Dead Poets Reading Series

Out Next Reading: July 8th @ Project Space

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Our next reading will take place on July 8th, 2012 from 3-5 PM at Project Space. It will feature:

Ted Hughes (1930 - 1998), read by Kate Braid
Octavio Paz (1914 - 1998), read by George McWhirter
Wisława Szymborska (1923 - 2012), read by Daniela Elza
Alden Nowlan (1933 - 1983), read by Ken Klonksy
Bronwen Wallace (1945 - 1989), read by Hal Wake

As always, entry will be by donation.

If you've never been to one of our readings, take a look around this website to get better acquainted with us (including our format and history and our photos from past events). And if you'd like regular updates from us about future readings, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.

We hope to see you on July 8th!

May 2012: Our Lovely Readers, Collectively

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Our Readers (L to R): Lilija Valis (Hanshan), Chris Gilpin (David Lerner),
Catherine Owen (Loren Eiseley), Rob Taylor (Larry Levis), Evelyn Lau (John Updike)

May 2012: Our Lovely Readers, Individually

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Catherine Own reads Loren Eiseley, though she never stops
to show us the amazing drawings that accompany the poems.

Lilija Valis tells us of the life of Hanshan and his pal Big Stick.

Chris Gilpin reads David Lerner. Big Stick makes a cameo or two here, as well.

Rob Taylor tries to out-mime Raoul Fernandes while reading Larry Levis.

Evelyn Lau imagines proposing to John Updike.

Our Next Reading: May 13th, 2012 @ Project Space

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Our next reading will take place on May 13th, 2012 from 3-5 PM at Project Space. It will feature:

Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977), read by Catherine Owen
Hanshan (712 - 793?), read by Lilija Valis
David Lerner (1951 - 1997), read by Chris Gilpin
Larry Levis (1946 - 1996), read by Rob Taylor
John Updike (1932 - 2009), read by Evelyn Lau

As always, entry will be by donation. If you're planning on coming and are on Facebook, please RSVP on our event page to help us get a sense of the numbers.

If you've never been to one of our readings, take a look around this website to get better acquainted with us (including our format and history and our photos from past events). And if you'd like regular updates from us about future readings, be sure to sign up for our mailing list.

We hope to see you on May 13th!

March 2012 Layton Reading Photos

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Our Readers (L to R): Christopher Levenson, Sandy Shreve, Russell Thornton, Penny Goldsmith,
Adrienne Drobnies, Heidi Greco, Tucker, Weldon Hunter and Rob Taylor

Russell Thornton

Adrienne Drobnies

Weldon Hunter

Diane Tucker

Heidi Greco

Christopher Levenson

Penny Goldsmith

Rob Taylor

Sandy Shreve

Our lovely audience!

Our Next Reading: Irving Layton's 100th Birthday!

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Thank you to everyone who came out on January 8th for our second reading of the revived series. Project Space was packed once again, and our readers didn't disappoint the audience. If you missed it, Heidi Greco wrote an excellent summary of the event on her blog. We've also posted photos from the reading on our photos page.

Our next reading will take place on March 11th, 2012 from 3-5 PM at Project Space, as part of the cross-country Irving Layton centenary celebrations. It will feature local poets reading poems by, and telling stories about, Irving Layton. To celebrate this unique reading we will also be casting off our traditional frugality, and providing free snacks!

Our lineup of presenters currently includes:

Adrienne Drobnies
Penny Goldsmith
Heidi Greco
Weldon Hunter
Christopher Levenson
Sandy Shreve
Rob Taylor
Russell Thornton
Diane Tucker

If you wish to participate, please send a proposal of what you would like to present to deadpoetsreadingseries(at)gmail(dot)com. We are almost full for readers, so act quickly!

We hope to see you on the 11th!

Also, following our event (at 5:30), Daniela Elza will be launching her first collection of poems, The Weight of Dew, at the Railway Club. A number of us are going to head over there together for a great evening of food and poetry - please join us!

