EVENTS

Before explaining why we can’t give you a date for our next reading, we need to acknowledge what a superb reading we had to wrap up 2019. You would think that people would be too busy to attend a reading just a week before Christmas, but it turned out to be yet another full house at Poets Corner.

Nearly 50 came to hear the talented voices of Jay Ruzesky and John Lent. And the preambles to the readings, followed by the engaging q & a sessions that followed, proved to be as riveting as the poems themselves.

Our Next Poetry Reading

As you’ve noticed above, we don’t have a date for our next reading and I’ll explain why. Our series has been running continuously for over nine years when you include our predecessor, Poetic Justice. It takes a fair amount of energy, time, and human resources to run a reading series and all of these have been running low these days.

I have loved running this series, but other priorities are growing and demanding more of my time. Unless I find a small group of willing, caring, energized and enthusiastic people who want to continue Poets Corner’s legacy, I may have to call it a day.

I am hopeful that as you read this, you will ask yourself whether you or someone you know may be interested in helping to keep Poets Corner alive. Feel free to contact me at: james[at]poetscorner.ca

I feel for you. You missed something special if you weren’t at November’s poetry reading. Imagine someone whose left brain and right brain were equally well exercised and you’ll find Karen Shklanka. She is an M.D. who specializes in addiction medicine but she also holds an MFA in Creative Writing. The result? An alchemy of excellent poetry, infused with a cerebral insight that is truly unique.

Karen was joined last month by John Donlan whose poems combine his connection with his natural surroundings with a contemplative insight that is startling. The inspiration for much of his writing springs from his childhood home on the edge of the Canadian shield in southeastern Ontario. He still spends a big chunk of the year there and his natural surroundings provide the rich backdrop to many of his poems.

Our Next Poetry Reading

Our final reading of 2019 takes place one week before Christmas. Give yourself a break from shopping, stressing, fussing and fretting by coming out to hear two exceptional poetic voices on Wednesday, December 18. Here’s a little more about December’s featured poets…

John Lent is a professional writer, editor and singer/song-writer who lives in Vernon, BC. He has been publishing poetry, fiction and non-fiction nationally and internationally for the past thirty years. John has also taught Literature, Creative Writing and Canadian Literature courses at Okanagan College for over three decades, serving as Dean of the college for the last five years of his teaching tenure. One of the founders of Kalamalka Press, he also performs in the jazz/roots/blues group, the Lent/Fraser/Wall Trio.

Jay Ruzesky’s most recent book is In Antarctica, a travel memoir and historical narrative about the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. His poems and stories have been published in many magazines including The New Quarterly, Event, Saturday Night, and Poetry is Dead and have been included in anthologies and translated into several languages. His novel, The Wolsenburg Clock was shortlisted for the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and he has work forthcoming in Five Dials.

Our full Open Mic segment is back for this reading! Please arrive at least 15 minutes before we get underway to ensure you land a spot on the list. We will be starting at 7pm sharp on Wednesday, December 18. Looking forward to seeing you then!