The Griffin Trust was founded in April 2000 by Chairman Scott Griffin, along with Trustees Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Michael Ondaatje, Robin Robertson and David Young. In 2004 Carolyn Forché was named a Trustee and joined the list of internationally-acclaimed writers who sit on the board of the Griffin Trust. In 2014, Karen Solie, and Mark Doty were named Trustees, and in 2016, Jo Shapcott and Marek Kazmierski were named Trustees. Margaret Atwood, Robert Hass, Colm Tóibín and Robin Robertson have assumed the role of Trustees Emeriti.
The Poetry Foundation, along with the National Endowment for the Arts, created a poetry recitation contest for high-school students in the United States called Poetry Out Loud. Check out the Poetry Foundation’s site for interesting feature articles about contemporary poetry, news from the poetry world, blogs by poets, interview podcasts, and poetry videos.
Poetry By Heart is a sister competition recently launched in the UK by Britain's Poet Laureate Andrew Motion. In Motion’s own words: “Poetry By Heart is designed to put the emphasis on learning by heart, not on learning by rote. It is about understanding and remembering the deep recurring truths about our experience as humans, in terms that are especially beautiful and resonant.”
The League of Canadian Poets site includes poetry workshop ideas and other resources for teachers.
“One of my projects as Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate is to produce a series of short videos to help make contemporary Canadian poetry more accessible. These recordings illustrate a range of poetry that reflects the identity, places and modes of poetic writing in Canada.” – Fred Wah, former Canadian Poet Laureate (2011-2013)
Brick Books is a Canadian publisher that offers some great resources by and about the poets they publish. Their poet pages include interviews, reflections on writing poetry, and some writing activities that the poets themselves use.
Poetry.org is a good place to explore for an overview of the history of different schools of poetry and for the definitions of poetic terms.
The BBC Arts site often features podcasts of poets reading their work.
Canadian Parents for French seeks to raise awareness of the value of learning French as a second language by sponsoring cultural events in communities throughout Canada.
Most notably, CPF runs Concours d'art oratoire, a public-speaking contest for FSL students.
The National Reading Campaign’s mission is to make reading a national priority and to create, sustain and grow a society in which everyone has an equal opportunity to become and remain a lifelong reader.
Depending on where you live, check out these great literary festivals:
Montreal, QC: Blue Metropolis / Metropolis Bleu
Vancouver, BC: Vancouver Writers Festival
Toronto, ON: International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront Centre
Kingston, ON: Kingston WritersFest
Winnipeg, MB: Winnipeg International Writers Festival / International des écrivains de Winnipeg