Our January 2012 Readers

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From L to R: Garry Thomas Morse (Jack Spicer), Miranda Pearson (Stevie Smith), Diane Tucker (Christina Rossetti), David Zieroth (Thomas Hardy), John Donlan (Edward Thomas)

Some January 2012 Reading Photos

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Our Next Reading: January 8th, 2012 @ Project Space

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Our next reading will take place on January 8th, 2012 from 3-5 PM at Project Space. It will feature:

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), read by David Zieroth
Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), read by Diane Tucker
Stevie Smith (1902 - 1971), read by Miranda Pearson
Jack Spicer (1925 - 1965), read by Garry Thomas Morse
Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917), read by John Donlan

We hope to see you there!

We are also announcing that our March 2012 reading will be dedicated to Irving Layton (who would have been turning 100 on March 12th, 2012). We are currently seeking proposals from potential readers for that event.

Each reader will get five minutes. The only restrictions are that whatever you present must be by or about Layton (poems, prose, anecdotes, etc.), and that all poems read are by poets who are thoroughly deceased. If you wish to participate, please send a proposal of what you would like to present to deadpoetsreadingseries(at)gmail(dot)com. We only have a few slots available, so act quickly!

Welcome to the Dead Poets Reading Series

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Thank you to everyone who came out to our first event on November 20th!

Go to the Photos page for some shots from the reading. Here's a sample, of our dashing readers:

From L to R: Sonnet L'Abbé (Ronald Johnson), Fiona Tinwei Lam (Muriel Rukeyser), Russell Thornton (César Vallejo), Raoul Fernades (Frank Stanford), Christopher Levenson (Arthur Hugh Clough)

Project Space was packed, and we left excited for our next reading, which will be on January 8th, 2012. More info on that reading to come, so check back in from time to time - or join our mailing list by entering your email here:

See you in January!

November 2011: Our Lovely Readers, Collectively

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From L to R: Sonnet L'Abbé (Ronald Johnson), Fiona Tinwei Lam (Muriel Rukeyser), Russell Thornton (César Vallejo), Raoul Fernades (Frank Stanford), Christopher Levenson (Arthur Hugh Clough)

November 2011: Our Lovely Readers, Individually

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Christopher Levenson, reading Arthur Hugh Clough

Sonnet L'Abbé, pondering Ronald Johnson

Fiona Tinwei Lam, dreaming Muriel Rukeyser

Raoul Fernades, miming Frank Stanford

Russell Thornton, xeroxing César Vallejo

November 2011 Reading Poster

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Dead Poets Reading Series Coordinators

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Christopher Levenson is the author of ten books of poetry, most recently Local Time (Stone Flower Press, 2006), and two chapbooks. He co-founded and served as first editor of Arc magazine, then went on to found and run the Arc Reading Series in downtown Ottawa from 1981 to 1991. He was also Series Editor for the late Carleton University Press's Harbinger Poetry Series, which published two first books of poetry annually for the four years of its existence. He has lived in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, and travelled widely in Europe and Asia, but since 2007 has finally settled down in Vancouver.

Sandy Shreve has published four poetry collections, most recently Suddenly, So Much (Exile Editions, 2005). New work is in her chapbooks, Cedar Cottage Suite (Leaf Press, 2010) and Level Crossing (The Alfred Gustav Press, Fall 2012), as well as several literary journals and the anthology Villanelles (ed. Finch and Mali, Everyman’s, 2012). She co-edited, with Kate Braid, the anthology In Fine Form – The Canadian Book of Form Poetry (Polestar, 2005); edited Working For A Living, a collection of poems and stories by women about their work (Room of One’s Own, 1988) and founded BC’s Poetry in Transit program. You can learn more about Sandy on her website.

Rob Taylor is the youngest member of the team. And yes, he runs the website. Oh stereotypes. He lives in East Vancouver with his wife, Marta. Rob is the author of the poetry collection The Other Side of Ourselves (Cormorant Books, 2011), and the co-founder and editor of One Ghana, One Voice, Ghana's first online poetry magazine. He blogs here and websites here.

Diane Tucker grew up a singing, acting and writing child in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her first book of poems, God on His Haunches (Nightwood Editions, 1996) was shortlisted for the 1997 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her second poetry book, Bright Scarves of Hours, was published by Palimpsest Press in September 2007. Her poems have been published in more than fifty journals in Canada and abroad. Her first novel, His Sweet Favour, was released by Thistledown Press in 2009. She edits books too, but crafts and paints to free herself from the endless run of words in her head.

