145:. She is the author of five collections of poetry that explore the rough edges of love and betrayal, healing and hurt. Her poems combine keen observations of nature's beauty with sharp, and sometimes despairing, commentary on its destruction. In the words of one reviewer, her poetry "often unites the green universe of the garden with the red-and-black world of politics and war." Her work also probes, sometimes with mordant humour, the accelerating effects of technologies propelling humanity toward planetary catastrophe. "I began to have an image of myself as a poet who was standing in a very indefinite, immense space, and I'm pointing at things that I think we need to pay attention to," Lerch told an interviewer in 2014 after publishing her fourth book of poetry.
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230:. Her thesis was based on a year she spent teaching English to about a dozen, mainly African-American, Grade 11 students in a poverty-stricken and violence-prone neighbourhood in Washington, D.C. Lerch developed an integrative learning model designed, in part, to lead her students to become aware of the forces and relationships shaping their lives; develop trust in themselves; regain the joy of learning and learn to express kindness toward themselves and others. A key part of the method involved a
284:. She served four-year terms as President of the New Brunswick Writers' Federation (2006-2010) and as poet laureate for the town of Sackville (2014-2018). As poet laureate, Lerch wrote poetry for commemorative events, organized readings by local poets, sponsored literary contests and in her own words, inspired "young and old to love what only poetry can do."
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Several of Lerch's poems have been set to music. She collaborated with
Canadian composer Lloyd Burritt on the song cycles "We Move Homeward" and "Moon Loves Its Light," first performed in 2011 at Songfire, a music festival sponsored by the Vancouver International Song Institute. Burritt also set her
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Lerch said she hoped the book would overcome the stigma suffered by people with low literacy skills. "All who participated hope that it will encourage thousands of adults to seize opportunities readily available and will draw the public's attention to the serious literacy deficit in New
Brunswick,"
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in New
Brunswick, a province with one of the lowest literacy rates in Canada. She recruited members of the Federation to interview 17 adult learners, from ages 19 to 71, and tell the stories of how they struggled to overcome their problems with reading, writing and basic math skills. The project
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or talking circle adapted from
Indigenous American custom in which students would speak as they held a talking stick that was passed clockwise around the circle. At the end of the school year, Lerch judged the integrative model an overall success based on student academic performance in reading,
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poetry to music in his works "Triptych Three Songs on Three
Abstract Paintings" and "Quintessence." Canadian soprano Allison Angelo recorded four Burritt/Lerch songs in her 2015 debut album
179:, took Lerch's poem "New Orleans Obliquely" as its text. Alasdair MacLean used Lerch's poem "We Move Homeward" in his choral and orchestral composition of the same name, first performed in
242:, a small town she had visited during summer vacations. She began writing poetry and became active in movements for peace and social justice. She also campaigned against the extraction of
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Tower, Katie. "Solutions proposed at
Sackville climate change forum: Adaptation efforts will require mobilization, resiliency, political will,"
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Eaton, Margaret
Patricia (October 15, 2009). "Breaking the Word Barrier of adult literacy; New book highlights literacy success stories".
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writing and communications skills; student evaluations of the class; her own assessment and administrators' interviews with students.
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Video of
Marilyn Lerch reading "The Great Toronto Garbage Strike of 2002" at the First International Festival of Poetry of Resistance
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called "Random Acts of Poetry" in which she dropped by classrooms, offices, the local hospital and theatre to recite from her work.
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In 2007, while
Marilyn Lerch was serving as President of the Writers Federation of New Brunswick, she was asked to help promote
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she told a newspaper interviewer. The book lists several literacy programs and services in New
Brunswick and across Canada.
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Lerch also formed the Sackville Writers' Group and Roving Poets. In 2007, she took part in a national campaign funded by the
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as a system organized around plunder and profit and instead imagine a world that is dedicated to satisfying human needs.
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From 2006 to 2010, Lerch served as the President of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick and from 2014 to 2018, as
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219:. Lerch dropped out of teaching for almost two years to work full time organizing demonstrations against the war.
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in 1967 where she continued her teaching career while also working with activist groups opposed to the
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by Ashraf Siddiqui and Marilyn Lerch, illustrated by Jan Fairservis (The World Publishing Company)
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The Implementation of an integrative education learning module in an urban public high school
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Lerch, Marilyn. "News, views from the Tantramar Alliance Against Hydro-fracking,"
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by Marilyn Lerch with illustrations by Maskull Lasserre (Springbank Press)
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Marilyn Lerch has published five collections of poetry (2001-2018).
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Hersey, Linda. "Poet laureate calls us a 'species in transition.'
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After retiring from teaching, Lerch moved, in 1996, to Sackville,
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That We Have Lived At All: poems of love, witness & gratitude
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That We Have Lived At All: poems of love, witness & gratitude
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Hammock, Janet. "Third annual pride week planned in Sackville,"
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Making a Difference: A Celebration of the 3M Teaching Fellowship
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692:. (Publication No. EP15301) ProQuest Information and Learning
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Breaking the Word Barrier: Stories of Adults Learning to Read,
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Breaking the word barrier: stories of adults learning to read
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Breaking the Word Barrier: Stories of Adults Learning to Read
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In addition to her activism, she taught creative writing at
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LeBlanc, Joan. "Random Acts of Poetry take place in town",
589:"Quintessence for mezzo-soprano, string quartet and piano"
431:, co-written with Geordie Miller (The Hardscrabble Press)
535:"Town of Sackville appoints Lerch as new poet laureate,"
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by Alasdair Maclean, Chronosphere Music, February 2000.
743:"New Brunswick Poets in Conversation: Marilyn Lerch"
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246:and supported measures to mitigate the effects of
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331:Toontoony Pie, and other tales from Pakistan
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338:Lambs & Llamas, Ewes & Me
741:Sinclair, Sue (March 26, 2021).
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460:. Maple Tree Literary Supplement
203:border." After graduating from
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798:The Daily Gleaner (Fredericton)
479:Moncton Times & Transcript.
226:in holistic education from the
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401:The Physics of Allowable Sway
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403:(Devon Avenue Poetry Books)
841:21st-century Canadian poets
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312:resulted in the 2009 book
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191:Marilyn Lerch was born in
141:, teacher, journalist and
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148:In 2022, Lerch published
134:(born May 26, 1936) is a
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165:Sackville, New Brunswick
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276:prisons as well as the
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456:George Elliot Clarke.
222:In 1992, she earned a
53:East Chicago, Indiana
32:Marilyn Lerch in 2021
846:Canadian women poets
641:I Care If You Listen
345:Moon Loves Its Light
181:Halifax, Nova Scotia
173:Moon Loves Its Light
107:Moon Loves Its Light
217:U.S. war in Vietnam
373:Witness and Resist
282:Truro, Nova Scotia
205:Indiana University
183:on March 7, 2000.
112:Witness and Resist
86:Indiana University
688:Lerch, M. (1992)
593:CMC Music Library
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550:Telegraph-Journal
437:978-1-9990537-7-2
423:978-1-988299-19-8
409:978-0-9919152-0-0
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211:before moving to
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519:2021-11-04
498:2022-04-16
464:2021-11-08
443:References
274:Dorchester
270:Springhill
154:capitalism
58:Occupation
44:1936-05-26
244:shale gas
646:July 12,
599:July 12,
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309:literacy
201:Illinois
143:activist
136:Canadian
821:YouTube
752:July 1,
747:YouTube
232:Council
197:Indiana
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259:LGBTQ
91:Genre
754:2022
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575:2022
433:ISBN
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