Join BC poet Zoe Dickinson and multi-award-winning Stratford poet Heidi Sander for a guided canoe or kayak writing experience along the river. With curated writing prompts, quiet lagoon stops, and optional open mic moments, this 60 to 90 minute journey invites you to reconnect with nature, creativity, and community. Travel notebook included. No writing experience required.
For this special event, join labyrinth facilitator Melanie Kindrachuk in the library auditorium where a simple labyrinth will be created. Participants will begin their contemplative walking path by receiving a short poem at the entrance, a companion for the inward walk. This opening poem invites reflection, grounding, and gentle attention to breath and step.
Stratford Poet Laureate David Stones brings his beloved children’s poetry characters to life in this enchanting morning of storytelling and performance. Joined by the spellbinding magic of Maya and the beautiful violin melodies of Belle With a Bow, Makenzie Bartlett, this interactive adventure invites young imaginations to soar.
Bring your poems to life with power, presence and authenticity in this engaging hands-on workshop designed to help poets achieve the optimal performance of their work. Your poems may work beautifully on the page, but delivering your work verbally with a sense of command and emotional resonance is what truly connects with an audience. With Poet David Stones, this session will explore key techniques such as vocal variation, pacing, breath control, articulation, and volume, as well as expressive use of body language, eye contact, and physical presence.
Join local poetry groups, Poetry Stratford and the Huron Poetry Collective, for an intimate and informal gathering that blends live readings with heartfelt conversation.
Poetry for Health and Harmony with Anna Yin is a poetry reading enriched with music, film, and personal stories. This event explores how poetry can nurture emotional well-being, foster inner peace, and deepen human connection.
In this intimate and thought-provoking panel, poets Melissa Powless Day and Sadiqa de Meijer come together to explore how language, land, and lineage shape their poetic voices and lived experiences.
Step into a quiet, immersive space where words steep slowly and tea speaks in scent, warmth, and memory. Infused Words is a unique sensory gathering with poet Claire Chapple and tea sommelier Karen Hartwick, that blends the elemental rituals of tea with the lyrical beauty of poetry—pairing five distinctive poems with five carefully chosen teas.
Join us for an intimate conversation with author Merilyn Simonds, as she reflects on her deeply moving book, Walking with Beth—a lyrical meditation on friendship, memory, and time. In a fireside chat with Heidi Sander, Simonds explores the intertwined themes of aging, friendship and creativity through the poetic lens that runs throughout the book.
As Leonard Cohen reminds us, the line between the song and the word, is a thin one and most beautiful. Join three celebrated and award-winning poets, George Elliott Clarke, Heidi Sander and David Stones in this unique celebration of their poetry, both spoken and transformed into song through a unique cast of illustrious musical performers.
