Available for select readings, panel discussions, workshops, lectures, and writing festivals.
Queries: ZG Stories, Anvil Press.
Readings & Events
Talonbooks Spring Launch
2026/05/01May 1, 2026 Doors at 7 p.m.
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Talonbooks Spring Launch
Join us at the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall for the launch of the Talonbooks spring 2026 titles! Come help us celebrate this season’s authors and books. Here’s the lineup! It’s going to be an amazing evening.
Taryn Hubbard will read from Beautiful Unknown Future
Jenn Ashton (attending digitally) will read from Growing My Way Home
George Bowering (attending digitally) will read from Pearl
Jónína Kirton will read from Save Your Prayers – Send Money
Elee Kraljii Gardiner will read from sometimes, forest
Nicole Raziya Fong will read from SUBTEXT and
Danielle LaFrance will read from Verbal Violence!
The launch will be hosted by the author of Future Works, Jeff Derksen!
A live stream will be available on the Talonbooks YouTube page. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. Hope to see you there!
Talonbooks Spring Launch
Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall
1955 McLean Ave, Vancouver, BC
May 1, 2026
Doors at 7 p.m., readings begin at 7:30 p.m. PDT
Un-Closing Captions: possibilities for descriptive text
2026/04/29Wednesday, April 29, 2026 @ 2:30 pm at Chill-X Studios
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Un-Closing Captions: possibilities for descriptive text
Un-Closing Captions: possibilities for descriptive text
Join us for a workshop in the Verses Festival!
Closed captions are an important accessibility feature for many viewers. But, as artist Christine Sun Kim points out, descriptive subtitles for the musical soundtrack in videos often default to something unspecific such as [MUSIC PLAYING]. How can we, as poets, explode the form of the subtitle and open meaning for people who rely on captions? In this participatory, creative, and generative workshop facilitated by Vancouver Poet Laureate Elee Kraljii Gardiner and Citizen Poets Elana Brief and Dani Rodriguez, we will experiment with creating closed captions that transmit mood and flavour and perhaps open new pathways into poetic practice. We will play with associative language, surrealism, and other tactics as we respond to samples of live acoustic fiddle and recorded sound. This playful and positive workshop is for anyone curious and willing to share knowledge.
Forest/Weather: A Climate Justice Walkshop
2026/04/11Saturday, April 11, 2026, 11:30am-1pm
UBC, Lasserre Building, 6333 Memorial Rd, Room 105
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Forest/Weather: A Climate Justice Walkshop
Join us on a WALKSHOP at Smoke Forecast, a one-day gathering that foregrounds artistic, embodied and community-engaged practices to approach fire and climate justice, at the Belkin Gallery at UBC. Forest/Weather: A Climate Justice Walkshop will take place at 11:30am with facilitators Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Astrida Neimanis, χʷəy̓χʷiq̓tən/ Audrey Siegl and Ruby Singh. Please dress for the weather; while the walk will be slow and gentle, it will be outdoors. More info here.
Pandora’s Collective Presents TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
2026/01/21Wed, January 21, 2026, 6:00 - 7:50 pm
Britannia Library, 1661 Napier St, Vancouver, BC
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Pandora’s Collective Presents TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Hosted by: Daniela Elza and Natasha Boskic, Pandora’s Collective & Britannia Library
Readings by three poets laureate: Kyeren Regehr (Victoria),
Elee Kraljii Gardiner (Vancouver), and Janet Kvammen (New Westminster). Join us for open mic!
Here, Hearing: an Evening with Citizen Poets
2026/01/13January 13, 2026, 6pm-8pm
Vancouver Public Library, Main, 350 Georgia St.
The Montalbano Theatre is located on the 8th floor of the VPL Main branch and is accessible.
*Note: if you or your guests are coming by car, be aware that sometimes EVENT PARKING is in effect if the arenas are in use—that’s a flat rate of $35 in parking lots. Street parking can be $$ and difficult during these times. We do not know if this evening will be under Event Parking restrictions.
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Here, Hearing: an Evening with Citizen Poets
Vancouver Poet laureate Elee Kraljii Gardiner welcomes you to an evening of reportage and readings from seven Citizen Poets who did Here, Hearing residencies and brought poetry into public venues. Learn what they did, where they worked, and what they heard from the city and its citizens. As a record of the first year of this laureate legacy project we’re launching the Here, Hearing playlist, a collection of audio files from the year of poetry.
