Sudbury Writers' Guild focuses on old hospital, and mural now covering it

Love it or hate it, most Sudburians have an opinion on the giant mural covering the old St. Joseph's hospital on Paris Street by Bell Park.

The colourful artwork has stirred up controversy since it went up in 2019, commissioned by the Up Here festival. That public discussion is the reason the Sudbury Writers' Guild asked people to write poems inspired by the hospital and the mural. 

"I saw a lot of opportunity for metaphor within the building and its history and where it's going," said Tom Leduc, president of the Sudbury Writers' Guild. 

The guild recently published a book, filled with poetry and prose, which the group received in response to the call for submissions last year. 

Mix of prose and poetry

When the idea for the project first began, Leduc said "initially it was the mural that captured our attention."

"But then once we got most of the submissions back, we saw that a lot of people were submitting stories and reflections of their time working there or an experience they had there," Leduc said.

"People seem to be wanting to capture a bit of that history and remember it. And we thought what a way to pair this with our mural metaphor and stuff, and the idea of changes."

Nancy Daoust is one of the writers who wrote about the history of the hospital. Her father in law started the intensive care unit there, and had a pioneering career.

"My piece is about that, and it's also about my son, who was named after his grandfather … [and] he was also born there," Daoust said.

Daoust's family has a close personal connection to the history of a building as a hospital, but she said she also loves the new face the building is wearing, as a work of art. Her second piece in the book is a poem, which she said is about appreciating the mural. 

"What I said in the poem is that I thought I liked sort of urban landscapes you know, just sort of neutral, natural colours, but when I saw that mural I realized that I just loved being jolted by that pop of colour," Daoust said. 

"It really made me rethink sort of the idea of art and art maybe not being permanent, or really what is art, you know. Because it is such a controversial piece."

Next phase for the project 

As well as contributing her poetry and prose, Daoust was also part of the working group that selected the pieces for the book. 

"What really stood out to me is sort of the passion that people feel about our community, you know, and how vested they are in what happens in it. And so it was really interesting to read the different selections and people's interactions with the hospital over time," Daoust said. 

The Sudbury Writers' Guild has printed 200 copies of the book, which can be purchased on its website. 

Leduc said there will also be a phase two of the project, in which stories, poems and photos from the book will be printed on posters, and put up around the city. He said he hopes they'll be up by the end of July.