The Poets’ Pathway is a walking and biking trail of approximately 35 kilometres, much of it on already-existing walking paths through Ottawa. It runs from Britannia Beach, south along Pinecrest Creek, east along Nepean Creek ; it crosses the Rideau River, moves north to the Ottawa River, and ends in Beechwood Cemetery where the poets lie.
What Is Its Purpose?
The purpose of the Pathway is two-fold: it will help preserve greenspace in the nation’s capital; it will commemorate Canada’s poets, particularly Canada’s first famous poets, the Confederation Poets and the poets of the Mouvement littéraire. There is presently no monument at all to these poets. The Confederation Poets are the literary equivalent of the Group of Seven, celebrating the new country of Canada in its own awesome and difficult beauty. They are poets OF THE LAND. The path will be a living memorial to the land, the very land that inspired them.
How will we do it?
We will have some of the poets’ most well- known poems about Ottawa engraved on plaques and placed alng the trail.
There will be phone numbers along the trail; if you dial the number you will hear a Canadian poem read by a prominent Canadian. The poems will also be available, as we gather them, on our website.
We will add geographic and botanical information about our land and its flora and fauna. We plan many activities to celebrate Ottawa’s land, the poets, and their work.
