What a fabulous reading we had on May 21st. Engaging, humorous, profound, uplifting. All of these and more. Griffin Poetry Prize Winner Jane Munro and Griffin Finalist Ian Williams delivered some of their most inspiring and exquisite poems to a receptive and appreciative audience.
Now To Our Next Poetry Reading
On Sunday, June 18 Poetic Justice will be hosting two more poetic talents. Yes, it’s Father’s Day, so why not bring Dad along and feed him some pizza and poetry? Yet another Griffin Poetry Prize Finalist (and a Governor General’s Award Finalist too) will be joining us, along with one of the brightest new poets the West Coast has seen in a while. Patrick Friesen will be here with one of his biggest fans and a talent in her own right, Connie Braun.
Here’s more about both of them.
Patrick Friesen
Patrick Friesen has published more than a dozen books of poetry, a book of essays and, with P. K. Brask, co-translations of several Danish poets, including Ulrikka Gernes’ Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments which was short-listed for the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize. Friesen has also written stage and radio plays, text for dance, and has recorded two CDs of spoken word and improv music with Marilyn Lerner. His upcoming play, a short history of crazy bone, will be produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba in 2018.
Connie Braun
Connie T. Braun (BA, MA, MFA) is an author and instructor of Creative Writing. Her writing often focuses on narrative as witness and the life affirming poetics of memory. She has published a memoir, The Steppes are the Colour of Sepia (Ronsdale Press, 2008), a collection of poetry, Unspoken: An Inheritance of Words (Fern Hill Publications, 2016), along with reviews for various publications. Her academic and personal essays and poetry appear in journals and anthologies with two forthcoming publications, a chapbook Narrow Passageways (Alfred Gustav Press, 2017) and a collection of essays Silentium: & other reflections on Memory, Sorrow, Place and the Sacred (Wipf and Stock). She is an associate member of the League of Canadian Poets, a member of the Canadian Author’s Association and has served on boards for the arts and writing, including Prism International and Image Journal. She lives in Vancouver.
Remember if you want a spot on the Open Mic list, make sure you arrive on time. At the last reading we had to disappoint a few of you. Those who missed out in May will be given the chance to go first at June’s reading — but you have to be punctual. See you all on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18. We’re underway at 11:30 a.m.
