The Whole Cloth Reading Series

An experience in deep listening, each Whole Cloth Reading Series event features a single poet who reads an entire book of poems from cover to cover. While poets devote immense craft to shaping a book, public readings tend to favor selections and excerpts. Uniting writer and audience in a celebration of expansive and unhurried attention, this series creates a rare environment for the investigation of poetry, sound, delivery and reciprocity. Each event features a transformative (short!) book and concludes in time for a cordial reception and conversation.

I started this series in 2020 to support an experience of deep attention to the text as read by the author. Poetry merits lingering, and I am curious how long-form readings affect the experience of the text. Two weeks after our inaugural poet Sherwin Bitsui sharedhis most recent work from Copper Canyon Press, Dissolve, Covid suspended our series. In 2023, Dr. Bronwen Tate helped revive the series and is on board as co-director.

While the series has potential to be held in satellite locations in Canada and other beyond, it is housed at University of British Columbia’s Green College. We’re grateful for the College’s warm hospitality that allows us to celebrate the readers with a reception, dinner with College members, and the sharing out of copies to community members.

The series is free, accessible, and all are welcome. Join the Substack here to learn about upcoming readings and to access the livestream: https://wholecloth.substack.com

Readers