Al Purdy’s A-frame

Al Purdy’s A-frame house will be re-opening to writers-in-residence this spring after a year of renovations.

The writers residency program at the house the poet built in Ameliasburgh, Ontario, in the 1950s launched in 2014. The house was closed to the program in 2024 in order to repair the building, which had been sinking into the mud. The Al Purdy A-frame Association says the building will be ready for occupancy at the beginning of May, with landscaping to be completed later in the month.

This year, the house will welcome nine writers, including the inaugural recipient of the Steven Heighton Fellowship.

Heighton was a frequent guest at the A-frame and a close friend of Al and Eurithe Purdy; the fellowship was created after his death by the Al Purdy A-frame Association in collaboration with the English department at Queen’s University. Each year, its recipient will receive $10,000, a six-week residency at the A-frame, a one-week residency at Queen’s, and “a profiled position” at the Steven Heighton Happening event. This year’s recipient is Liz Huntly, who is described as a creative writer, visual artist, musician, and artisanal baker.

The other writers who will be taking up residence at the A-frame this year are:

• Mark Goldstein, an author, graphic artist, and musician;
• Xiao Xuan / Sherry Huang, a writer, scholar, and educator;
• Brenda Leifso and Alayna Munce of Brick Books;
• Erin Finley and Kevin Mercier, a visual artist and educator and writer, respectively;
• Bren Simmers, a poet and writer; and
• Chris Johnson, a writer and the managing editor of Arc Poetry Magazine.

The residencies are scheduled to run from May 3 to Nov. 14.