Click here to access the closed captioned version of this presentation.

A reflection on the interplay between environment and writing. To what extent do writers’ works respond to and create the regions with which they are associated? The talk will consider how our concepts of place are invented by text and how the environment influences the work. The speaker discuss geo-poetics and history in the context of his own writing.

Songwriter, guitarist, and poet MD Dunn’s latest album is SOLACE. Previous releases include Clay Rooster, Thursday’s Monster, and Floodgate. Dunn’s poems have been widely published and have been collected in three books: Even the Weapons (BuschekBooks, 2014), Fancy Clapping (Scrivener Press, 2012), and Ghost Music (BuschekBooks, 2010). On SOLACE, Penguin Eggs Magazine writes: “There’s an echo of Bruce Cockburn in Dunn’s guitar work…The instrumentals are engaging guitar journeys that explore sound and acoustic space. By themselves they would be a compelling reason to acquire this album, but that’s only scratching the surface…The combination of strong lyrics and compelling guitar work make this album shine…This one’s a keeper.” Dunn has received several writing grants from the Ontario Arts Council and was awarded the Ted Plantos Memorial Award in 2010 by the Ontario Poetry Society.