Here is a list of our readers and the host organizations that generously provided space for them to write:
Adolfo Bermúdez, El Mashup Collective
Cabil, The Canadian Chinese Museum
Dani Rodríguez Chevalier, Upstart & Crow
Elana Brief, Upstart & Crow
Fiona Glen, UBC Farm
Karen Parrish, SFU’s Samuel and Frances Belzberg Library
Lauren Peat, Enabling Arts
Cabil, The Canadian Chinese Museum
Dani Rodríguez Chevalier, Upstart & Crow
Elana Brief, Upstart & Crow
Fiona Glen, UBC Farm
Karen Parrish, SFU’s Samuel and Frances Belzberg Library
Lauren Peat, Enabling Arts
With Poetry Ambassadors Kevin Spenst, Marc Perez, and Johnny D. Trinh!
Come learn how you can be part of 2026’s Here, Hearing project.
(The invitation to apply will be posted in February)
Sign up to receive notice of events at versevancouver.ca
(The invitation to apply will be posted in February)
Sign up to receive notice of events at versevancouver.ca
Elee Kraljii Gardiner holds the Vancouver Poet Laureateship for three years as a community-minded position practiced within the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). It is coordinated and administered by City of Vancouver, Writers Fest, and VPL
open two
2025/12/18Thurs, December 18, 2025, 8pm
Tickets and info about the venue here.
KW Studios is an accessible venue. Folks in need of an elevator can access one through the lobby entrance. Accessible bathrooms are available downstairs. KW events are both auditory and visual. Sound can be loud, but earplugs can be provided free of charge. Lighting is generally lower but can be adjusted and raised to accommodate people who need brighter venues.
KW events are NOTAFLOF (No one turn away for lack of funds) . NOTAFLOF tickets are of limited capacity. Please consider your financial need relative to folks in the DTES community where we reside before asking to pay less. We practice the policy NOTAFLOF specifically to allow access to folks negatively impacted by gentrification projects within the DTES community. If you are a student or low income worker, please consider saving up for the next show as the artists and KW staff are also low income workers.
Located 111 West Hastings Street Vancouver. Look for the KW sign off Hastings Street for the entrance.
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open two
Allison Lang’s series: open two.
A two performance evening at KW Studios!
“Katy Perry in Space” by Nathan Coburn and Elle of Paper Rabbits
This a dance piece exploring questions of our relationship to each other, the world, and the cosmos. We are fascinated by astrophysics principles, the vast and ever expanding spacetime of the universe, and black holes. Anything can become a black hole if it is compressed enough. Theoretically, even the earth could become a black hole if it were compressed to the size of a gumball.
The second half of the program features a cocreational text score with Elee Kraljii Gardiner and c.o.valenza.
Social milling about afterwards!
Pandora’s Collective: A Night for Giving: A Poetry Reading and Fundraiser
2025/12/17December 17, 2025
Fraserview Cemetery, 5445 Fraser Street, Vancouver
Accessible by bus at 41st/Fraser
Small parking lot available near the celebration of life building within the cemetery.
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Pandora’s Collective: A Night for Giving: A Poetry Reading and Fundraiser
Host: Lorraine White-Wilkinson Poets: Kevin Spenst, Junie Désil, Rina Garcia Chua and guests Fiona Tinwei Lam and Elee Kraljii Gardiner
The Fundraiser
Since 2006 Pandora’s Collective has run a fundraiser for the youth and their families in need from Musqueam over the holiday season. That is nearly 20 years. For over 10 years Executive Director Dr. Bonnie Nish worked with Mary Roberts to make this happen. Sadly in 2016 Mary passed away. Mary was an Auntie to all the children she supported through her work and in her community. It is an honour to now be working with her granddaughter Jocelyn to make this happen. Mary would be so proud of her. .
From Jocelyn “ The families on the list truly appreciate everything they receive, and I am always forever grateful for what you and Grandma Mary have started and continued over all these years.”
Thank you to this community for the incredible support you have shown over the years. Together, you have helped ensure that countless children experience a joyful Christmas they might not otherwise have had. We are hopeful that—with your generosity—we can make that happen again this year.
We are excited to be returning with a wonderful lineup of poets who will be sharing their time, talent, and words. Please join us with open hearts—and be ready to have yours touched in return. We are grateful to Mountain View Cemetery for the use of their beautiful Celebration Hall.
This year we are gratefully accepting both cash and gift donations, all of which go directly to the families we serve. If you would like to contribute a new unwrapped gift, please see the list below. A donation box will also be located at the entrance for convenience.
