Call + Response: A Conversation with Local Poets
Does listening to poetry have to be painful? Is poetry more or less relevant to the Citizen of 2025? Do poems conjure place or does a place conjure poems?
All these questions and more will be played with at Whistler Public Library on November 25.
Join an eclectic mix of Sea to Sky poets, and poetry appreciators, for a playful, engaging evening of chat about the possibilities of poetry to make us feel more alive and more connected.
Featuring Lisa Sambo, Mary MacDonald, bronywn preece, Laura Sharp, and Lisa Richardson. Copies of Mary, bronwyn, and Laura’s books will be available to purchase at the event courtesy of Armchair Books.
Registration opens on October 30! Email publicservices@whistlerlibrary.ca to sign up. This program is intended for adults.
Presented in partnership with the Whistler Public Library, The League of Canadian Poets, Canada Council for the Arts, Armchair Books, and the Whistler Pemberton Literacy Partnership.
Photo credit: Brenda Bakker
About the speakers:
Mary MacDonald has written for ballet, public art, and libretto. The Crooked Thing, her short story collection, was published by Caitlin Press. Her poetry chapbook, Going In Now, hand bound and numbered by NIB Publishing. Her work has appeared in Room Magazine, Literary Review of Canada, The Lupine Review, Pique Magazine, among others. She is a member of the Whistler writers The Vicious Circle.
Dubbed the ‘backcountry poet,’ bronwyn preece is an avid, solo backpacker who writes on the trail. She is the author of the forthcoming hiking beyond … (Caitlin Press, 2026); knee deep in high water … (Caitlin Press, 2024) and Sea to Sky Alphabet (Simply Read Books, 2024) for which she worked collaboratively with the the Lil’wat and Squamish Nations; amongst many other publications. A community-engaged arts practitioner, she holds a PhD in Performance Art; is a member of The Writer’s Union of Canada, the Federation of BC Writers and a Full Member of The League of Canadian Poets.
Lisa Richardson is the co-founder of the Society of Secret Poetry Appreciators, a made-up club for anyone who secretly appreciates poetry and is curious about getting together with other creative-minded folk to see what emerges. Her biggest claim to fame is having been voted Pemberton’s Favourite Writer in the Pique since 2007.
Lisa Sambo is a mixed media artist. She is a member of N’Quatqua First Nation and is working on normalizing the use of Ucwalmicwts in St’at’imc Territory.
Laura Sharp is a Scottish poet and author of Places You Catch Yourself & Steady as she Knows. Laura never wanted to be poet but she has always wanted to understand life deeply – so here we are.
