by Eleonore Schönmaier for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Recently I said to a Greek composer, “I’ve spent my life stranded between languages.” He said, “You have to learn more languages so that you can be stranded in more places.” I’ve started memorizing the Greek alphabet and a few words. Διάλογος is dialogue and ποίημα…

by Eleonore Schönmaier for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Recently I said to a Greek composer, “I’ve spent my life stranded between languages.” He said, “You have to learn more languages so that you can be stranded in more places.” I’ve started memorizing the Greek alphabet and a few words. Διάλογος is dialogue and ποίημα…

by Janice Zhang for National Poetry Month, April 2020 At the age of 22, I came to Canada to do my post-graduate study. After graduation, I landed a job in Toronto and then became an immigrant. Having an explorer’s mindset, I love trying out new food, visiting different places, and learning about other cultures. The…

by SPIN El Poeta for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Wajxaqib’ Aq’ab’al (Escrito)Jun Toj (Editado)Keb’ Tz’i’ (Finalizado) Saludos familia, desde el territorio ancestral Cree e Inuit de Whapmagoostui/Kuujjuarapik. I AM a Guatemayan refugee, child of a single mother, keeper of the sacred Mayan Cholq’ij calendar, spoken word poet, rapper and youth advocate.  I AM the…

by Chloe Coome for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Poetry is interwoven into the cultural tapestry of Canada and one need only visit to experience its far-reaching influence. In Montreal, one can go to the Saint-Louis Square and see the Monuments of Émile Nelligan and Octave Crémazie – the first National Poet of Quebec and…

by Sonja Arntzen for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Since the early twentieth century, by a process Ezra Pound called “fructification,” the poetries of East Asia  have nourished poetry in English. Pound used the term writing a preface in 1918 for Ernest Fenollosa’s essay, “The Chinese Written Character as Medium for Poetry.” That essay was…

by Beatriz Hausner for National Poetry Month, April 2020 At its most essential, translation is the transfer of textual or verbal objects from one language to another. Literary translation can be more readily compared to a kind of alchemy, where the contents of one vessel are poured into another vessel, and back again, to create…

Listen to Kamal Parmar read her poem “It’s Only Words” as a medium to offer hope and healing during these difficult times. Nanaimo poet and writer, Kamal Parmar has been passionately involved in writing since high school and University years. Her genre is poetry and creative non-fiction and she dabbles frequently with Haiku poetry. Her…

by Mary Lee Bragg for National Poetry Month, April 2020 Anyone who has travelled to Portugal or spent time with Portugese people has heard fado – the guitar, the long melodic lines, the half sob of songs full of saudade. Fado is defined by saudade, a nostalgia that goes beyond a sense of loss to…