Poets & Pints

“Poetry can be a navigational tool in a time of crisis for it asks us to pay attention, to be present, and to listen to our feelings and the lived experiences of others. Poetry reminds us what it means to be human.” –Bren Simmers, PEI Poet Laureate

April is National Poetry Month, and Bookmark is marking the occasion with its annual Poets & Pints event on April 27 at 7 pm in the Georgian Room of the Rodd Charlottetown. 

This year’s event features Island poets Judy Gaudet, Edward MacDonald, and Sadie McCarney reading from their new poetry collections, followed by a conversation with the poets moderated by John Flood and an audience Q&A. The event will conclude with an open mic for local established and aspiring poets to share their latest poetry with the audience. To register for the open mic, email heather@bookmarkreads.ca.

Judy Gaudet is a PEI poet and painter whose books include Conversation with Crows and Her Teeth Are Stones. She is the editor of 150+: Canada’s History in Poetry. Another Landscape is Gaudet’s newest poetry collection. 

 Edward MacDonald is a professor emeritus of history at UPEI. He is the author of If You’re Strong-hearted: Prince Edward Island in the Twentieth Century and co-author of The Summer Trade: A History of Tourism on Prince Edward Island. MacDonald was appointed to the Order of Canada and the Order of PEI for his work as an Island historian and teacher. The Geography of Home: Poems for a Lost Time is his first poetry collection.

Sadie McCarney is the author of Live Ones and Your Therapist Says It’s Magical Thinking. Her work has also appeared in Best Canadian Poetry, The Walrus, Grain, Foglifter, The Malahat Review, and The Fiddlehead, among others. The Bright Afters is her third collection of poetry.

Admission to Poets and Pints is free and all are welcome. RSVP to heather@bookmarkreads.ca.