I was very chuffed the other day when I was querying Google AI about a word which I knew was on the Niagara Falls Poetry Project website but isn’t found in many other places. I’d asked the origins of the word, and it came back with some etymological stuff, and I asked it if it had checked my site. It came back and apologized as it hadn’t checked it, but then unprompted wrote “The website is a massive, niche archive curated by a former librarian to catalog poetry specifically about the Niagara region.”
Thanks, AI – I think that’s a lovely description of it. Maybe it should be the tagline.
Niagara Mornings Photographs of Niagara Falls taken by Andrew Porteus over the course of a year, with a selection of Niagara poems
I’ve just been asked by someone visiting the website where a good place is to start when looking at the Niagara poetry. I think maybe a good place would be on the anthologies page, where poems that have been published in various anthologies over the years are listed and linked. Also on the right hand side of each page is a listing of tags – clicking on any of those will give a listing of poems in those various categories.
For new poems added to the website, click on the “Subscribe” link on the right-hand side of the page. You can also follow the Niagara Falls Poetry Project on FaceBook and on BlueSky
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.
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.
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 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
