Author sends $2,500 in poetry to Kingston-area libraries for Pride season

Books exploring queerness, migration and belonging are being donated to libraries in Kingston, Napanee and Amherstview.

A Toronto author is donating $2,500 worth of poetry books to libraries across eastern Ontario, with several Kingston-area locations among the recipients.

Alexander Paul Burton has shipped 100 copies of two of his poetry collections to 10 public and academic libraries, including four Kingston Frontenac Public Library branches and Queen’s University’s Joseph S. Stauffer Library. KingstonDaily.ca spoke with Burton about his decision to donate.

The books, which explore themes including queerness, migration, belonging and chosen family, are expected to arrive during the month of August as part of Burton’s Pride season donation program. Burton says that for him, pride is year-round.

Kingston-area recipients also include Lennox & Addington County Libraries’ branches in Napanee and Amherstview.

Other libraries receiving copies are in Belleville, Trenton and Picton.

Each location will receive 10 books, split evenly between Burton’s two collections.

The Toronto-based writer and composer says the donations are a thank-you to Canada after moving to the country and are intended to reach readers who may be thinking about identity and belonging.

The eastern Ontario donations are part of a larger program that has placed nearly 400 books in libraries across Canada and the United Kingdom.

Story by Alyssa Brush