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Meredith Katie (MERKAT) Hoogendam

Member profile details

Membership level

Associate

First name

Meredith Katie (MERKAT)

Last name

Hoogendam

ABOUT

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Biography

MERKAT (Meredith Katie Hoogendam) is a poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist. A member of the Writer's Union of Canada and associate member of the League of Canadian Poets, her work can be found in literary, feminist, and interfaith publications across North America, including Room and Geez, among others. Her poetry collections include Mothertongue, Courage, Spring Thaw, and Materials at Hand. A community radio broadcaster, her current project, "Nightfall with Merkat," considers poetry from years past, with an emphasis on folks outside the conventional canon. Find her @merkatart and follow her work at merkatart.substack.com. She is of the Great Lakes.

PUBLICATIONS AND RECOGNITION

Books and other publications

Chapbooks include: Mothertongue (2018), Courage (2019), Spring Thaw (2022, Glentula Press), and Materials at Hand (2022)

Individual Poems by publication:
"Dark Channels" Room Magazine, Sept.1, 2022 "Audacity" Issue, 45.3
"The Hole" Hill Spirits V: An Anthology by Writers of Five Counties in Eastern Ontario, Blue Denim Press, July 2022
"There I Stood Thawing" Poetry Present, Project of Poet Laureate for Cobourg Ontario, Jessica Outram, 2022
"Gratitude" in poetic conversation with Cobourg poet Laureate Jessica Outram. "Poetry is Life" column, Cobourg Now, 2022.
“Flood” The Story of Water: Earth Day Anthology, Sunshine in a Jar Press, April 2022
"Courage" Poetry Present, Project of Poet Laureate for Cobourg Ontario, Jessica Outram, 2021
"Breathing Lessons" Mutha Magazine, Sept. 8, 2021
"Seven Haiku for Gaia" Lessons from the Earth Anthology Sunshine in a Jar Press, April 2021
"Gratitude" Poetry Present, Project of Poet Laureate for Cobourg Ontario, Jessica Outram, 2020
“Resurrection” Light in My Eyes, An Earth Day Poetry Chapbook Sunshine in a Jar Press, April 2020
"Catch and Release" Mutha Magazine, Aug. 30, 2018
"Wild Mother Suite" Mutha Magazine, Aug. 30, 2018
"Gaia and the Diaper" Mutha Magazine, Aug. 30, 2018
"Advent Poem" Christian Courier, Dec. 11, 2017
"Gardening" Hill Spirits III: An Anthology by Writers of Northumberland County, Oct 2017
"Oral History" Topology Magazine, Jan. 5, 2016
"Holy Saturday, Cross Country" Hill Spirits II: An Anthology by Writers of Northumberland County, May, 2015
"My Mother's Raspberry Patch" Hill Spirits II: An Anthology by Writers of Northumberland County, May 2015
"Get" catapult Magazine, April 18, 2014
"Girl" Dialogue, Literary Journal of Calvin University, Vol. 36 Issue 2, January 1, 2004
"Little Miscarriages Along the Way" Dialogue, Literary Journal of Calvin University, Vol. 36 Issue 1, October 1, 2003
"June 1st, 1942: 927 calories, 63 ° Fahrenheit" Dialogue, Literary Journal of Calvin University, Vol.35 Issue 4, April 1, 2003
"May 25, 2001" Dialogue, Literary Journal of Calvin University, Vol.35 Issue 3, March 1, 2003
"White Circle" Dialogue, Literary Journal of Calvin University, Vol.35 Issue 3, March 1, 2003
"Listening to James Taylor, Drinking Coffee out of Someone Else's Mug" Opus, the Art and Literature Magazine of Hope College, Fall 2000
"Katy" Opus, the Art and Literature Magazine of Hope College, Fall 2000

A complete list of essays and other publications available upon request.

Awards and other achievements

Shortlisted for Room Magazine's Annual Poetry Contest, 2019

Public Poetry Performances--Invited to read original poetry at the following events:
Art Gallery of Northumberland (Spotlight Series), Art Gallery of Northumberland, Cobourg, Ontario, November 17, 2022.

Northumberland Festival of the Arts, "W.O.W." (Words on a Wire), Victoria Hall, Cobourg, ON (read original poetry on stage alongside Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate, Louise Bernice Halfe–Sky Dancer and Ontario's first Provincial Poet Laureate, Randell Adjei, and Northumberland County's local poet laureates, among others), September 17, 2022.

