD · LAMINATE · VINYL · AREA RUGS FREE SHOP AT HOME AVAILABLE Speers Rd. OAKVILLE 905-901-2036 Designer and host of "Home to Stay" on HGTV.