Join four dynamic queer poets for short readings and a discussion about the craft of writing poetry.

Moderator: Guest LGBTQIA2S+ Curator Jen Currin

Readers: kitchen mckeown, i need not be good (Rahila’s Ghost Press) | David Ly, Dream of Me as Water (Palimpsest Press) | Jane Shi, echolalia echolalia (Brick Books) | Kayla Czaga, Midway (House of Anansi Press)

Two poets come together to share their grief and resiliency in the face of loss, as well as their ability to move on because of love.

Sponsored by the Canada Arts Council and the Writers Union of Canada

Host: Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Bramah's Quest (Nightwood Editions)

Readers: Kayla Czaga, Midway (House of Anansi Press) | Cathy Stonehouse, Dream House: A Poem (Nightwood Editions)

This panel invites some of Vancouver’s most engaged Spoken Word Poets who have mentored, taught, and significantly impacted many poets across the country.

Moderator: Johnny D Trinh

Readers: CR Avery, 38 Bar Blues (Write Bloody North) | Johnny MacRae | Kiran Kaur | Leslie Stark | Brandon Wint, Divine Animal (Write Bloody North)

Three poets share their work and their lived experiences as families shift, move, and mitigate immigration and relocation.

Host: Daniela Elza

Readers: Svetlana Ischenko, Nucleus: A Poet’s Lyrical Journey from Ukraine to Canada (Ronsdale Press) | Onjana Yawnghwe, We Follow the River (Caitlin Press) | Holly Flauto, Permission to Settle (Anvil Press)

Every year, the Association of Book Publishers of BC and TransLink collaborate to bring you excerpts from 10 of the newest books of poetry published in that year. Be the first to hear and meet the poets.

Host: Evelyn Lau

Readers: Donna Kane, Asterisms (Harbour Publishing) | Michelle Brown, Swans (Palimpsest Press) | Justene Dion-Glowa, Trailer Park Shakes (Brick Books) | Bradley Peters, Sonnets from a Cell (Brick Books) | Tiffany Stone, Super Small: Miniature Marvels of the Natural World (Greystone Books) | Michelle Poirier Brown, You Might Be Sorry You Read This (University of Alberta Press) | Christopher Levenson, Moorings (Caitlin Press) | Dina Del Bucchia, You’re Gonna Love This (Talonbooks) | Svetlana Ischenko, Nucleus: A Poet’s Lyrical Journey from Ukraine to Canada (Ronsdale Press) | Andrea Scott, In the Warm Shallows of What Remains (Raven Chapbooks/Rainbow Publishers)

The Seventeen Syllable Slam is a literary comedy poetry competition where poets attempt to win over judges with their short poems.

Participants: Sonya Littlejohn | Herbert | Erin Kirsch | Amanda Eagleson | Trevana Spilchen | Mo the Poet | David Geary | Duncan Shields | Kayla Price | Fernando Raguero | Aaron Hunter | Leslie Stark | Warren Dean Fulton | RC Weslowski | Kyle Hawke

We find our spiritual selves in different places and yet it is in the calling that we find ourselves to be the same. Join these two poets as they open up doors to worlds right there for us to see.

Host: Natalie Lang

Readers: Kevin Spenst, A Bouquet Brought Back from Space (Anvil Press) | Jess Housty, Crushed Wild Mint (Nightwood Editions)