Morgan St. Claire, 60, who has been a resident at Country Squire Retirement Villa in Osoyoos for just over one year, has garnered plenty of attention from her poetry over the past few months. She shows off a response from Buckingham Palace in response to her poem written to Queen Elizabeth II called The Roses of the Queen, while also holding up her poem, called A Poem, which was recognized by the Poetry Institute of Canada and will be published in an upcoming anthology called Island Magic later this month. (Keith Lacey photo)
Morgan St. Claire has combined her love for the written word and her passion for Jesus Christ and it has garnered her attention from the Queen of England and a national poetry institute.
St. Claire, 60, has been a resident at Country Squire Retirement Villa in Osoyoos for just over one year, recently found out that a poem she submitted to Queen Elizabeth II was recognized by Buckingham Palace and another poem, entitled A Poem, has been recognized by Poetry Institute of Canada as part of a national contest.
“”I’ve been writing poetry for about four years now … and it was the staff here at Country Squire that encouraged me to enter the contest,” said St. Claire. “I first started writing short stories many years ago around 1986, but I switched to poetry about four years ago as I started thinking a lot about my master Jesus Christ and thought writing poems about him would be a good way to honour him.”
St. Claire estimates she has written several hundred poems over the past four years and often spends endless hours writing poetry.
“I love using words and poetry is a great way to express myself,” she said. “I’m a very religious person and I find being able to write poems about Jesus to be very satisfying.”
The Poetry Institute of Canada, which has its home base in Victoria, B.C., thanked St. Claire for submitting A Poem last August.
“Thank you for submitting your poem,” wrote managing editor Wendy Burgess. “It is with great pleasure that I can inform you that your poem has been chosen by our editorial committee to be included in the top group of entries received in our contest.
“Your poem will now go forward into the final competition to be judged in the winter of 2014-15. You have an excellent chance of winning one of our many prizes, perhaps even the grand prize of $500.
“As a result of your skill as a poet, we wish to publish your poem in our anthology of verse, entitled Island Magic (National Library of Canada).”
Island Magic is a fine quality, hardbound deluxe volume of the best of today’s poetry in Canada. It is scheduled to be published before the end of January, said Burgess.
“The anthology will be a classic book designed to last a lifetime. It will make a beautifully distinctive gift, a highly valued keepsake or a notable addition to any library.
“Your poem has been selected to be published and to be a finalist purely on the basis of its merit. You do not have to pay any entry fee or subsidy fee. Many poets, however, do wish to own a copy of the beautiful anthology in which their work appears. If you would like to own your own copy of Island Magic, it is available to you at a pre-publication discount and we guarantee your satisfaction.”
Burgess ends her letter of congratulations by thanking St. Claire for entering her passionate and well-written poem.
“Congratulations once again on reaching the top group of entries in our contest. This is a great accomplishment because we receive thousands of poems and publish only the best of them. We look forward to seeing your poem appear in our anthology, Island Magic.”
A poem submitted to the Queen also received a nice letter of congratulations from Buckingham Palace.
“The Queen wishes me to write to thank you for your poem, The Roses of the Queen. It was most kind of you to send these verses to Her Majesty and I thank you very much.”
St. Claire wasn’t raised in a religious household, but said her life changed at a very young age when she had a deeply religious experience.
“My mother wasn’t very religious at all, but I started talking to Jesus when I was about 12 or so and he has been my master ever since,” she said.
St. Claire said her ability to write poetry has progressed over the years.
“The words just come to me,” she said. “It usually takes me 20 or 25 minutes to write a decent poem, although I do like to turn the words around and add some things and take away others once I finish them.”
Robyn Nichol, the activities and rehabilitation co-ordinator at Country Squire, said all of the staff and residents are very proud of St. Claire’s success.
“I know I’m very proud and all of the staff are thrilled,” she said. “Many of the residents know about her being a finalist in the poetry contest and have congratulated her on a job well done.”
St. Claire said she plans on continuing to write poetry on a regular basis and is hopeful she might one day be able to have a book of her poems published.
She loves living in Osoyoos and has thoroughly enjoyed her time at Country Squire, she said.
“The staff are special and friendly and they treat me very well,” she said. “They are beautiful people.”
The staff at Country Squire are so proud of St. Claire’s accomplishments that they mounted her winning poem on the main hall of the facility so residents and visitors could read it.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