Eye2Eye International Film Festival, "Summertime," Victoria Hall, Cobourg, ON, June 4, 2022
Spirit of the Hills Festival of the Arts, (W.O.W.), St. Peter's Anglican Church, Cobourg, Ontario, October 2019
Spirit of the Hills Festival of the Arts, (panelist, poetry), St. Peter's Anglican Church, Cobourg, Ontario, October 2019
Third Thursday Reading Series, Cobourg Poetry Workshop, Cobourg, Ontario, 2019 & 2023
Moonhouse Art: artist Katie Flindall solo exhibition, "Tending the Muse," Coffee Public, Port Hope, Ontario, October 2018

Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, Faculty of Graduate Studies, 2009 Wilfrid Laurier University, M.A. English Literature and Film Studies

Media Sampler
Radio/Podcast:
Word on the Hills Radio Program (featuring interviews with notable writers such as Karin Wells, Ted Staunton, Viki Delany and others).
Archive of Interviews with guest, poet Katie Hoogendam:
https://wordonthehills.com/?s=hoogendam

Nightfall with Merkat (host, creator, writer, producer)
https://northumberland897.ca/shows-hosts-2

Video:
(Poetry) Eye to Eye International Film Festival 2022 Poetry Session (Hoogendam at minute 10)--Reading and Panel Interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geOXLmBOfOs

We3 Project: Interdisciplinary Collaborative Arts Project with Acclaimed Musicians Saskia Tomkins and Shannon Linton (2021), Intro Video Bio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOzohe4JTUM

Print/Online:
Art Gallery of Northumberland, Spotlight Series 4 Artists
https://kawarthanow.com/2022/10/24/art-gallery-of-northumberland-shines-spotlight-on-local-artists-missy-knott-and-meredith-k-hoogendam/

Spirit of the Hills Member Profile
https://spiritofthehills.org/project/merkat/

Northumberland Festival of the Arts Team Profile
https://festivalofthearts.ca/meet-the-faces-behind-nfota-katie-hoogendam/

News Now Network: Poetry is Life--An Exchange Between Poets, with Poet Laureate Jessica Outram and Katie Hoogendam
http://www.cobourgnow.com/?p=23319

Watershed Magazine: Small Town Press
https://watershedmagazine.com/features/the-rise-of-the-small-town-press/

Poetic forms and styles

Glosa
Haiku
Long poem
Print poetry
Prose poetry
Sonnet
Sound poetry
Spoken word
Video poems
Visual poetry

Other writing expertise

Academic writing
Art writing
Business and technical writing
Comics/Graphic novels
Creative non-fiction
Documentary
Environmental writing
Experimental writing
Hybrid genres
Illustration
Interactive storytelling
Interdisciplinary collaborations
Journalism
Literary fiction
Memoir
Nature writing
Playwright
Reviews
Self-help
Short stories
Young adult

Additional writing experience

Essayist, Playwright: My work appears in literary journals, magazines and other print and online publications across the U.S. and Canada, including: Room Magazine, Geez magazine; Mutha magazine, Opus; Dialogue; catapult magazine; Road Journal; Topology; Christian Courier, The Christian Educators Journal and Poetry Present, among other publications. Plan X, my play, debuted in October 2019

Radio host and Producer, CFWN Northumberland 89.7: Current host, creator, writer and producer of "Nightfall with Merkat," in which I explore works of poetry and prose from the public domain, alongside a selection of local poets and their work. Wrote, produced and hosted the live weekly (2014-16) radio program, "Carpe Noctem with Merkat" in which I gathered true stories from the community on a theme and shared them on air alongside a soundtrack curated to complement the stories.

Head of Communications, Sustainable Engineering Firms: Content writer and content manager for social media, website and internal and external communications for building renewables and solar engineering firms.

Interdisciplinary Artist: Create across a variety of mediums, including acrylic, oil, mixed media, graphic, comic, photography, and short film.

Showcased poetry and visual art on Patreon in 2021 as part of a year-long cross disciplinary collaboration with two acclaimed Ontario musicians, Saskia Tomkins and Shannon Linton.

Copy editor, Christian Courier: For three years, worked alongside Editor-in-Chief Angela Bick to copyedit the independent, bi-weekly Reformed newspaper with a subscriber base of several thousand (across Canada and the U.S.) and a history of over 75 years in print.

Curriculum writer: In my stead as high school English and Social Justice teacher: Crafted robust, ongoing poetry curriculum across grade levels in two institutions, over the course of six years. Initiated, developed and instructed grade eleven program, “Social Justice Block” pairing hands-on experience with academic study of local and global social justice issues.

Editorial Board, Dialogue magazine (Calvin University)
Editorial Board, Opus magazine (Hope College)
Columnist (bi-weekly, 2008), catapult Magazine, a publication rooted in examining the intersections of culture and faith.
Independent Editor, Wilfrid Laurier University. Under the direction of Dr. Caragata, edited portions of first-person narratives for the “Lone Mothers on Social Assistance: Understanding their Experiences through Community-Based Research” project.

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Contact poet directly

Please contact me here through the League, or through my newsletter: merkatart.substack.com
or via IG: @merkatart
or Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/meredithkhoogendam

Member photo albums (1 Album)

CHAPBOOK COVERS: HAND ILLUSTRATED, ORIGINAL (4)