David Zieroth founded the Dead Poets Reading Series in 2007, and we have therefore declared him an honorary coordinator-for-life (whether he wants the title or not). He is the author of nine books, most recently The Fly in Autumn (Habour Publishing, 2009), which won the Governor General's Award for Poetry. He has also written five chapbooks, the latest of which is Hay Day Canticle (Leaf Press, 2010). David runs the chapbook series The Alfred Gustav Press from his home in North Vancouver. More information on David can be found by visiting his website.

January 2010 Readers

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(Click to Expand)

October 2009 Readers

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(Click to Expand)

Contact Us

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Mailing List: To subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) our mailing list, enter your email here:
General Inquiries: deadpoetsreadingseries(at)gmail(dot)com

Webmaster: roblucastaylor(at)gmail(dot)com

About the Series

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Format

It's simple! Five presenters get fifteen minutes each to introduce one of their favourite dead poets and read a selection of that poet's work. To clarify here, by "dead poet" we mean "non-living poet", not "character from that Robin Williams movie". In summary:

Readings take place from 3-5 PM on the second Sunday of every odd-numbered month (i.e. January, March, May, etc.), and are run out of Project Space in Vancouver's Chinatown. There's an intermission and good conversation to boot.

Dead Poets History

David Zieroth founded the Dead Poets Reading Series (then called "The Night of the Dead Poets") in 2007. Here's David on the founding of the series:

When John Fisher of Upstart Crow Books at 238 Lonsdale in North Vancouver asked me to help co-ordinate a special reading event on the North Shore, I wrote to a few poets to ask if they would be willing to read at The Night of the Dead Poets on Friday, May 25th, 2007.

As John said: "As a lover of poetry readings, I have often noticed that poets reading their own material are poor readers of their own poems. At the same time, these poets are often excellent readers of other people’s poems that they love. The idea for the Dead Poets readings grew out of this observation."

What we were looking for was an evening in which five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poets (English-writing souls of this and the last century or perhaps even earlier), brilliant work from the past they wanted to bring anew to an audience’s ears. Each reader would talk about the life of the poet (dates, influences, struggles, achievements, books), introduce and read three to five poems (depending on length) and perhaps talk about how the poet has influenced him/her, a presentation of about 15-20 minutes in total. We wanted the reader’s connection with the chosen poems, admiration and passion in the reader’s voice.

So began the Night of the Dead Poets, the first in what has now become the Dead Poets Reading Series. The poets read some of their best-loved poems to a keen audience, enjoyed the pleasure of hearing others read adored poems, delighted in the array of books and art in the store (now sadly defunct), engaged in conversation with a community of like-minded readers and writers, affirming the place and love of poetry!

That announcement of this first reading—see who read whom elsewhere on this site—had this note from one of our greatest poets:

"If we have to be dead…
then we hope to be read."
—Anonymous

- David Zieroth, September 2011

David ran the series occasionally from 2007 until 2010, both at Upstart Crow and later at The Café for Contemporary Art (both located in North Vancouver). In 2010 David decided that running the series as a one-man show, in addition to writing award winning books and producing a beautiful line of chapbooks, was too much work. The series was put on indefinite hiatus. What can we say, some people just don't know how to multitask.

In August 2011, three past participants in the series (Christopher Levenson, Rob Taylor and Diane Tucker) decided that if they combined their formidable powers they just might be able to do as good a job as one David Zieroth. This proved impossible, so they added to the team a fourth organizer (Sandy Shreve) in April 2012. We'll see how it goes...

Our Venue

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The Dead Poets Reading Series is pleased to call Project Space home. What's Project Space? It's a book shop, publisher, programming space, and studio all in one, located at 222 East Georgia Street in Vancouver.

Found just off Main Street, a block from the Adanac/Union bike route, and five blocks from both Main Street and Chinatown Skytrain Stations, Project Space is easy to access no matter your form of transportation. So that excuse for staying at home is right out.

We'll see you there!