Age. Size
12 Boy Mens
9 Boy unknown
6 Boy unknown
12 Boy Mens large(shirt pants) 8shoe
11 Girl Womens small (shirt pants)6-7shoe
11 girl Womens large (shirt pants)9.5 shoe size
8 BOY Youth largh (shirt pants)4 shoe
4 girl 6/7 shirt and pants10c shoe
1 Girl 18/24 moth size 5 diapers
16 Boy Mens Large head to toe
9 Boy Big kid Kids xl 12/14
7 Boy Kid 10-12 shirt pants feet size1
13 boy Mens large
7 Girl Shirts6/7pants medium small socks
10 Boy Xl kids shirts and pants 10/14 socks
2 Boy 3t head to toe
3 BOY 5t head to toe
1MONTH and 2MONTH DIAPERS,WIPES
16 girl Ladys Shirts long sleaves medium, Sweater lg and socks lg (Tights)
And please, remember to support the poets who make this evening possible.
If you cannot be at the event please consider sending a cash donation through Pandora’s website here.
Planet Earth Poetry with Four BC Poets Laureates
2025/11/28Friday, November 28, 2025, 7:30pm
Russell Books, 747 Fort St, Victoria
7pm sign up for open mic
7:30pm start
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Planet Earth Poetry with Four BC Poets Laureates
Four BC Poets Laureates read at Canada’s longest running reading series, Planet Earth Poetry. Join Elee Kraljii Gardiner (Vancouver), Neil Surkan (Nanaimo), Janet Kvammen (New Westminster) and Kyeren Regehr (Victoria). Open mic sign up at 7pm!
A sister event will be held in Vancouver with Twisted Poets on January 21, 2026
Free Verse: a reading at WORD
2025/09/20Saturday, September 20, 2025 11:00 AM 12:00 PM
Saturday, September 20, 2025
11:00 AM 12:00 PM
UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson StreetVancouver, BC, V5S 0G4Canada
Location: Room C440, UBC Robson Square
Part of WORD Vancouver.https://www.wordvancouver.ca/room-c440/free-verse
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Free Verse: a reading at WORD
Free Verse seeks to bring the voices of incarcerated writers to the Vancouver community through a public presentation of their writing in an effort to expand the literary community, build empathy, and leverage the power of storytelling to instigate change. Work is from writers in Mission Medium (men) and Fraser Valley (women) Institutions. Free Verse is a project of Pandora’s Collective. Supported by the City of Vancouver’s Communities and Artists Shifting Culture (CASC) and UBC PRE Fund.
Location: Room C440, UBC Robson Square
Sponsored by: Pandora’s Collective, The City of Vancouver and UBC Library
Moderator: Kaile Shilling
Readers: Johnny Trinh | Sophea Heang | Elee Kraljii Gardiner
8east’s 3rd Thursday improvised music series
2025/06/19June 19, 2025, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
8 East Pender St, Vancouver
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8east’s 3rd Thursday improvised music series
8east’s 3rd Thursday improvised music series presents:
Elee Kraljii Gardiner – poet
Aysha Dulong – electronics
Cindy Kao – violin
Johanna Hauser – clarinets
Torsten Müller – bass
By donation $20/10/free
The 8EAST social space for new culture is a project of the NOW Society, located on the Territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and səlil̓wətaʔɬ Peoples, in Chinatown, in the DTES, in Vancouver. We are committed to making 8EAST a safe(r), welcoming and more accessible space.
Tiny Desk Concert–Vancouver Public Library Edition
2025/06/14Saturday, July 14, 2025
Vancouver Public Library
Main Branch
350 West Georgia St
1pm-3pm
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Tiny Desk Concert–Vancouver Public Library Edition
Vancouver Public Library’s Tiny Desk Concert is a live music and literary performance where artists play music or share verse in a small, intimate setting. It emphasizes the authenticity of music and storytelling rather than grandiose production values.
Join us for VPL’s first TDC featuring Chris Bose, the 2025 Indigenous Storyteller in Residence, The City of Vancouver’s Poet Laureate for 2025-2027, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, and special musical guest, Graham How with How Sound.
If it’s a nice day, we’ll be out in the rooftop garden space just outside the Yosef Wosk Poets’ Corner on Level 9!
Details and info here.
DTES Writers Festival
2025/05/22May 22, 2025
Thursday, May 22: 1-2:30pm in the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre at 401 Main St (at Hastings) in Vancouver
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DTES Writers Festival
Join us for the DTES Writers Festival opening event, Thursday, May 22: 1-2:30pm in the Carnegie Community Centre Theatre at 401 Main St (at Hastings) in Vancouver. Everyone welcome! Elder in Residence, Les Nelson will offer a welcome, Vancouver’s Poet Laureate Elee will do a short reading, as will DTES Writers Collective leader, author and reporter Gilles Cyrenne. paula luther (Typewriter Tales) will read from last year’s collective story. Come mingle with fellow poets, authors, and storytellers (and eat cake)!
Program guides available from Carnegie Community Centre. Info also available on Instagram.