Readings & Events

Phillips Academy Andover

I’ll be reading and leading writing exercises for two classes of English students at Phillips Academy Andover with Lou Bernieri‘s tenth and twelfth graders.

Planet Earth Reading Series

The evening begins at 7:30 with an open mic, followed by a featured reader(s). Planet Earth Poetry is located at Hillside Coffee and Tea, 1633 Hillside Ave (across from Bolen Books). Between 7 and 7:15, put your name in the hat to read at open mic.

I’ll be reading with Pamela Porter. Her work has earned more than a dozen provincial, national, and international awards, including the inaugural Gwendolyn MacEwan Poetry Prize, the 2013 Malahat Review 50th Anniversary Poetry Prize, the Our Times Poetry Award for political poetry, the 2012 FreeFall Magazine Poetry Award, the 2011 Prism International  Grand Prize in Poetry, the 2010 Vallum Magazine Poem of the Year Award, as well as the CBC, Raymond Souster and Pat Lowther Award shortlists. Her novel in verse, The Crazy Man, won the 2005 Governor General’s Award, the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award, and other prizes. Both The Crazy Man and her 2011 novel, I’ll be Watching,  are required reading in schools and colleges across Canada and the US. Patrick Lane has called her “a poet to be grateful for.” Defending Darkness is her 9th volume of poetry. Pamela lives near Sidney, BC with her family and a menagerie of rescued horses, dogs, and cats.

An Intimate Evening with Vancouver Poets

Julie Emerson, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Evelyn Lau, and Fred Wah

Join us in celebrating four of British Columbia’s celebrated poets, who will each read from and discuss their latest works.

Presented by Read Local BC, 2016

Serpentine Loop Reception, Reading & Meet the Author!

Free event, light refreshments, wheelchair accessible.

All book sales to benefit the Youth Programs https://www.ssypboston.org/

Meet your neighbors, see the newly-renovated hall, and give our youth a boost!

serpentine loop Book Launch Skating Party

serpentine loop Book Launch Skating Party with special guest, professional skater Elin Schran.

Come skate for an hour in celebration of a book of poems about ice, frozen rivers, skating and edges.

Elin Schran will perform a short piece based on the book and set to music prompted by the book of poems.

And this is the debut of “Funnel Cloud”, a string piece for everyone to skate to created by Chris Gainey, recorded by University of Iowa New Music Ensemble!

Rental skates available or bring your own. All ages and abilities welcome. Snacks and beverages served. Books for signing and sale. This is not a poetry reading, but a skating party.

Elin Schran founded the Boston Ice Theater, a professional ensemble skating company, in 1999, to create new movement possibilities for the ice and to convey the joy of skating to the audience. As a choreographer and director, she designed the company’s numbers and also performed in every show. The ensemble of up to sixteen skaters worked together for five years performing in a wide variety of venues, including the Opening Ceremonies of the 2001 US Figure Skating Championships in Boston, MA.In 2004 Elin co-founded Frozen Frog Productions which specializes in developing high-energy shows for audiences all ages. Frozen Frog is known for its polished “wow factor” custom shows for corporate, as well as private clients who want to bring an added element of excitement to their events. Elin choreographs, directs and performs for all of the company’s projects. Elin was a coach at Dorothy Hamill’s Fantasy Skating Camp for 5 years, helping adult skaters of many skill levels feel comfortable and confident on the ice while being challenged in a positive way.

She has created a unique edge class for all ages and skill levels called IceFlow in order to bring a gentle, yoga-inspired approach to skating. IceFlow aims to connect movement with the breath while incorporating twisting, stretching, and gliding choreography. Main objectives of IceFlow include awareness and control of weight transfer, increased comfort with shifting balance points, and a celebration of the joy of skating.

Elin also works as an Independent Choreographer, sought out for her creativity and positive attitude. Her multi-faceted approach to skating is fed not only by practical experience as a skater in many shows, including Dorothy Hamill’s Ice Capades, but also by a theoretical understanding of the creative process evidenced by her Master’s degree in Critical and Creative Thinking.

WORD Vancouver

1:10pm to 1:25pm: Reading of serpentine loop at Sunrise Suite, the tent closest to Georgia Street.

3:40pm to 4:40pm: Panellist on Inclusive Magazine Publishing: Barriers and Strategies for Writers & Publishers at The Lions (tent midway between Robson and Georgia Streets) with Chelene Knight (Room magazine) and Jonina Kirton (Aboriginal Writers Collective). Moderated by Jen Sookfong Lee.

In between readings I’ll be at Thursdays Writing Collective‘s table outdoors – come visit!

WORD Vancouver

Twisted Poets as part of  WORD Vancouver.

This sturdy reading series has great open mic opportunities. Come read with me! Hosts are Mary Duffy and Rosemary Nowicki and the other readers are Jennifer Zilm and Henry Beissel!

Dead Poet’s Reading Series

This series has poets read the work of other poets who are gone and it is always eye-opening. It is very well-attended and the readings are across-the-boards great. I read Mexican essayist and poet Rosario Castellanos in a previous session and have come to love the buffet aspect of the series. At this meeting I will be reading my friend John Asfour’s work – he and I worked on V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and we were thickly entwined in each other’s editing. I’m excited to visit with him through selections of his books of poems and his translations of Faraj Bayrakdar’s poems from Syria, Mirrors of Absence.

John Asfour (1945 – 2014), read by Elee Kraljii Gardiner
Mahmoud Darwish (1942 – 2008), read by Rahat Kurd
Hafez (1325 – 1390), read by Nina Mosall
Nizar Qabanni (1923 – 1998), read by Ray McGinnis
Rumi (1207 – 1273), read by E.D. Blodgett

Historic Joy Kogawa House – Reading

Ali Blythe and Adrienne Gruber and I are going to do an outdoor reading in the backyard of Historic Joy Kogawa House. We’ll read each other’s poems in a sort of round-robin. We’ve decided to only read the poems we have never read at our own readings. There will be coconut cake and lemonade. Blankets, pillows, folding chairs.

The Paper Hound

Kevin Spenst  and I welcome Ontario’s Ashley-Elizabeth Best to read in the tiniest and best-curated book shop in the province.

Boston-area launch of serpentine loop

This is the Boston-area launch of serpentine loop! Join me for a one hour event – a 20 minute reading followed by book signing and mingling.

There is generally full access to the store: there is a ramp that leads to the entrance. We do not have automatic doors, but certainly assist carts, walkers, etc. We have a single bathroom which is gender neutral and has a baby changing table.

House Party – Reading

I’ll be reading at a house party with US/Canadian poets Jen Currin and Broc Russell and the band Scarlet Locomotive in Vancouver. It’s a private event but if you really want to come, email me.