History and Philosophy

Poem de Terre is a multi-disciplinary ensemble melding live folk music and spoken word with contemporary and more established musical forms. Begun in the summer of 1993 by the six artists performing in Beyond the Light, the ensemble now known as Poem de Terre has evolved organically to develop a sound and style unique to the Kingston music scene, featuring a strong repertoire of original material as well as rearranged versions of music and spoken word pieces previously performed or recorded by other artists.

While the musical style of Poem de Terre's material crosses all genres, at heart the music is folk. Building upon this foundation of folk music, Poem de Terre draws upon many influences to create music for the new millenium. As much as the music, words are central to Poem de Terre's work, bringing stories and ideas to the community in the form of live performance.

Poem de Terre features an ever-changing ensemble cast, ranging in size from 4 to 12 members on stage depending on the occasion (more than 40 people have performed as part of Poem de Terre through the years). The one constant is group leader Bob MacKenzie, around whose poetry the group was founded.

The Poem de Terre philosophy

It's good to be creative and to contribute your ideas; it's also good to listen to others and to learn from your colleagues. Where no one is the star, each one gets to shine as part of the whole. Respect for one's self, respect for one's colleagues, respect for the audience -- all are part of a professional attitude. Doing the best one can is good; perfectionism is not. We are professionals. Poem de Terre is a business. However, if we cannot have a good time doing what we do, and if we cannot impart that feeling to the audience, then it is not worth doing. As well as a business, we are also a community and an integral part of the larger community in which we live. Poem de Terre is about saying something worthwhile and it is about love.

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