Stealing Genius concert a special collaboration of N.L. poets, musicians

Woody Point contains a kind of magic. Artists have flocked here for decades. Inspired by the beauty of Gros Morne's landscape, they've soaked up nature's gifts and poured it into their work. Songwriting legend Ron Hines was one of those inspired artists. During a writing retreat to Woody Point, Hines wrote Stealing Genius. All the songs are inspired by Newfoundland authors. It borrows from literary achievement, from Newfoundland poets, writers, authors, past and present. So we're covering everybody from, you know, the late, great Al Pittman, through Randall Maggs, to Des Walsh, to Donna Morrissey, to Michael Crummey. That album came out in 2010, and 16 years later, in 2026, Woody Point has once again become the setting for collaboration between musicians and poets. A partnership with writers at Woody Point and CBC's East Coast Music Hour. Four Newfoundland and Labrador poets wrote brand new poems. And then those poems were given to four Newfoundland musicians to use as inspiration for new songs. Am I going to know who the poet is before I write the song? The artists had no idea who they were paired with. Rising and falling through the seasons, like the lungs of a living... I guess you'd think you are. The project was all about creative risk. I just met her today and I've just found somebody who matches my freak. It was not complete when I wrote it until I just heard that. Now I feel like I understand the poem better. It felt a little bit like writing a message in a bottle and throwing it in the ocean. The pairs were revealed in an emotional concert at the Woody Point Heritage Theatre. I got a few more poems I want to send to you. Still Stealing Genius is the perfect name for the concert. It carries on the legacy of Ron Hines' 2010 album And who better to tie the two projects together than Michael Crummey, whose work inspired a song on that 2010 album. And now, a new song, 16 years later. Wherever you receive the message to write it, then I got the same kind of channel, you know? Capping a night of artistic collaboration was one last collaboration. This one with the audience. A sing-along to an old favourite. Erin Costello for CBC's East Coast Music Hour, Halifax.