Poets Corner Reading Series

HISTORY

 

Poets Corner evolved out of an earlier reading series called Poetic Justice

which was co-founded by Franci Louann and Candice James, Poet Laureate Emerita for New Westminster, BC. In effect, our reading series has been in continuous operation since 2010, hosting weekly poetry readings at the outset but later switching to a monthly frequency. Since inception, we have hosted and featured well over 600 poets.

James Felton

In 2015, James Felton became the new manager of the series and in his search for a larger audience and a more suitable venue, he renamed the series and in 2018 relocated Poets Corner from New Westminster to Chinatown, in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

While in Chinatown, the series enjoyed a wonderful run at Massy Books, a fabulous and very supportive Indigenous-owned and operated bookstore. But with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to quickly pivot and shifted the series to live online readings using the Zoom platform. This expanded our audience all the way to Canada’s east coast and we even enjoyed attendance from many U.S. states.

Our Founder, James Felton, retired midway through 2021 leaving the series in the very capable hands of a talented Collective. As pandemic restrictions are were in place, our readings continued virtually. But as of September 2022 we have moved to a hybrid version, both live and by Zoom. Our in person venue is Fairleigh Dickinson Universityin Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. We have also become a SOCIETY, and have welcomed several new members who help to bring the series to Vancouver poetry lovers each month.

 

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