Please note that most of the resources on this page are not monitored regularly; links may be out of date, or not provided. If you have an addition or correction for this page, email [email protected]
Canada's Poets Laureate
Marie-Célie Agnant // 2023
Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer // 2021-2023
Georgette LeBlanc // 2018 – 2020
George Elliott Clarke // 2016 – 2018
Michael Pleau // 2014 – 2016
Fred Wah // 2011 – 2013
Pierre DesRuisseaux // 2009 – 2011
John Steffler // 2006 – 2008
Pauline Michel // 2004 – 2006
George Bowering // 2002 – 2004
Comox Valley:
Lawrence J.W. Cooper // 2019 – 2021
Natalie Nickerson // 2017 – 2019
Kevin Flesher // 2015 – 2017
Nanaimo:
Kamal Parmar // 2021-2023
Valina Zanetti // Youth Poet Laureate // 2019 – 2021
Tina Biello // 2017 – 2020
Kailey DeFehr // Youth Poet Laureate // 2017 – 2018
Naomi Beth Wakan // 2013 – 2016
New Westiminster:
Elliott Slin // 2021 – Present
Alan Hill // 2017 – 2020
Candice James // 2010 – 2016
Don Benson // 1999 – 2007
Edna Anderson // 1998 – 1999
Surrey:
Renée Sarojini Saklikar // 2015 – 2018
Tofino:
Janice Lore // 2024 -2026
Heather Hendry // 2022-2024
Christine Lowther // 2020-2022
Joanna Streetly // 2018 – 2020
Vancouver:
Fiona Tinwei Lam // 2022 – 2024
Miss Christie Lee (Christie Charles) // 2018-2021
Rachel Rose // 2014 – 2017
Evelyn Lau // 2011 – 2014
Brad Cran // 2009 – 2011
George McWhirter // 2007 – 2009
Victoria:
Marie Metaphor Spect // 2023 - 2025
John Barton // 2019 – 2022
Yvonne Blomer // 2015 – 2018
Argatu Ali // Youth Poet Laureate // 2018 – 2019
Maita Cienska // Youth Poet Laureate // 2017 – 2018
Ann-Bernice Thomas // Youth Poet Laureate // 2016 – 2017
Janet Marie Rogers // 2012 – 2014
Linda Rogers // 2009 – 2011
Carla Funk // 2006 – 2008
Banff:
Derek Beaulieu // 2022 – 2023
Steven Ross Smith // 2019-2020
Amelie Patternson // 2017-2018
Calgary:
Wakefield Brewster // 2022 – 2024
Natalie Meisner // 2020 – 2022
Sheri-D Wilson // 2018-2020
Micheline Maylor // 2016 – 2018
derek beaulieu // 2014 – 2016
Kris Demeanor // 2012 – 2014
Edmonton:
Titilope Sonuga // 2021 – 2023
Nisha Patel // 2019 – 2021
Ahmed “Knowmadic” Ali // 2017-2019
Pierrette Requier // 2015 – 2017
Mary Pinkoski// 2013 – 2015
Anna Marie Sewell // 2011 – 2012
Roland Pemberton // 2006 – 2011
E.D. Blodgett // 2007 – 2009
Alice Major // 2005 – 2007
Saskatchewan Provincial Poet Laureate:
dee Hobsbawn-Smith // 2023 – 2025
Lauren (Lo) Klassen // Youth Poet Laureate // 2022 – 2024
Carol Rose GoldenEagle // 2021 – 2023
Warsha Kashan // Youth Poet Laureate // 2021 – 2022
Peace Akintade // Youth Poet Laureate // 2020 – 2021
Bruce Rice // 2019 – 2021
Alasdair Rees // Youth Poet Laureate // 2019 – 2020
Brenda Schmidt // 2017-2018
Gerald Hill // 2016 – 2017
Judith Krause // 2014 – 2015
Donald Kerr // 2011 – 2013
Robert Currie // 2007 – 2010
Lousie B. Halfe – Sky Dancer // 2005 – 2006
Glen Sorestad // 2000 – 2004
Moose Jaw
Robert Currie & Gary Hyland // Lifetime Poets Laureate
Winnipeg:
Chimwemwe Undi // 2023 – 2024
Duncan Mercredi // 2020 – 2022
Di Brandt // 2017 – 2019
Provincial Poet Laureate
Randall Adjei // 2021 – 2023
Barrie:
Tyneisha Ternent // 2022 – Present
Victoria Butler // 2018 – 2022
Damian Lopes // 2014 –2028
Bruce Meyer // 2010-2014
Brantford:
John B Lee //granted in 2005 in perpetuity
Cobalt:
Ann Margetson
Cobourg:
Jessica Outram // 2019 – 2022
Ted Amsden // 2011 – 2018
Jill Battson // 2009 – 2011
Eric Winter // 1997 – 2009
Dufferin County:
Harry Posner // 2017-present
Emery:
Laurence Hutchman // 2018 – present
Kingston:
Jason Heroux // 2019 – present
Helen Humphreys // 2015 – 2019
Eric Folsom // 2011 – 2015
London:
Tom Cull // 2016 – present
Penn Kemp // 2011 – 2013
Mississauga:
Ayomide Bayowa // 2021 – 2024
Lisa Shen // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2025
Paul Edward Costa // 2019 – 2021
Pujita Verma // Youth Poet Laureate // 2018 – 2020
Wali Shah // 2017 – 2019
Rebecca Zseder // Youth Poet Laureate // 2016 – 2018
