Di Brandt, a poet with ties to the Pembina Valley, is Winnipeg's first Poet Laureate.
 
The role recognizes a significant poet to represent the region.
 
While her writings have sent her across the world, Brandt grew up in the small village Reinland, south of Winkler.
 
She explains leaving for Winnipeg at 17 left her with culture shock.
 
"It just seemed like a completely different culture," she says. "A lot of my writing has had to do with growing up in one culture, and then living in a different one and trying to understand how they're related to each other."
 
Brandt says writing has helped her understand where she came from, and stay connected to her heritage.
 
"I didn't want to just leave it behind, I wanted to take it with me," she says. "And that's what I've done."
 
Dominic Lloyd, Program and Arts Development Manager at the Winnipeg Arts Council explains they've wanted a poet laureate for many years.
 
"Cities large and small have them but Winnipeg never has," Lloyd says. "We like to think of ourselves as the cultural capital of Canada, so we decided it was time."
 
"It's an art form that can scare people away, but it doesn't have to," he says, adding the poet laureate's role is to bring the medium to a larger audience.
 
Brandt says poetry is often seen as a specialized language but notes it used to be commonplace to memorize poetry in school.
 
"It used to be everyone had poetry on their tongue at a moment's notice, it's not so true now. It's perhaps more important than ever to have positions like this."
 
She says the magical element of poetry is its ability to hold every expression, from the silly to the profound.
 
"It's a language really young children can understand... it's for people of all ages."
 
A jury looked through a number of applicants before deciding on Brandt. Lloyd says her use of poetry to reach across all kinds of lines impressed the jury.
 
The Poet Laureate appointment runs for two years.