Category: Notes on the Niagara Falls Poetry Project

Remarks and a Limerick at the 25th Anniversary Poetry Event by Louise Waldie

remarks
Louise Waldie
portrait by Nancy Wardle, 2023

Remarks at the 25th Anniversary Poetry Event

Good evening.

It’s been about 19 years since I arrived in Andrew’s life.

Over that time I’ve watched while he quietly and without a lot of fanfare, acted on his passion for all things Niagara. A few of the many examples to which I saw him dedicate countless hours and energy:

…. His professional life which included being the Local History guru at the Niagara Falls Public Library where he vastly expanded the online collection of text and images important in the life of Niagara Falls, rescuing a number of collections from local photographers and the Niagara Falls Review.

…. Documenting in photos a year in the life of Niagara Falls, with photos taken every morning from the same spot on the Rainbow Bridge.  Even on those days he wasn’t working first thing in the morning…weekends, Mondays, Tuesdays, holidays…he’d drive from Fort Erie to Niagara Falls around 8:30 in the morning, pay the bridge’s pedestrian toll, stand on the bridge to take a photo even if it was so foggy you couldn’t see the Falls, then go through customs to get back into Canada.  He combined those photos with appropriate poems about the Falls, and 10 years ago published them in a book entitled Niagara Mornings.

….And his most passionate and long-lasting project, searching out, collecting, and recording all the poetry about Niagara Falls or by Niagara area poets on both sides of the border which we are celebrating today. Andrew’s talked about the many aspects of his journey with the Poetry Project, but my view is from behind-the-scenes…the long hours he spent poring over books, chasing copyrights, contacting poets, answering questions from interested readers and so much more.

Thanks you Andrew. for your passion and your dedication to contributing to the common good.

Congratulations on this celebration of 25 years of your enthusiasm and commitment.

Now to finish…

There was a young man from Niagara
Discovered just one rhyme – Viagra
How often, dear sir,
Has this one word occurred
And forced you to post crazy word slaw

Source: Louise Waldie, 2026

Louise Waldie is the retired head of the IT project management office of a major national insurance company, and wife of Andrew Porteus. She has been active for many years on the executive of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Social Club, and as a volunteer personal shopper for people in Northern Canada who do not have access to retail outlets. In  their multigenerational complex blended family , Louise and Andrew have 5 children and 11 grandchildren with assorted spouses, and a great-grandchild.

1835 Review of William Coyle’s “Falls of Niagara, as Seen From the Table Rock”

In 1835 William H. Coyle published a chapbook “Falls of Niagara, as Seen From the Table Rock,” which is on the website at https://niagarapoetry.ca/2026/01/26/coyle/

The chapbook incorporates copious footnotes.
 
This poem was not received favourably by all readers. In the Cincinnati Mirror a review was published by “G,” presumably the editor William Davis Gallagher. The tone of this review is set in the first sentence: “Upon what principle this production is called a poem, we have not been able to determine” and grudgingly continues “It is true, that it contains occasional good similes, and is not destitute of poetic imagery; and moreover, has one quality of the sublime—being sometimes eminently obscure.”
I’ve added this review in the pictures below, and also added it to this poem’s page on the website (link above).
 
I invite you to take some time, read the poem and then the review, and decide if G was perhaps a little harsh or right on.
 
review
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Congratulatory Certificate from MPP Wayne Gates

MPP

As part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project on April 9, 2026, Shannon Mitchell on behalf of MPP Wayne Gates presented this congratulatory certificate.

At the celebration, each speaker was introduced with a limerick, and each of the speakers was invited to write and perform a poem of their own.

MPP Wayne Gates speaking in the Ontario Legislature

The introduction to MPP Wayne Gates, written and recited by Andrew Porteus, read:

Our dear MPP is Wayne Gates
And havoc at Queen’s Park he creates
He’s got quite the ‘stache
That makes such a flash
When a cabinet minister he berates

Shannon Mitchell wrote and recited a haiku at the event:

Ontario budget
Deep cuts across the board
Community rises

At this event, the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Contest was announced. Click here for the rules and submission guidelines. 

