News
Sackville Mourns Loss of Town's Poet Laureate Douglas Lochhead
March 17th, 2011
It is with great sorrow that the Town of Sackville announces the passing of our cherished Poet Laureate Douglas Lochhead. Douglas Lochhead was a gentleman, a scholar and a wonderful poet. The Town of Sackville extends condolences to family and friends.
Douglas Lochhead came to Sackville in 1975 as director of the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University. His honours inlcuded Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and nomination for the Governor General's Award for Poetry, and the first non-Italian recipient of the prestigious Carlo Betochhi Poetry Prize.
Douglas Lochhead was appointed Sackville's official Poet Laureate in 2003. Much of his poetry reflected life in Sackville and on the Tantramar Marshes. Douglas once said: "The whole world is in your back yard if you choose to see it there, in the voice of a neighbour, the call of a chickafee. That's the material from which I work."
Sackville is blessed to have had Douglas Lochhead as a resident, poet and friend. One of his works can be read in downtown Sackville. 31 verses of "High Marsh Road" are displayed on panels on the town's utility poles from the corner of Bridge and Main Street and continue toward the entrance of the Sackville Waterfowl Park.
The family will be holding visitation from 7-9 pm on Friday, March 18th at Jones Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 19th at 2 pm at the Mount Allison University Chapel,followed by a reception at the Owens Art Gallery.