Anna Yin // 2015 – 2017
Norfolk County
John B. Lee // granted in 2011 in perpetuity
Ottawa:
Albert Dumont (English) & Gilles Latour (French) // 2021 – 2022
Margaret Michèle Cook (French) & Diana Young (English) // 2019 – 2021
Andrée Lacelle (French) & Jamaal Jackson Rogers (English) // 2017 – 2019
Patrick White // 1987-1990
Cyril Dabydeen // 1984-1987
Catherine Ahearn // 1981-1984
Owen Sound:
Rebecca Diem // 2024 - 2025
Richard-Yves Sitoski // 2019 – 2022
Lauren Best // 2017-2019
Rob Rolfe & Larry Jensen // 2015 – 2017
Terry Burns // 2013 – 2014
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm // 2011 – 2012
Kristan Anderson // 2008 – 2010
Liz Zetlin // 2007 – 2008
Scugog:
Hollay Ghadery // 2023 - Present
Sudbury:
Kyla Heming // 2022 – Present
Vera Constantineau (2020-2022)
Chloé LaDuchesse // 2018 – 2020
Kim Fahner // 2016 – 2018
Thomas Leduc // 2014 – 2015
Daniel Aubin // 2012 – 2013
Roger Nash // 2010 – 2011
Toronto:
Lillian Allen // 2023 – Present
A. F. Moritz // 2019 – 2023
Anne Michaels // 2016 – 2019
George Elliott Clarke // 2012 – 2015
Dionne Brand // 2009 – 2012
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco // 2004 – 2009
Dennis Lee // 2001 – 2004
Windsor:
Mary Ann Mulhern // 2019 – 2022
Samantha Badaoa (Youth Poet Laureate) // 2019 – 2020
Marty Gervais // 2011 – 2019, Poet Laureate Emeritus
Woodstock:
Barry C. Butson // in perpetuity
Montreal
Bertrand Laverdure // 2015 – 2017
Fredericton:
Jordan Trethewey // 2021 – 2024
Jenna Lyn Albert // 2019 – 2021
Ian Letourneau // 2016 – 2018
Moncton:
Kayla Geitzler (Anglophone) // 2019 – 2022
Jean-Philippe Raiche (Francophone) // 2019 – 2022
Sackville:
Laura K. Watson // 2021 – Present
Shoshanna Wingate // 2019 – 2021
Marilyn Lerch // 2013 – 2017
Douglas Lochead // 2002 – 2011
PEI Provincial Poet Laureate:
Julie Pellissier-Lush // 2019 – present
Deidre Kessler // 2016 – 2019
Diane Hicks Morrow // 2013 – 2016
Hugh MacDonald // 2009 – 2013
David Helwig // 2008 – 2009
Frank Ledwell // 2004 – 2007
John Smith // 2002 – 2004
Cape Breton:
Rita Joe // 1932 – 2007 // Lifetime “Poet Laureate of the Mi’kmaq people”
Halifax:
Sue Goyette // 2020 – 2024
Asiah Sparks // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2024
Damini Awoyiga // Youth Poet Laureate // 2023 – 2024
Dr. Afua Cooper // 2018 – 2020
Rebecca Thomas // 2016 – 2018
El Jones // 2013 – 2015
Tanya Davis // 2011 – 2012
Shauntay Grant // 2009 – 2011
Lorri Neilsen Glenn // 2005 – 2009
Sue MacLeod // 2001 – 2005
St. John’s:
Mark Callanan // 2023 – Present
Mary Dalton // 2019 – 2023
George Murray // 2014 – 2017
Tom Dawe // 2010 – 2013
Agnes Walsh // 2006 – 2009
Yukon Provincial Poet Laureate:
pj johnson // 1994 – present
If you have a correction or would like to add a Poet Laureate, please email [email protected]
Spoken word resources
- SpokenWeb Montreal is a project from a team of literary scholars, designers, and librarians at Concordia University investigating how best to facilitate scholarly engagement with recorded poetry recitation and performance
- Brickyard is an audio/visual hub where Brick Books is proud to showcase excellence in Canadian spoken word and orature
- Poetry in Voice provides educators with engaging content and experiences, in English and French, to inspire their students to read, recite, and write poetry
- Vancouver Poetry House organizes several spoken word initiatives, including the Vancouver Poetry Slam, BC's Youth Spoken Word Festival, and the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam
- The Words Aloud Festival takes place in Owen Sound in the fall each year, and has also created educational resources and a YouTube channel
- The Toronto Poetry Slam connects poets for workshops to schools, community groups, and businesses, as well as for commissions and performances
- The Victoria Poetry Project runs open mics and poetry slams, as well as organizes an annual festival and occasional workshops
- Regional poetry slams
