Before telling you about May’s exceptional (and very unusual) poetry reading, let me briefly tell you about our last reading on Wednesday, April 18.
What a trio of talent! E.D. Blodgett, Terry Ann Carter, and Rhonda Ganz delivered readings that spanned the spectrum of poetic styles and subjects. The audience topped out at 40 and the comments I received from many of you told me you were blown away.
Our Next Poetry Reading
Our standard format at Poets Corner is to have two featured poets preceded by an open mic segment. However, this month will be different. Very different. In fact, it’s so different we’re calling it a celebration.
In May we are going to celebrate and honour a B.C. publishing house that has nurtured and lauded many creative writers over its long history. Ekstasis Editions is an independent literary press that has steadfastly supported not only British Columbian but many other Canadian writers for over 35 years.
It is time to say thank you.
May’s Guests of Honour
Richard Olafson
It is time to celebrate a literary press that Richard Olafson started in 1982 and continues to run today. Owned and operated by Richard and his partner, Carol Ann Sokoloff, the two continue to support literary writers, especially those in this province.
Richard’s years at the helm of Ekstasis can be summed up as a stellar example of a creative, prolific, and dedicated career.
Carol Ann Sokoloff
There were many boulder-sized roadblocks that seemed determined to thwart these two from reaching the 30-year mark. But here they are today, proudly standing next to the 35-year milestone marker along the long and winding (and enduring) road.
Originally, Ekstasis published poetry almost exclusively, but it has since diversified and branched out into related forms such as literary fiction, metaphysics, theatre and, most recently, Children’s and Young Adult books under the Cherubim Books imprint.
How Will We Celebrate Ekstasis’ 35 years?
Aside from the obvious camaraderie that will be aided by all sorts of libations, a special evening of readings and tributes is planned. Invitations are being sent to every writer ever published by Ekstasis. And that’s quite a few!
We realize not everyone is close enough to our host venue in Vancouver’s Chinatown to be there in person, but all Ekstasis writers will be invited no matter where they live. Who knows? You may want to make a point of being in town around May 16 to honour and celebrate this special indie press and the people that helped put many of you on the literary map.
In a perfect world, we would love each and every Ekstasis writer who is there the evening of the 16th to read a poem or a short excerpt from their published work. Obviously that’s not possible. Instead you are being asked to bring your Ekstasis publication in case your your name is drawn from the hat; those selected will then deliver a short reading.
No Open Mic at the Next Reading
Because of this special celebration to honour Ekstasis Editions, there won’t be our usual Open Mic segment on May 16th. But there will be a helluva lot of published Ekstasis writers at the mic!
Make sure you’ve signed up to receive our twice-monthly newsletter (the form’s to the right) for more details of this very special themed reading.
See you on May 16th!
