EVENTS

A bittersweet day is around the corner.

After more than four years, this Sunday will be the last Poetic Justice reading in the Back Room of the Heritage Grill. The times they are a-changin’ and we have to move to a new venue. More about our new home soon.

But we’re leaving with a bang! Coming up is a reading you won’t want to miss.  And if you’ve been around the literary scene in the Lower Mainland for a while, you simply have to be at the Heritage Grill on Sunday.

The Literary Storefront was Canada’s first non-profit literary centre and flourished in Vancouver’s colourful Gastown district from 1978-84. Trevor Carolan has captured the venue’s iconic history in his recent publication, The Literary Storefront: The Glory Years.

He and several guests who had a connection with this storied institution will be reading and reminiscing on Sunday. And if you have any connection with the Literary Storefront, you are welcome to come along and share a story or a poem.

Trevor Carolan

Trevor Carolan ran a well known Sixties-era coffeehouse on Columbia Street and began writing for The New Westminster Columbian at age 17, filing dispatches from San Francisco’s countercultural music scene. He has published many books of non-fiction, poetry, translation, anthologies and journalism. A former literary coordinator with the Calgary Olympic Winter Games and The Banff Arts Centre, he has also worked as media advocate for aboriginal land claims and Pacific Coast watershed issues. A former elected Councillor in North Vancouver, he holds a PhD, has written as a political columnist, and teaches English and Creative Writing at University of the Fraser Valley. His new book is entitled The Literary Storefront: The Glory Years, 1978-1985. In October 2015, his half-hour documentary film Powerground, featuring interviews with many acclaimed writers and ecologists, was received enthusiastically at its premiere in Brussels.

Read what the Georgia Strait had to say about Trevor’s book here… and for a recent story in the North Shore News on his book launch, check it out here.

Stay tuned for an announcement coming soon about our new venue. (P.S. It’s even closer to a SkyTrain station than the Heritage Grill!).

Next up at the microphone are two more fine poets.  Come out and support them and join in with the second-last reading at this great venue for the literary arts, the Heritage Grill.

Featuring:  Phinder Dulai and Lilija Valis

Host:           Kyle McKillop

Phinder Dulai

Phinder Dulai‘s latest collection of poetry dream/arteries published by Talonbooks. His most recent poetry is published in a number of journals: Canadian Literature, Offerings and Cue Books Anthology. His previous work has been been published in Ankur, Matrix, Memewar Magazine, Rungh, The Capilano Review, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Toronto South Asian Review, subTerrain and West Coast LINE. He is a co-founder of the Surrey-based inter-disciplinary arts group, The South Of Fraser Inter Arts Collective (SOFIA/c), and is the author of two previous poetry books: Ragas from the Periphery (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995) and Basmati Brown (Nightwood Editions, 2000).

Lilija Valis

Lilija Valis is the author of a book of poetry, Freedom on the Fault Line. Her poetry has been published in eight anthologies and various magazines. She has two CDs out, one solo and the other with two musicians, Enrico Renz and Lawren. The group performs at various poetry, musical and philosophical events in the lower mainland area. Enrico Renz is a poet, singer/songwriter and teacher. He is the lead guitarist for the Glenn Chatten Band. Lawren Nemeth has been writing songs, performing, producing CDs for many years.