pj johnson Poet Laureate of the Yukon
pj johnson, the daughter of a Yukon trapper, was formally invested on Canada Day July 1st 1994 during a ceremony in Whitehorse where she was given the title Poet Laureate of the Yukon and became the first officially-invested poet laureate in Canada.
A storyteller in the oral tradition, her poems stories and songs have been televised and performed nationally and globally and published widely both in print and online. Active in the arts for decades as a visual and oral storyteller, mentor and performer at various venues across the nation, she is also an author, playwright, actor, musician, composer, teller of stories Yukon ambassador and a passionate animal rights advocate. Her poems, stories, plays and songs have been televised and performed nationally and globally and published widely in various books and journals in countries around the world and translated into several languages.
Diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder in 2005 johnson encourages people with a learning disability to realize they can still pursue their dreams.
Known as the Yukon Raven Lady, johnson led a campaign to have the northern raven declared the official symbol of the Yukon in 1985.
On Canada Day 2020 pj johnson celebrated her 26th anniversary as Poet Laureate of the Yukon. She is the longest-serving Poet Laureate in Canada.
https://www.yukonpoetlaureate.com/
Her book “it’s howlin’ time!” is available at Mac’s Fireweed Books in Whitehorse. https://www.macsbooks.ca/
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