As a Sudburian who spent the better part of two decades living in Calgary before moving back home, the Superstack has something of an emotional hold on Emily Andrews.
While we’ve technologically moved past the need for the 381-metre (1,250-foot) structure, which was completed in 1972 by the mining company Inco, it’s still a symbol of home.
And that symbol may not be there much longer. The stack, situated near Copper Cliff’s Little Italy neighbourhood but visible even on the city’s outskirts, was fully taken out of service in 2020.
Vale, the company that bought out Inco earlier this century, has stated its intention to dismantle the Superstack, although it’s unknown at this time when the demolition will actually begin.
“It's almost the last thing you see when you leave here, but when you come back, that's the first thing you look at, the first thing you find to say, ‘OK, now I'm back in Sudbury, I saw the smokestack,’” said Andrews, reminiscing about her sporadic visits back to Sudbury via the Greyhound bus as a “broke” young woman.
“So that literal pillar of what being home means, the symbol is gone. It’s going to hurt the heart a little bit in the you know, in little, tiny emotional parts. But logically it makes sense to come down.”
Andrews is one of the contributors to a new anthology from the Sudbury Writers’ Guild about the superstack entitled “Sudbury Superstack: A Changing Skyline” full of prose, poetry, facts, and images of the Sudbury Superstack ahead of its anticipated demolition.
A book launch for the anthology takes place May 14 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Steelworkers Hall on Brady Street.
The event will include remarks, readings from contributors, and some fun activities and photo opportunities related to the stack.
Former Greater Sudbury poet laureate Tom Leduc, who co-ordinated the Superstack anthology project, and also contributed some poetry and prose on the stack himself, said he has mixed feelings about the structure.
“I like the stack because of that symbol — it is our city, we're known for it, it’s an example of the mining. But then again,you're also a bit conflicted, because it does represent what we had done to the Earth. So I'm glad it's coming down. I'm happy about that. But at the same time, we're going miss it. Imagine if we took down the CN Tower in Toronto, you know. It'd be a massive impact in the skyline and to the city, just like hey, we’re known for this. So yeah, there's mixed feelings."
The Sudbury Writers’ Guild has previously published “Painted Voices," a chapbook of stories, poems, and photos from the public, inspired by the colourful mural that transformed the Sudbury General Hospital, as well as “Sudbury Ink,” an anthology of Sudbury Writers’ Guild members that contains poems, essays, and short stories.
The anthology focusing on the former hospital building "was a phenomenal success,” said Matthew Del Papa, president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild. “It kind of resonated with the public. I think we sold a pile. We ended up reordering a couple of times, which is really good for a local publication.”
The new anthology about the Superstack involved “blood, sweat and tears” from writers’ guild members over the past two years, said Del Papa.
The group received between 60 and 70 written submissions and photos from 40 different photographers.
With editing by Kim Fahner, another former Greater Sudbury poet laureate, the material was pared down to about 50 submissions in total, with the book having a page count of 97 pages. Some of the submissions are by previously published authors, while others come from the average person who just wanted to make a comment on the subject.
“It was a worthwhile project, and we're proud of the work that went into it,” said Del Papa, who himself contributed a piece about how the stack is viewed from the perspective of someone who lives in the outlying community of Capreol. “I know I’m proud to be associated with it.”
Books will cost $25 each and will be available at the launch, through the Sudbury Writers’ Guild website at SudburyWritersGuild.com, or by contacting them via email at [email protected].
The group is also hoping to place the anthology in local stores following the book launch, with Science North having already confirmed they will sell the book.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.
