Programs & Services

The League is proud to run a variety of programs and services that support poets and poetry in Canada. Find out more about the various programs, events, and publications organized by the League of Canadian Poets below.

Programs

National Poetry Month | Le Mois national de la poésie

Poster preview

NPM24: Weather Celebrate National Poetry Month 2024 with the theme of WEATHER. Through sun, snow, rain, wind, fog, and many other iterations, we find the captivating presence of weather. With poetic flair, weather dictates the rhythms of our lives from coast to coast.

MNP24: La thématique du Mois national de la poésie 2024, LA MÉTÉO, vous invite à célébrer la ronde des quatre saisons, cette changeante présence poétique qu’est la météo. Captivante, elle s’impose dans le rythme de nos vies. D’un océan à l’autre, qu’il s’agisse de percées de soleil, de pluie, de vent, de brouillard, de frimas, de neige, de tempêtes, ou d’aurore boréales, elle épate.

April is National Poetry Month!

Established in Canada in 1998 by the League of Canadian Poets, National Poetry Month takes place every April and brings together schools, publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, communities and poets from across the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in Canada's culture.

Each year, the League of Canadian Poets selects a theme to ground our conversations, inspirations, and focus of National Poetry Month. LCP produces posters and bookmarks reflecting this theme, which are free to request for your home, school, library, or community!

Poem in Your Pocket Day

Poem in Your Pocket Day is an international movement that encourages people to centre poetry within their daily interactions. Poem In Your Pocket Day is celebrated in the last week of National Poetry Month (April). On PIYP Day, select a poem, carry it with you, and share it with others at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, coffee shops, street corners, and on social media using the hashtag #PocketPoem.

The LCP also hosts an annual contest in Autumn to select the poems included the Poem In Your Pocket Postcard Collection.

Poet Ambassador in Residence

The Poet Ambassador in Residence program is an opportunity for the League to work with some of Canada’s most exciting poets in support of our mission. In addition to receiving financial support for their own creative work, the Ambassador will work directly with the League’s community of poets through drop-in consultations, workshops, and events. The Ambassador will also support several of the League’s cherished core programs such as Poem in Your Pocket Day, the LCP Chapbook Series, and Poetry Pause. 

Poet Ambassador in Residence
Book reviews

Book reviews

The book reviews program is currently on pause; we are not accepting new requests for reviews.

In Conversation podcast series

Initiated by the Feminist Caucus, the In Conversation podcast series is a space for poets to come together and discuss the themes, issues, joys, and perils of being a poet in our time. You can listen to In Conversation episodes on Youtube.

Events

League event details and registration

The League uses a selection of different platforms for event registration. Most League events are hosted online on Zoom. Online events are not always recorded; when they are, participants will be made aware of this. Closed captioning is available at all online events.

At this time, the League does not maintain an events calendar; however, we often share information about events on Facebook and Instagram, as well as through our newsletter, Between the Lines. We cannot guarantee the distribution of any event details, but you may submit details on an upcoming event through this form.

Cross-Pollinations Virtual Rounds Series

A partnership between the League, the Canadian Association for Health Humanities, and the Health Arts Research Centre.

In Cross-Pollinations, health humanities and poetry come together under the same scope, combining artistic expression with health practice and research. The conversations of Cross-Pollinations illuminate new and emerging insights and perspectives on healthcare opportunities and challenges, healthcare approaches and advances, as well as build bridges of connection between health professionals, humanities and the arts.

Events take place on Zoom, the last Wednesday of each month at 6pm ET/3pm PT.

Cross-Pollinations Virtual Rounds Series
Anne Szumigalski Lecture Series

Anne Szumigalski Lecture Series

Established in 2002 and modeled after the Margaret Laurence lecture series, the Anne Szumigalski lecture series presents an annual lecture from a distinguished Canadian poet on craft, culture, and community.

Past lecturers have included Billy-Ray Belcourt, Louise Bernice Halfe-Sky Dancer, Tolu Oloruntoba, Alice Major, Lillian Allen, Anne Carson, and Dionne Brand, among others.

These lectures have ranged from deeply academic to profoundly creative, and have engaged questions of social justice, politics, and identity in their explorations of poetry.

Lectures are available to view on Youtube, or to read in the anthology Measures of Astonishment or in Prairie Fire magazine. Find links below, under past lectures.

Open mic nights and member readings

In the spirit of the Joseph Sherman New Member Reading, the League is proud to offer regular virtual events where members can read poetry and connect as a community!

These online events happen approximately once per month, and open mic spots are available to a different group of poets at each event (most often based on geography).

We encourage all poetry lovers to attend these events, but reader spots are typically reserved for League members.

Open Mic Nights & Member Readings
Freedom to Read Week Events

Freedom to Read Week

Each February, the League joins writers, readers, libraries, schools, and publishers all across Canada in celebrating Freedom to Read Week. Since 2022, we have hosted a panel discussion featuring poets from communities whose voices and stories are often challenged and silenced.

BIPOC Writers Connect

BIPOC Writers Connect: Facilitating Mentorship, Creating Community is a virtual conference for Black, Indigenous, and racialized emerging writers to connect with industry professionals, established authors, and fellow emerging writers — all in one place! Presented by The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) and the League of Canadian Poets (LCP). TWUC and LCP are committed to cultivating space where BIPOC writers can share tools, strategies, feedback, and knowledge.

BIPOC Writers Connect includes:

  • one-on-one time for feedback with a professional writer who has reviewed your work in advance;
  • panel discussions with literary industry professionals;
  • a behind-the-scenes look at manuscript selection as panelists offer feedback on the first pages of anonymously submitted manuscripts;
  • workshop on writing query letters; and
  • networking opportunities.

Event recordings

Many of the League events are recorded and available through our Youtube channel. If you are seeking a particular recording and you aren't able to find a video on our Youtube channel, please contact [email protected].

None of the League's open mic events are recorded.

Recordings from member-only events are available to members only.

Poetry Pause

Poetry Pause is the League’s daily poetry dispatch program, inspired by the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-A-Day, the original daily digital poetry series. The Poetry Pause project is intended to augment the presence of Canadian poetry and to provide an opportunity to Canadian poets – seasoned and emerging alike – to have their poetry read by many. Poetry Pause delivers more than a poem; it delivers the chance for folks to pause for poetry – to spare a few minutes each day for words that heal, inspire, and sustain.

As of November 2023, the Poetry Pause distribution schedule has been reduced to 2 weekly dispatches.

Poetry Pause

Poetry Pause from the League of Canadian Poets

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LCP Chapbook Series

LCP Chapbook Series

The LCP Chapbook Series publishes fresh and exceptional Canadian poetry guided by a wide-reaching variety of themes to increase visibility and recognition for the various identities and intersections that contribute to the vibrant Canadian poetry community.Buy a chapbook today and bring home a piece of poetry!

Fresh Voices

Fresh Voices was created by Lesley Strutt to showcase the great work being produced by the League’s associate members! We are excited to continue this opportunity with curators Joan Conway (Associate Member Rep) and Blaine Marchand (poet and past president of the League). Fresh Voices is not only a publication opportunity but has also grown into a mini-workshop! Of the poems you submit, one poem will be shortlisted by the curators for which they will provide editorial insight and feedback.

Issues are published three times a year. In Spring, Summer and Winter. Poems are accepted between Jan 1st-Feb 28th, April 1st – May 31st, and Sept 1st – Oct 30th.
Fresh Voices