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Upcoming Readings

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July 8th, 2012, 3-5 PM - Project Space, Vancouver

Ted Hughes (1930 - 1998), read by Kate Braid
Octavio Paz (1914 - 1998), read by George McWhirter
Wisława Szymborska (1923 - 2012), read by Daniela Elza
Alden Nowlan (1933 - 1983), read by Ken Klonksy
Bronwen Wallace (1945 - 1989), read by Hal Wake

List of Poets Read

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Charles Bruce
Raymond Carver
Arthur Hugh Clough
Loren Eiseley
W.S. Graham
Hanshan
Thomas Hardy
Nazim Hikmet
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Robinson Jeffers
Ronald Johnson
George Johnston
John Keats
Irving Layton x10
David Lerner
Denise Levertov
Larry Levis
Gwendolyn MacEwen x2
Edwin Muir
Pablo Neruda
John Newlove
Sylvia Plath
Francis Ponge
Al Purdy
Christina Rossetti
Muriel Rukeyser
Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
Stevie Smith
Jack Spicer
William Stafford
Frank Stanford
Edward Thomas
R.S. Thomas
Georg Trakl
John Updike
César Vallejo
Bronwen Wallace
William Carlos Williams
William Butler Yeats

Past Readings

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May 13th, 2012, 3-5 PM - Project Space, Vancouver

Loren Eiseley (1907 - 1977), read by Catherine Owen
Hanshan (712 - 793?), read by Lilija Valis
David Lerner (1951 - 1997), read by Chris Gilpin
Larry Levis (1946 - 1996), read by Rob Taylor
John Updike (1932 - 2009), read by Evelyn Lau

March 11th, 2012, 3-5 PM - Project Space, Vancouver
Irving Layton 100th Birthday Party

Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Adrienne Drobnies
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Penny Goldsmith
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Heidi Greco
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Weldon Hunter
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Christopher Levenson
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Sandy Shreve
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Rob Taylor
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Russell Thornton
Irving Layton (1912 - 2006), read by Diane Tucker

January 8th, 2012, 3-5 PM - Project Space, Vancouver

Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), read by David Zieroth
Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894), read by Diane Tucker
Stevie Smith (1902 - 1971), read by Miranda Pearson
Jack Spicer (1925 - 1965), read by Garry Thomas Morse
Edward Thomas (1878 - 1917), read by John Donlan

November 20th, 2011 - Project Space, Vancouver

Arthur Hugh Clough, read by Christopher Levenson
Ronald Johnson, read by Sonnet L'Abbé
Muriel Rukeyser, read by Fiona Tinwei Lam
Frank Stanford, read by Raoul Fernandes
César Vallejo, read by Russell Thornton

January 24th, 2010 - The Café for Contemporary Art, North Vancouver

Charles Bruce, read by Sandy Shreve
Nazim Hikmet, read by Kate Braid
Edwin Muir, read by Christopher Levenson
Al Purdy, read by Rob Taylor
R.S. Thomas, read by Russell Thornton

October 18th, 2009 - The Café for Contemporary Art, North Vancouver

John Keats, read by Harvey de Roo
Gwendolyn MacEwen, read by Fiona Tinwei Lam
Francis Ponge, read by Marguerite Pigeon
George Trakl, read by Richard Therrien
William Carlos Williams, read by Jamie Reid

February 15th, 2008 - Upstart Crow Books, North Vancouver

Gerard Manley Hopkins, read by Elizabeth Bachinsky
Robinson Jeffers, read by Christopher Levenson
Gwendolyn MacEwen, read by Sandy Shreve
Pablo Neruda, read by Fran Bourassa
Sylvia Plath, read by Diane Tucker

October 12th, 2007 - Upstart Crow Books, North Vancouver

Raymond Carver, read by Rhea Tregebov
Denise Levertov, read by Susan McCaslin
Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau, read by Richard Therrien
William Stafford, read by David Zieroth
William Butler Yeats, read by Harvey de Roo

May 25th, 2007 - Upstart Crow Books, North Vancouver

W.S. Graham, read by Cathy Stonehouse
George Johnston, read by Harvey de Roo
Irving Layton, read by Russell Thornton
John Newlove, read by David Zieroth
Bronwen Wallace, read by Fiona Tinwei Lam

Intermission at Upstart Crow, circa 2007

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October 2007 Reading Poster

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