We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. ***   What is the importance of community to your writing life?   Jenny Haysom: I’m reclusive by nature––a lone…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** How did poetry become part of your life? Tanis Franco: In Ontario elementary school we had to memorize In…

The Shortlist in Conversation is a series in which poets shortlisted for the League’s 2019 Book Awards engage with each other’s works and talk poetry. In this installment, Klara du Plessis, author of Ekke (Palimpsest Press) – shortlisted for the 2019 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award & the 2019 Pat Lowther Memorial Award – and Laura…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** Who would you be if you weren’t a poet? Does this other version of you inspire your writing,…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** What are you reading? Tanis Franco: Obabakoak by Bernardo Atxaga; Days by Moonlight by André Alexis; The New Testament by Jericho…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** Do you feel that you’ve found a writing practice that works for you? If yes, can you tell…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and -of course – poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** What lesson that you learned through a creative writing course/workshop/lecture sticks with you most presently? Tanis Franco: While doing…

We asked the poets shortlisted for our 2019 Book Awards some questions about their writing lives, inspirations and –of course– poetry. Join us for our weekly series Ask a Shortlister until the winners are announced on June 8, 2019. *** Have you had the chance to meet your literary icon(s)? What was that experience like? Tanis Franco: There are…