Monday 2 July 2012

Want Some Poetry in Vancouver?

By Jay Banks


Poetry in Vancouver is very like music in this city; the best word I created to describe it is "organic." It has its own mind, and it's walking and talking all over the city.

I have a word to explain it, but only one word is hardly enough. I realized I required a better writer than me to help. I could utilize a part from George Stanley's first book-long poem about the city of Vancouver, "Vancouver: A poem," but then I thought that maybe something more recent would be more acceptable. As a small number of you might know, the Vancouver Global Writers Holiday is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The holiday commissioned Vancouver Poet Laureate George McWhirter to pen a poem to celebrate this significant event. Here is the part of the "wf The Legend" poem that I feel captured some of Vancouver's poetic nature brilliantly.

I have always been extraordinarily keen on poetry, and to my mind Vancouver truly is the place where "vision turns into ink." Everybody can find a little bit of a poetry that will make him or or a little more happy for the day. Vancouver's Cafs are just asking for slam poetry hosts, while the Vancouver World Writers Holiday hasn't been the only one to award Vancouver's poets for an extended period of time. There are countless mags about poetry with good (infrequently disputable) taste and virtually each Waterstone's in the city has recognised the necessity to offer a supply of quality poetry to Vancouverites. Let's take a look at the three poetry magazines I like the most!



Where to Read all about Poetry in Vancouver



Poetry is Dead

64 pages of poetry, art, reviews, and essays with new content coming out of Canada, Poetry Is Dead is a bi-annual poetry magazine written for a younger generation of readers. Its aspiration is to show people who have scorned poetry that there's plenty of quality material that Canadian writers can offer. It presents an edgy, funny, and not-to-be-taken-seriously attitude towards poetry. It provides a fresh and unbiased outlook at a number of Canadian poets.

OCW Magazine

OCW Mag is a print magazine published by OCW Humanities & Publishing Foundation, the non-profit that also runs Project Space. OCW Mag is an interdisciplinary art project dedicated to the cultivation of original ideas, new voices, and new ways of experiencing art. Each issue explores a theme from, let's imagine, unusual viewpoints and covers a selection of disciplines - from visual art and design to literature and essays - "creating an object of art, a forum for debate, and a vehicle for engagement with art, culture, and ideas." The poetry featured in OCW is flat-out crazy, and that's why I can't wait to get my hands on another issue. It's sad they don't give more space to it.

PRISM International

PRISM World has been about since 1959, which designates it the oldest Canadian literary mag on the market. PRISM international is a quarterly magazine out of Vancouver whose mandate is to make public the very best in modern writing and interpretation from Canada and around the world. It was established as part of the College of British Columbia Creative Writing Programme and has held the convention until today. PRISM is well known for its fiction and poetry sections. I need to say that Leah Horlick as the editor of the poetry section is doing a superb job.




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