- Many spoken word poets maintain websites with resources they've created for educators, or with steps for how to commission or book a poet for a workshop or class visit
En français
Bilingual and French-inclusive programs
Please forgive the fact that this paragraph is still in English while we await translation! We wanted the opportunity to showcase some of the French-language poetry, poets, and organizers in Canada as soon as possible, so we have jumped the gun and created this section before securing French content.
All of the League's programs are open to submissions in any language.
Although office staff can read and understand French, we are not bilingual, and may need to respond to inquiries in English or using Google translate. We thank you for your patience!
Resources
La poésie partout a préparé un Guide de survie en poésie. Disponible gratuitement, cette publication numérique regroupe une foule de ressources utiles pour les poètes et les artistes de la parole. Le Guide de survie en poésie s’adresse autant aux poètes qui débutent qu’aux poètes qui voudraient diversifier leur pratique. Il sera également utile pour les personnes qui enseignent la poésie ou qui œuvrent dans le milieu. Les ressources qu’on y retrouve touchent l’ensemble du Québec ainsi que le Canada francophone.
Resource for educators
External resources for educators
- “Why Teaching Poetry is So Important”
- “4 Reasons to Start Class With a Poem Each Day”
- “A Poem a Day: 30 Poems for Secondary Students”
- Young poets’ prizes
- Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize for Canadian youth
- Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award
- Betjeman Poetry Prize (poets aged 10 to 13, £1000 grand prize)
- Poetry in Voice, a nationwide poetry recitation competition for schools
- CBC Books’ Shakespeare Selfie Student Writing Contest happens annually and asks students to answer the question “what would Shakespeare think of the world of today?” in the form of a poem
- The Poetry Society’s resources for teachers, including lesson plans that incorporate award-winning poetry by young poets
- The Young Poets Network, an online platform for young poets up to the age of 25 with articles, challenges, prompts, advice, and more
- Page Fright, where four contemporary spoken word poets re-examine and perform page poems that have inspired them
- Sit Down and Write– Poetry Resources from Seat Up: check out this great list of resources for more poetry prompts and learning activities. (Thank you to Carol Briggs and youth poet Amelia for this resource!)
More resources
Poetry contests, prizes, and awards in Canada
If you have a correction or annual prize you’d like us to add to the list, please contact [email protected]. The National Magazine Awards website has great seasonal roundups of magazine-run prizes, and Literistic is a subscription service that will send you calls for submissions and contests a month before their deadline. We recommend checking out these resources to supplement our list!
Please note this resource is not monitored regularly.
Poetry book database
In 2020, the League was thrilled to launch a crowd-sourced database of poetry books published during the height of the pandemic, whose hard-working poets and publishers had to forgo a traditional launch for the safety of our communities.
Since then, the database has remained active and open to all who wish to include their book!
When viewed, the database can be filtered to view books based on tags selected by the author and publisher. Happy reading!
Arts Councils and organizations for writers
If you have a correction or an organization you'd like us to add to this resource, please contact [email protected].
Please note this resource is not monitored regularly.
Canadian and worldwide literary festivals
If you have a correction or a festival you'd like to add to this list, please contact [email protected].
Please note that links are not included, as this resource is not monitored regularly.
