Kyeren Regehr, the city’s poet laureate, has organized a full month of poetry focused events and readings leading to the end of April
Illustration by Sage Blackwell.
For National Poetry Month, celebrated every April in Canada, the Martlet spoke to Victoria’s Poet Laureate, Kyeren Regehr, to learn about some of the events featured at local bookstores and community centres this month.
Regehr has planned and promoted readings, interviews, and open mic events throughout the month featuring a variety of poets from Canada and the United States.
“At the heart of the month’s programming, it’s about inviting people into a richer relationship with language, with imagination, and each other,” said Regehr.
Regehr is a graduate of UVic’s writing program (BFA ’11, MFA ’13) and is also the artistic director of the reading series Planet Earth Poetry, which entered its 30th year as one of Canada’s longest-running weekly series.
“My first real poetry experiences — besides reading books — were at UVic. I went to the writing department and fell in love with the city through the eyes of a new poet who’s trying to observe everything.”
“When I first discovered Planet Earth Poetry, the regular Friday night readings were an incubator for me, and they transformed me as a writer because we all got to listen to these amazing poets from across Canada and our incredible local scene.”
Regehr praised local writing opportunities such as the Tongues of Fire spoken word series, the Victorious Voices youth poetry festival, which occurred earlier this month, as well as publications like the Malahat Review and the Victoria Writers’ Society’s twice-annual publication, Island Writer Magazine.
For National Poetry Month, Regehr has planned about a dozen events at various libraries, bookshops, and community centres across the city. Though many events will have already passed, there are others taking place before the month’s end. All events are free and hosted at accessible venues.
Regehr’s goal for the events is not only to celebrate poetry as an art form, but also to create accessible entry points for people who may not yet think of poetry as “something that belongs to them.”
Regehr told Victoria News they pushed for at least half of poets featured at National Poetry Month events to have a background from historically underrepresented communities.
On Friday, April 17 at 7:30 p.m., the weekly Planet Earth Poetry reading series will showcase poetry by Brandi Bird and Leanne Dunic, as well as an open mic sign-up.
On Sunday, April 18, at Russell Books, poet Fatima-Ayan Malika Hirsi will create free typewritten poetry for readers and customers from 1–3 p.m. Regehr describes the exchange as creating a memory between the writer and those receiving the poems, rather than a more distanced or institutional relationship.
The first episode of the new season of the Poet Laureate Podcast will launch on Wednesday, April 22, featuring Toussaint St. Negritude, who served as the first Black Poet Laureate of Belfast, Maine.
Friday, April 24, features two events. rob mclennan will be reading at James Bay New Horizons at 2 p.m., which includes an open mic and will be hosted by Anna Cavouras. mclennan will also join Anna Yin and Phoebe Wang at the regular Planet Earth Poetry reading and open mic at Russell Books, hosted by Regehr from 7:30 – 8:45 p.m.
A live studio recording of The Poet Laureate Podcast will take place Saturday, April 25 at Haus of Owl: Creation Lab, and will feature maclennan interviewing Regehr from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 5:20 p.m.)
Lastly, “The Poetry Dispenser,” a gumball-style dispenser with over 150 poems by local writers, will be available to the public at Greater Victoria Public Library Central Branch on April 30, accompanied by a reading by Nina Mosall from 5 – 6:45 p.m.
“[T]here’s been so much generosity from other writers as I grew as a writer,” Regehr said. “This city is full of poets.”
