Canada's most generous poetry award, founded by businessman and philanthropist Scott Griffin.
Title: The Poetry Review Spring Launch
Date: April 26, 2017
Location: London, England
Description: Join the celebration at the launch of Emily Berry’s first issue as Editor. The evening includes readings from contributors Gillian Allnutt, Joe Dunthorne and Mary Jean Chan.
Title: No Place Like Home: Poetry, Identity and Belonging in Brexit Britain
Date: April 29, 2017
Location: London, England
Description: Poetry performance and discussion exploring issues of national identity and belonging from a wide range of viewpoints and experiences, featuring Kayo Chingonyi, Ruth Padel, Nia Davies, Siddhartha Bose, Claire Trevien, and Clare Pollard. Poetry performances will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session. The audience will be encouraged to explore and consider their own ideas about national identity and belonging.
Title: Edmonton Poetry Festival
Start Date: April 16, 2017
End Date: April 23, 2017
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Description: Poetry is a source of energy, entertainment and joy shared by all societies. The Edmonton Poetry Festival celebrates poetry in all its forms. They get people from across the city involved as creators and audiences. Doesn’t matter what age you are, what culture you come from, or whether you fall for slam poetry or jump at reading the classics.
Featured poets this year include Liz Howard, Jane Munro, Shane Book, Gregory Scofield, Kimmy Beach and many more.
Title: Spur Toronto: A Night of Irish Music and Poetry
Date: April 7, 2017
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: Spur presents a night of Irish poetry, storytelling, music and drink at the historic Heliconian Hall in the heart of Yorkville. Presented by Diaspora Dialogues with the support of Culture Ireland. Enjoy readings by Charles Foran, Mary Noonan, Adam Crothers and Catherine Graham, punctuated by Toronto’s finest Irish musicians, including Deb Quigley and Patrick Ourceau.
Title: Chicago Public Library Poetry Fest: Juan Felipe Herrera
Date: April 29, 2017
Location: Chicago, Illinois, US
Description: Join the Poetry Foundation for a culminating event of Juan Felipe Herrera’s Chicago signature project as US Poet Laureate. Herrera has worked with forty 9th-grade English teachers throughout the 2016-2017 academic year to advance student learning through poetry and connect teachers from across the city. The project, “Wordstreet Champions and Brave Builders of the Dream” is a partnership among the Chicago Public Schools, the Library of Congress, Chicago Public Library, and the Poetry Foundation.
Title: Middle Eastern Poetry Festival
Date: April 22, 2017
Location: Chicago, Illinois, US
Description: The Iraqi Mutual Aid Society returns again with its 5th annual Poetry Festival. Come enjoy the rich tradition of multilingual poems in Arabic and other languages from the Middle East by refugees and immigrants from the cradle of civilization. English translations will be provided.
Title: Open Door Readings at the Poetry Foundation
Date: April 18, 2017
Location: Chicago, Illinois, US
Description: The Open Door series presents work from Chicago’s established and emerging poets and highlights the area’s outstanding writing programs. Each hour-long event features readings by two Chicagoland college and graduate writing program instructors and two of their current or recent students. April’s Open Door Reading presents Columbia College Chicago’s David Trinidad and his student Brianna Noll with University of Illinois at Chicago’s Christina Pugh and her student Benjamin Williams.
Title: Hunter, Derewicz and Colistro at the Art Bar Poetry Series
Date: May 2, 2017
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: The Art Bar is recognized as Canada’s longest running poetry-only, weekly reading series. Since 1991, it has featured both emerging and established poets from across Canada and occasionally from abroad. It has become a hub for the poetry community, and entry point for new voices, a place for people to enjoy one of the oldest arts.
This week’s offering features Bruce Hunter, Susanna Derewicz and Vincent Colistro.
Title: Golden Shovel with Patricia Smith and Terrance Hayes
Date: April 12, 2017
Location: Chicago, Illinois, US
Description: Celebrate the publication of The Golden Shovel Anthology: New Poems Honoring Gwendolyn Brooks with editors Peter Kahn, Ravi Shankar, and Patricia Smith, recipient of the Lenore Marshall Prize, along with contributors to the collection. Terrance Hayes, National Book Award winner and inventor of the Golden Shovel form, will also be featured.
Title: Slant Reading Series
Date: April 5, 2017
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Description: Slant Reading Series, a collaborative initiative between Lexical.ca and Montreal Bar & Grill, celebrates the variety and vibrancy of Canadian literature. The series’ goal is to highlight the many ways in which Canadians are engaging with social issues through writing, and to provide a platform for diverse, often underrepresented voices.
This evening’s featured speaker is Bänoo Zan, poet, translator, teacher, editor and poetry curator.