Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for The Winooski News
WINOOSKI — As rain pattered on the roof of the Winooski Senior Center, attendees took shelter inside to hear the poems of William H. Drummond. The April 12 poetry reading, organized by the Winooski Historical Society, provided a glimpse into the life and work of the 19th-century Irish-Canadian poet.
Presenter Don Villemarie said he chose to read poems by Drummond because of his connection to French-Canada. The event sparked interest among guests with French-Canadian heritage who expressed eagerness to feel more connected to their culture.
The atmosphere at the senior center was cozy, with traditional Quebec pastries — like pets de soeur, also affectionately known as “nun farts” — and maple pecan cookies scattered across the table.
Drummond was born in Ireland in 1854 and immigrated to Canada with his family as a young boy. He grew up in Montreal and went on to study at McGill and Bishop’s universities.
Throughout his life, Drummond was fascinated by the Quebecois people and their dialects, which inspired him to write poetry reflecting their manner of speech.
Villemarie said he connected Winooski and its vibrant history of being a haven for immigrants to Drummond’s works, explaining how French Canadians often came to Winooski in search of work and learned English through working in the mills.
Villemarie said that, in the U.S., harmful stereotypes have been associated with immigrants throughout history.
“We have a kind of a sour history of presenting immigrant groups as being stupid. And sometimes in the way of stereotyping them, we use their accents in their dialect to show that they are less than intelligent because they didn’t know English properly. Which, of course, is ludicrous,” he said.
Villemarie told attendees that Drummond’s depiction of the Quebecois accent was not from a place of ignorance.
“I can listen to Drummond’s poems and read Drummond’s poems, and that’s my grandparents talking. It was looked upon as being ignorant, but I’m here to tell you that it was a result of a huge amount of fortitude and bravery,” he said.
“It takes a lot of courage to learn a second language. I’d like to be looked upon as somebody who’s willing to take a chance, and that’s what the immigrants in Winooski did. They took a chance,” Villemarie said later.
He chose to read six poems from Drummond’s extensive canon: “The Wreck of the ‘Julie Plante,’” “Dreams,” “Johnnie Corteau,” “The Last Portage,” “Little Bateese” and “The Voyageur”.
The poems all featured the dialect and slang of Quebecois people, as interpreted by Drummond.
“On wan dark night on Lac St. Pierre, De win’ she blow, blow, blow, An’ de crew of de wood scow ‘Julie Plante’ Got scar’t an’ run below– For de win’ she blow lak hurricane, Bimeby she blow some more,” Drummond read from the first stanza of the poem, “The Wreck of the ‘Julie Plante,’” joking with attendees that, as Vermonters, they probably related to the poem’s windy imagery.
Attendees with French-Canadian heritage said they felt even closer to their roots after hearing the poems.
Monica Roy said her “love of French poetry” and her family’s link to literature brought her out in the rain to hear Drummond’s poems.
“I brought a large folder of my grandfather’s poetry, poems that he wrote. He was a romantic. And apparently, he wrote poetry all his life. And I’ve got it all,” she said, adding that she hoped to someday get the work translated from French to English.
Roy said she had never heard of Drummond before the event but nonetheless felt connected to the poems because of their shared heritage.
Ray and Nancy Proulx were among the attendees. Friends of Villemarie and his wife, Vanessa, the couple said their French-Canadian ancestry sparked an interest in the reading. Ray Proulx said he couldn’t pick a favorite poem.
“I liked them all,” he said. “They really brought back some really good memories of things that I heard my dad talk about his upbringing in Canada. There were some good stories in each one of them.”
At the rainy Sunday retreat, Villemarie said he hoped attendees would feel embraced and represented by Drummond’s catalogue.
“That’s when this poetry is recited, and time melts. It doesn’t exist. It’s like this person way back then is telling you this story now,” he said.