Robert Currie, Moose Jaw's poet laureate, prepares to read his poem. Time-Herald photo by Joel van der Veen

Moose Jaw city councillors enjoyed a touch of high culture on Monday night as poet laureate Robert Currie shared one of his works with them during their regular meeting.

Currie was invited to read Evening at Extendicare as part of the Poetry City Challenge started by Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco, who has invited city councils across Canada to incorporate a poetry reading into one of their meetings in March or April.

April is recognized across Canada and the United States as National Poetry Month, while UNESCO has declared March 21 as World Poetry Day.

Coun. Don Mitchell, serving as deputy mayor, welcomed Currie to the meeting and offered him the floor as the first item of business following the adoption of the minutes from the April 2 meeting.

“We don’t have the atmosphere of the Festival of Words,” he said, “but there’s a wide audience out there through Shaw Cable, so we appreciate your message and your presentation to the community.”

In turn, Currie thanked council for accepting Fiacco’s challenge and said that poetry, “like the other arts, has the power to stir our imaginations, to entertain us and inspire us, to touch our minds and hearts.”