planet earth poetry is back — Live and in person at russell books!
Welcome back to in-person PEP readings! We will be meeting on Friday nights at our new venue, Russell Books (747 Fort St). Doors open at 7:00pm, event begins at 7:30pm. Sign up for the open mic between 7:00 and 7:15. Please note that as per the latest provincial health orders, we will be requiring all attendees to wear masks and to bring proof of vaccination. While we hope to offer refreshments in the longer term, to keep things simple and avoid having too many occasions to remove our masks, for now we will simply be encouraging attendees to bring a drink or a snack along with them if they wish.
If you wish to tune in via Zoom for the featured reader portion of the evening (approximately 8:15-9:00pm Pacific time), please use the following credentials. Join Zoom Meeting: CLICK HERE. Meeting ID: 494 660 4447 Passcode: 2129
As always remember that you can tune in audio-only via landline by dialing +1 778 907 2071. While this won't allow interaction from the Zoom portion of our audience, we are happy to be able to share the featured reading with all who wish to tune in. Please note that we have disabled audio, video, and chat input from Zoom attendees to avoid any Zoom-bombing issues.
Planet Earth Poetry gratefully acknowledges all of its supporters.
september 2021
friDAY, september 10, 2021
season opener— fundraiser
Following a PEP tradition, our first gathering of Season 26 will be a fundraiser. For the open mic, please bring a poem by an author you admire, one that resonates for you at this present time. There will be books for sale—all proceeds will go to the Victoria Native Friendship Centre.
In the longer term, we envision being able to offer refreshments for purchase inside the venue; but for now, we’ll be keeping things simple as we get started, and invite everyone to bring snacks or refreshments with them to the first event. There are many great places to purchase a tea or coffee near our venue, including a Starbucks and Tim Hortons less than a block away. As we transition into our first in-person reading, we hope that all attendees will be fully vaccinated. After September 13, proof of vaccination will be required to attend. As per the current provincial health order, masks must be worn unless eating or performing.
A New Program—Poetic Opener
We’re excited to be launching a brand-new component to our Planet Earth Poetry Friday evenings! The Poetic Opener is a way to recognize poets who have read at our famous open mic in the past by putting them in the spotlight and hearing more of their work—three poems to a maximum of eight minutes to be exact.
Here’s how it works—if you have read at the PEP open mic at least three times in the past and would like to read during the second half of a PEP evening just before the feature poet, click here.
Names will be chosen from the sign-up list in an anonymous draw by Daniel Scott, PEP Artistic Director Emeritus. If your name is drawn, you will be contacted, and we will schedule the Poetic Openers in the order of the names drawn. We meet almost every Friday night from September through the first week in June, so your chances are pretty good. Poetic Openers will receive $50.00 and a copy of the feature poet’s book.
Poetic Opener: Pam Porter
Black Bears in the Carrot Field
by Linda Thompson
Poetic Opener: Cynthia Woodman
Matsuki Masutani’s I Will Be More of Myself in the Next World
friDAY, september 17, 2021
linda k. thompson
Memories and experiences of childhood in the isolated Pemberton Valley embroider Thompson’s debut book. Characters in her poems tend toward the puny and homesick, the imperfect and powerless, flung as they are, up against the walloping landscape. Verna, the sister who sneaks back from the dead, Gloria, who whacks down walls, Kirk, who buys a house on Visa, and old Pete, who never loved the moon. As little Ardith explains: “that’s where Bangler went headfirst, like his pockets were stuffed with ball-peen hammers.”
Linda K. Thompson is based on the West Coast. In the event of a quake her base will likely move several metres westward into the Pacific. And she will not have to change her vague but hip address. Until then she will continue to write poetry, satire, short fiction, and whatever she feels like that particular morning.
My family back on the mainland are sleeping
tight beside tall rocks. Dreaming about black bears
in the carrot field, and the Eiffel Tower
that has appeared in the middle of the barnyard.
POETIC OPENER: Pam Porter
Pamela Porter resides with gratitude on the unceded territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ peoples where she looks after her family and a menagerie of rescued horses, dogs and cats. Her work has won more than a dozen awards, including the Governor General’s Award and the Vallum award for poetry. Her fourteenth book, Likely Stories, was published in 2019 by Ronsdale Press.
friDAY, september 24, 2021
Matsuki Masutani
Matsuki Masutani is a poet and translator living with his wife Jane on Denman Island. Originally from Tokyo, he moved to Vancouver in 1976 and ten years later to Denman Island. His poems have appeared in Geist magazine, Capilano Review and in the anthology Love of the Salish Sea Islands.
I Will Be More Myself in the Next World is a collection of poetry written over the course of many years. The most recent ones, Chemo Poems, came into being two years ago during cancer treatment. Infused with a wry humour, this collection takes on the topics of marriage, immigration, Island life, dealing with Parkinson’s disease, old age and grandchildren. Composed in simple, everyday language, this book can be read in one sitting. Many find themselves wanting to reread these heartfelt poems.
I was living
as if I'd live forever
At the age of seventy-four
I realized this was an illusion
POETIC OPENER: Cynthia Woodman
Cynthia Woodman’s poetry has appeared in most of Canada’s literary journals and has happily won some awards. She has published Good Holding Ground (Palimpsest Press) and co-edited Poems from Planet Earth (LeafPress).
POETS CARAVAN
We are excited to launch our latest project to share poetry!
The Planet Earth Poetry Poets Caravan highlights the rich cultural landscape of the CRD, with readings from poets in all of its nine regions. Each poet is represented by a pin on Google Earth of a spot meaningful to them in the CRD – somewhere they like to do their writing or find particularly inspiring.
CLICK HERE to go to google earth & watch our poets.
(Be patient, the program needs a bit of time to load in your browser.) We have eight CRD poets up; one more to come. After that, we’ll be adding more poets who live in Victoria, thanks to a grant from the City of Victoria.)
The Poets Caravan is accessible to audiences both in the CRD and worldwide. This interactive experience will be available over time and provides a way for poets and poetry to reach a wide audience in this time when in-person reading events aren’t possible. Digital projects come with accessibility challenges for those who may not have access to a computer or have disabilities which stop them from using the selected platform. We have made the videos and text available for download separately on request. Please email Planet Earth Poetry if you’d like this option.
Thank you to the CRD Arts and Culture Support Fund, the BC Arts Council and the City of Victoria for their support and funding of the Poets Caravan. Thanks to videographer Lorraine Scollan for capturing each poet's unique voice with care and enthusiasm!
The Planet Earth Poetry reading series is a launching pad for the energies of writers and poets established and not. It is a place where words are most important. A venue in which all manner of poets and writers are welcome; a place for excellence, innovation, collaboration, diverse projects and experiments. The evening begins at 7:30 with an open mic, followed by a featured reader(s). Planet Earth Poetry is currently a digital reading series. Planet Earth Poetry acknowledges with respect that we read and write on the traditional territories of the WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), Lkwungen (Songhees), Wyomilth (Esquimalt) peoples of the Coast Salish Nation.