BookFest Windsor: Windsor, Ontario
Eden Mills Writers’ Festival: Eden Mills, Ontario
The Festival of Literary Diversity: Brampton, Ontario
Kingston Writers’ Festival: Kingston, Ontario
The Lakefield Literary Festival: Lakefield, Ontario
New Book Bash: Guelph, Ontario
Salon du livre: Sudbury, Ontario
Palm Beach Poetry Festival: Delray Beach, Florida
Beall Poetry Festival: Waco, Texas
Austin International Poetry Festival: Austin, Texas
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books: Los Angeles, California
Tucson Poetry Festival: Tucson, Arizona
The Skagit River Poetry Festival: La Conner, Washington
Cascadia Poetry Festival: Seattle, Washington
Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival: New Jersey, New York
Connecticut Children’s Book Fair: Storrs, Connecticut
The Independent Bath Literature Festival: Bath, UK
London Word Festival: London, UK
Ways with Words Festival of Words and Ideas: Keswick, Cumbria, UK
Essex Book Festival: Essex, UK
Leeds Trinity University Annual Writers’ Festival Day: Leeds, UK
Harrow Literature Festival: Horrow, UK
Kings Lynn Literary Festival: Kings Lynn, UK
Oundle Festival of Literature: Northamptonshire, UK
Huddersfield Literature Festival: Huddersfield, UK
York Literature Festival: York, UK
Runnymede International Literary Festival: Runnymede, UK
Cambridge Wordfest: Cambridge, UK
Wenlock Poetry Festival: Much Wenlock, Shropshire, UK
Redbridge Literary Festival: London, UK
Metamorphosis Festival: Norfolk, UK
The Text Festival: Bury, UK
Writing on the Wall Festival: Liverpool, UK
Brighton Literary Festival: Brighton, UK
Humber Mouth Literature Festival: Hull, UK
The Sheffield Poetry Festival: Sheffield, UK
Bridlington Poetry Festival: Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, UK
Charles Causley Festival: Launceston, UK
Festival at the Edge (Storytelling): Stokes Barn, Much Wenlock, Shropshire, UK
T S Eliot Festival: Little Gidding, UK
Ledbury Poetry Festival: Ledbury, UK
Wordplay: Shetland, UK
Blenheim Palace Literary Festival: Woodstock, UK
The Yeovil Literary Festival: Yeovil, South Somerset, UK
Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival: Devon, UK
Ilkley Literature Festival: Ilkley, West Yorkshire, UK
Warwick Words Festival of Literature and Spoken Word: Warwick, UK
Richmond Literature Festival: London, UK
Derwent Poetry Festival: Derbyshire, UK
Woodstock Poetry Festival: Woodstock, UK
Stanza: Scotland’s International Poetry Festival: St Andrews, Scotland
Edinburgh International Book Festival: Edinburgh, Scotland
New Words Festival: Aberdeen, Scotland
Dublin Writers Festival: Dublin, Ireland
Listowel Writers’ Week Festival: Listowel, Ireland
West Cork Literary Festival: West Cork, Ireland
The Gerard Manley Hopkins International Literary Festival: Co. Kildare, Ireland
Stokestown International Poetry Festival: Stokestown, Ireland
FRANCE, HOLLAND, SWEDEN, FINLAND, CZECH REPUBLIC
Paris Book Festival: Paris, France
Salon du Livre: Paris, France
Poetry International Rotterdam: Rotterdam, Holland
Göteborg Book Fair: Göteborg, Sweden
Annikki Poetry Festival: Tampere, Finland
Book World: Prague, Czech Republic
INDIA, SRI LANKA, NEPAL, SINGAPORE, CHINA
Delhi Poetry Festival: New Delhi, India
Jaipur Literary Festival: Jaipur, India
Ubud Writers & Readers Festival: Ubud, India
Bangalore Literature Festival: Electronics City, Bangalore, India
Galle Literary Festival: Galle, Sri Lanka
Ncell Nepal Literature Festival: Kathmandu, Nepal
Singapore Writers’ Festival: Singapore
Hong Kong International Literary Festival: Hong Kong, China
Sydney Writers’ Festival: Sydney, Australia
Williamstown Literary Festival: Williamstown, Australia
Western Australia Spring Poetry Festival: Perth, Australia
Queensland Poetry Festival: Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia
Brisbane Writers’ Festival: South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
The Press Christchurch Writers Festival: Christchurch, New Zealand
Nelson Arts Festival Readers’ and Writers’ Week: Nelson, New Zealand
Auckland Writers & Readers Festival: Grey Lynn, Auckland, New Zealand