All in-person PEP events will be taking place at Russell Books, 747 Fort Street in downtown Victoria. Doors open at 7:00pm, event starts at 7:30 and sign up for the open mic is between 7:00–7:20. Masks are encouraged but no longer required. Unless otherwise noted, in person events will be livestreamed HERE (Meeting ID: 494 660 4447 /Passcode: 2129) **please note, livestream begins at approx. 8:00–8:15pm with featured readings**
Planet Earth Poetry gratefully acknowledges all of its supporters.
september 2022
September 9
sarah ens
Sarah Ens is a writer and editor based in Treaty 1 territory (Winnipeg, MB). Her debut collection of poetry, The World Is Mostly Sky was shortlisted for the 2021 McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award and the 2022 Lansdowne Prize for Poetry. Her second book, Flyway (Turnstone Press), was launched in the spring of 2022.
Flyway is a meditation on the impact of human and ecological trauma which explores the cost of survival for three generations of women living between empires. Writing from within the disappearing tallgrass prairie, Sarah Ens follows connections between the Russian Mennonite diaspora and the disrupted migratory patterns of grassland birds. Drawing on family history, eco-poetics, and the rich tradition of the Canadian long poem, Flyway migrates along pathways of geography and the heart to grapple with complexities of home.
Instagram @sarahaens and on Twitter at @sarah_ens
Poetic Appetizer
After many minutes listening:
savannah sparrow; clay-coloured sparrow; red-winged blackbird;
brown-headed cowbird; western meadowlark; mourning dove
Birds, like poems, follow the river.
September 9
Poetic Opener—Herb Bryce
H. W. Bryce, BA is a former journalist, book editor, teacher, courier, and kidnap victim. His poetry appears in anthologies in Canada, the US, and India. He served as a judge for the Rabindranath Tagore Award International 2017. He is the author of Chasing a Butterfly. Writing poems saved him from depression.
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. Planet Earth Poetry takes place at Russell Books, 747 Fort St. in downtown Victoria. Doors open at 7:00; sign up for the open mic between 7:00-7:15. The evening begins at 7:30 with an open mic, followed by a featured reader(s). 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.