Poets Corner Reading Series

EVENTS

UPCOMING READINGS, FEATURED POETS, and THEMED READINGS.

FINISHED! Next Poetry Reading is Virtual! On Wednesday May 20

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Yes, it’s been a while. Yes, we’re still alive. COVID-19 cannot destroy us, nor can the lack of talented help. We asked for help when things looked bleak, and the universe responded. Our new team at Poets Corner is now up and running and ready to go. In fact, we were all set to launch for our March reading when the corona virus pandemic struck and we had to cancel. But as it has been for many others, necessity is the mother of invention, and like others, we too have turned to virtual readings until life can settle down to the new normal.

Next Poetry Reading

Starting with May’s reading, Poets Corner is experimenting with LIVE virtual readings. It’s a first for us, but we’re nervously excited about the prospect. As you know, our usual format is to have two featured poets preceded by an open mic segment. Because we’re on a steep learning curve, we decided to go with just one featured poet, yet still have our open mic with several participants carried out via a live reading.  Maybe this is a first?… More on this below.

We are excited to have as our very first virtual featured poet Frances Boyle. She will be reading from the comfort of her home in Ottawa, and we’ll be underway on Wednesday May 20 at 7:30pm, West Coast time. Here’s a little bit more about Frances…

photo of poet frances boyle

Photo Credit: John W. Macdonald

Frances Boyle is the author of two poetry books, most recently This White Nest (Quattro Books, 2019). She has also written Tower, a novella (Fish Gotta Swim Editions 2018) and Seeking Shade, a short story collection (forthcoming from The Porcupine’s Quill in 2020). Her poems and stories have appeared throughout North America and in the U.K. Recent and forthcoming publications include work in Best Canadian Poetry 2020, Blackbird, Prairie Fire, Vallum, Parentheses Journal, and The /temz/ Review. She lives in Ottawa, where she helps edit Arc Poetry Magazine, and writes reviews for Canthius: feminism and literary arts. www.francesboyle.com

In order for you to join in and enjoy this live reading, you will have to register for the event. The reading will be delivered via the Zoom platform, but in order to try and minimize interruptions from nefarious types, we have opted to make the live reading a registration-only event.

In keeping with our tradition of having an Open Mic segment to complement our featured poet readings, we are extending an invitation for you to read one of your poems. It’s first come, first served, and you’ll be restricted to just one poem, or three minutes, whichever is the lesser of the two.

Please join us for our First Virtual Live Reading at Poets Corner (Vancouver)!

Poet Frances Boyle will read from her new collection, This White Nest (Quattro, 2019), including a short Q & A with the author. Following her reading we are hosting our first virtual live Open Mic segment. If you have any questions or if you would like to sign up for the live open mic, contact us in advance at:
socialmedia@poetscorner.ca

You will need a smartphone or computer with audio and video capabilities to participate in the open mic segment. Remember, it’s first come, first served.

Venue:                 Zoom platform online (click the link below to register)
Date:                    Wednesday, 20 May 2020, from 7:30 to 9:30pm, PDT

Register in advance for this live reading. Simply click on this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUqc-ygqTsoG9YU87cq0LV31TALKfcjuPNO

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the meeting.

 

Looking forward to ‘seeing’ you on May 20!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

POSTPONED! Next Poetry Reading on Wednesday March 18

2020-02-19 EVENTS, Uncategorized , , , , ,

[Posted on behalf of James Felton]  If you read the last blog post, you would’ve been left with that ominous feeling Poets Corner may have come to a rather sad end. I felt that way, too. It looked grim, but only for a brief while. Let me be the first to announce that we are still very much alive. In fact, we are more alive than ever, and it really feels like this is the start of something new.

 

Earlier, I said my hope was to find a small group of willing, caring, energized and enthusiastic people to revitalize this series and to carry its banner into the future. And I believe I’ve found just the right team. In this month’s newsletter, I’ll tell you more later about these incredible individuals who have stepped forward to save the series.

Next Poetry Reading

Resuscitating Poets Corner took some doing, but we are now ready to rock and roll. And what a way to kick off our first reading of 2020! We will have not two but three featured poets on Wednesday March 18 and two are from back east. Here’s a little more about March’s featured readers…

 

Fiona Tinwei Lam’s third collection of poetry, Odes & Laments, was launched last fall. She has authored a children’s book, edited The Bright Well: Contemporary Canadian Poems on Facing Cancer, and co-edited Love Me True: Writers Reflect on the Ins, Outs, Ups & Downs of Marriage with Jane Silcott. Lam won The New Quarterly’s Nick Blatchford Prize and was a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award. Her work appears in more than thirty anthologies, including The Best of the Best Canadian Poetry in English: 10th Anniversary Edition and Forcefield: 77 Women Poets of BC. Her poetry videos have screened at festivals internationally. She teaches at SFU Continuing Studies.  FionaLam.net

 

Maureen Hynes’s first book of poetry, Rough Skin, won the League of Canadian Poets’ Gerald Lampert Award for best first book of poetry by a Canadian. Her 2016 collection, The Poison Colour, was shortlisted in 2016 for both the Pat Lowther and Raymond Souster Awards. Maureen’s fifth book of poetry, Sotto Voce, comes out from Brick Books in fall, 2019. Her poetry has been included in over 25 anthologies, including twice in Best Canadian Poems in English, and in Best of the Best Canadian Poetry, 2017. Maureen is the poetry editor for Our Times magazine, where she encourages submissions that reflect themes about workers’ lives, rights, insights, and social justice.  MaureenHynes.com

Allan Briesmaster has been active on the Canadian literary scene for many years as a workshop leader, readings organizer, editor, and publisher. He was a partner in Quattro Books from 2006 to 2017 and currently runs his own small literary press, Aeolus House. The author of eight full-length books and eight shorter ones, he has given readings and talks and hosted poetry events at venues across the country. The Long Bond: Selected and New Poems was published last fall by Guernica Editions. Allan is a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets. He lives in Thornhill, Ontario. 6 Pieces on Poetry

 

 

 

 

 

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