SELLEST OSAST
The poet and educator Derek Beaulieu, Director of Literary Arts at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, discusses his new book Do It Wrong: How to Be A Poet in the Twenty-First Century (Assembly Press, 2026), with Joseph Planta.
Do It Wrong: How to Be A Poet in the Twenty-First Century by Derek Beaulieu (Assembly Press, 2026).Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Do It Wrong
Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.
One of the more fun, but also informative, instructive, even inspirational books of the season is Do It Wrong: How to be a Poet in the Twenty-First Century. Its author Derek Beaulieu joins me now to talk about the life of a poet, a writer, and an academic. You learn about the business of writing and publishing poetry, and if you make it past the harsh economics of it all, the book is replete with advice for the writer to keep on writing, to write as though nobody will read your stuff, to, as the title suggests, do it wrong. And as such, creativity and connection will follow. It’s also a guide as to how to be a better reader. It’s aspirational in that sense, but it also makes you want to be a better supporter of the authors and books that you like, but also those that deserve to be talked about in our cultural zeitgeist. As an educator, Derek is the sort of teacher or mentor you’d have wanted for yourself. He’s honest about the realities of the writing life, but also supportive of writers and tireless in building communities of writers wherever he goes. Derek Beaulieu is the author or editor of over twenty-six collections of poetry, prose, and criticism, including Silence: Lectures and Writings, and Surface Tension. He is the Director of Literary Arts at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Visit www.derekbeaulieu.ca for more. This new book is published by Assembly Press. We spoke earlier this week, with Derek joining me from Banff, Alberta. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Derek Beaulieu; Mr. Beaulieu, good morning.
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