The artistic and influential power of words has always served as the foundation for Bath Poetry. Since the company’s foundation in 2017, we have longed to collaborate in a creative way with the living artists we admire. Here are the duets we have had the pleasure of being a part of… poetry in creation.

I reached out to Jenn Grant with this sideways idea of making a lip butter together and she said yes. She had just finished co-writing a song with Hannah Georgas and singing it as a duet with Amy Millan, my previous two collaborators. Stars aligned and have kept lining a beautiful path to poetry and community ever since that first message.

Remember when we used to have penpals? The anticipation of having your thoughts and careful emotions held by another; someone who listens with their pen and paper, someone who trusts you enough to reciprocate that sharing. Penpals are bright beacons when the light dims, they pull you through and away from shadows and shine the flashlight into the top of the blanket fort to help you both see better. I consider Jenn and my other collaborators penpals, each impacting me in just the perfect way at just the perfect time. Using words to build forts and reminding us that shelter can take many forms.

Jenn Grant’s music is deeply empathetic and generous of heart, so of course one day she would invite the whole country to make it with her. Champagne Problems, her eighth album and first in the producer’s chair alongside partner Daniel Ledwell, gathers 13 musicians from coast to territory to coast in a series of collaborative Canadian magic tricks spun into classic country, lost disco hits, and ruminative folk fables. Enriched with Canadian talent, - including Afie Jurvanen (Bahamas), Amy Millan (Stars), Aquakultre, Basia Bulat, Dan Mangan, Hannah Georgas, Joel Plaskett, Josh Qaumariaq, Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), Kim Harris, Ria Mae, Slow Leaves, Tim Baker- Champagne Problems is a unique musical experience that could have only come out of extenuating circumstances, willing partners, and profound vulnerability. It could have only come out of Jenn Grant.

Amy Millan has a voice that floats like bubbles. I’ve loved her music for so many years. When she agreed to collaborate on a new all-natural bubble bath, the poetry was quick to flow. I received the most beautiful email ‘from a rainy morning in Montreal’ and the words inside are what you see on the bubble bath bottles. Amy’s poetry is melodic and romantic and sincerely inspired by the experience of having long, soothing baths, letting the bubbles play along the surface of the water.

Amy Millan is a Canadian indie rock singer and guitarist. She records and performs with the bands Stars and Broken Social Scene as well as having a successful solo career. Her second solo album, Masters of the Burial, was released by Arts & Crafts Productions in September 2009.

This is a story of possibility. I’ve been a fan of Hannah Georgas’s poetic melodies for as long as I can remember. When I sent her a random message in a moment I would describe as ‘acting on a daydream’, I didn’t expect to hear back. Not only did she reply, she expressed a genuine desire to collaborate and create all-natural products that inspire.

Together, we developed products that represent the best of our scent and self-care faves. The result is Everything After This, a unique essential oil blend and restorative face serum. Everything After This is what happens when poetry meets art, and when melody connects us. The stars align and we find solace and inspiration in the space between; we find each other.

Acclaimed indie-pop-singer-songwriter Hannah Georgas crafts textured pop songs with lyrics about heartbreak and change, coupled with incredibly catchy hooks. Hannah has released four albums to date and has received wide acclaim in outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR Music. She has been nominated for The Juno Music Awards several times ranging from Best New Artist to Songwriter of The Year and has also been long listed for The Polaris Music Prize three times. 2019 culminated with her on tour with one of her favourite bands The National on their I Am Easy to Find cycle performing opening slots of her own music as well as joining the band singing back ups alongside Kate Stables (aka This is The Kit). In September of 2020, Hannah released her latest LP- the Aaron Dessner- produced All That Emotion on Dessner’s label Brassland and Toronto indie stalwart Arts and Crafts. The album was the best received entry in her career to date.

Shop the Hannah Georgas duet here.

Anne Campbell and I have been friends for over a decade. Her passion for the poetic and understanding the things we feel but can’t always see has inspired every aspect of Bath Poetry. It is because of this friendship that she was naturally the first poet I ever imagined myself working with. Over endless americanos, we collaborated in the development of the title for the Prairie Sea Calming Serum and Anne graciously lent me an excerpt of her poetry for the label.

Anne’s love of the prairie informs all of her award winning work, including  the 6th and most recent, The Fabric of Day, selected and new poems. Readings of her work, including fiction and non-fiction, and workshops, have taken her across Canada, the USA and to Britain; her music, with composer Tom Schudel, has been performed internationally. With artists, Jeannie Mah and Lorne Beug, Anne edited the multi-award winning book, Regina’s Secret Spaces, love and lore of local geography; followed by the co-edited Biblio Files, a history of the Regina Public Library. As editor of Dunlop Art Gallery’s Mind the Gap, catalogue, she worked with 30 emerging Saskatchewan artists. She has received many awards for her work, including one of the first City of Regina Writing Awards.

Along with her family, writing disciple, and day jobs -- her beloved Mackenzie Art Gallery and, for 20 years, administrator at Regina Public Library -- Anne is a long-time arts and culture activist, serving on Boards of writing and cultural organizations, including, until it was disbanded, the Wascana Centre Authority Board, Heritage Committee. She brings the personal to her arts advocating – sharing her experience of nature and the arts as life affirming, if not life-saving.

Shop the Prairie Sea Calming Serum here.

I had known of Tracy Hamon’s work through my day job working in public programming at an art museum. Tracy has not only been an inspiration to me as a creative force in writing, but also in her leadership role as Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. Tracy and I share a passion of finding poetry in visual art and I’m a huge fan of her collection Red Curls, responding to the work of Austrian artist Egon Schiele. I ran into Tracy while working my booth at a local market and she declared ‘This is such a great idea! Hey, if you need some poetry keep me in mind!’. I never forgot the offer and as soon as I had the opportunity I reached out to her, resulting in Field of Stars. Not only did she allow me to use some of her existing writing, Tracy also directly contributed to the creative title.

Tracy Hamon was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She holds an MA in English from the University of Regina. Her first book of poetry, This Is Not Eden, was released in April of 2005 and was a finalist for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. A portion of Interruptions in Glass won the 2005 City of Regina Writing Award and was shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards in 2010. Her third collection, Red Curls, won the Drs. Morris and Jacqui Shumiatcher Regina Book Award in 2015. She is currently he Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild.

Shop Field of Stars Serum here.

Cate Nugent and I have been collaborating since her first day in this world, as mother and daughter. Cate’s quiet sensitivity is captured in the piece she wrote for the Noa Noa line (named after her sister Noa). Her poem is influenced by many summer nights spent under the swaying pines at Cypress Hills interprovincial park, where we love to camp as a family every year.

Cate Nugent is currently enrolled in elementary school in Lumsden, Saskatchewan. In addition to a prolific artistic and writing practice, Cate enjoys riding horses, wood carving, languages and ceramics.