25th Anniversary Poetry Competition Rules & Submission Guidelines

contest rules

 

Welcome to the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Competition, a juried competition with poems in any form, on the theme of Niagara Falls, (the waterfalls and/or the two cities), with a special award for the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.” Poems will be added to the website, and published in an anthology of Niagara poetry.

There will be a first place prize of $200, a second place prize of $100, and a third place prize of $50. In addition there will be a $200 prize for the the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.”

Niagara Falls Poetry Contest Rules

Theme:

  • Niagara Falls (waterfalls & 2 cities) & Niagara River
    • Poems can be descriptive, philosophical, spiritual, historical, personal, or anything else as long as there is some connection to Niagara Falls, and not just a casual mention (see the NFPP website at https://niagarapoetry.ca to see the range of poetry accepted).
  • There will be a first prize winner of $200, a second prize winner of $100, and a third prize winner of $50
  • In addition, there will be a $200 prize for the poem that best captures the Spirit of Niagara Falls

Format:

  • No AI generated poems
  • Any poetical form accepted
  • Maximum 100 lines
  • English language or translation – judging will be on the English language translation, not the original language
  • May be previously published or already on the NFPP site
  • $5 entry fee, covers a maximum of 3 poems 
  • No gratuitous sex, violence, racism, or hate speech
  • Judges may not submit a poem to the contest, but will get a free entry on the website & in the anthology, and a free copy of the anthology

How to submit:

  • Submit in both a standard editing format and as a .pdf
  • Include a cover page with name, contact information, title, and biography, with an optional head shot (300 dpi minimum)
  • No identifying information on poem page
  • Optional Include an image illustrating the poem (min 300 dpi, 600 preferred, jpg), your copyright, copyright free, or from a place copyright can easily be obtained.
  • Submit to poetrycontest@niagarapoetry.ca
  • Submit payment through etransfer (preferred) or PayPal to poetrycontest@niagarapoetry.ca with message “Contest entry for [Your Name]”
  • Once submitted the poem cannot be changed
  • Contest closes at 11:59 pm August 15, 2026  (Eastern Daylight Time)

By entering the contest you:

  • Agree to have your poem published on the NFPP website & in the 25th anniversary anthology, at the NFPP curator’s discretion (Not all entries will necessarily be published online or in the print anthology)
  • Receive a 15% discount when ordering the print anthology
  • Agree that the judges’ decision is final

 

 

25th Anniversary Celebration

celebration

2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the launch of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project website.

To celebrate, I’m hosting an event:

“The Niagara Falls Poetry Project: Celebrating 25 Years of Discovering, Preserving, and Recovering the Literary Heritage of Niagara Falls”
 
Help celebrate National Poetry Month and the 25th anniversary of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project,  which collects, preserves, and promotes the poetry written about Niagara Falls. Poetry on the site ranges from 1604 to the present, includes all poetic forms, and ranges from the humorous to the erotic to the religious, powerful literary imaginings of Niagara Falls to limericks and doggerel, from the raptures of the sublimity of the falls to the despair of the despondent and suicidal, from the battles fought here to the stunters and daredevils seeking instant fame.
 
Andrew Porteus, curator of the site, will be joined by poets in a fun-filled short program including the historical significance of the poetry of Niagara Falls, and  reading some of their own poetry and some of the significant historical poems. 
 
This event will also mark the launch of the Niagara Falls Poetry Project 25th Anniversary Poetry Competition, a juried competition with poems in any form, on the theme of Niagara Falls, (the waterfalls and/or the two cities), with a special award for the poem that best exemplifies the “Spirit of Niagara Falls.” Poems will be added to the website, and published in an anthology of Niagara poetry.
 
Paper will be provided for those inspired to write a poem on the spot,  before or during the program.
 
There will be cake!
 
Thursday April 9, 2026 at the Niagara Falls History Museum, 5810 Ferry St., Niagara Falls, Ontario, from 7-9 pm.
 
Contact aporteus@niagarapoetry.ca for more information