May 17 | 12:00 pm
5 Years of Where Poets Read
On this date, it will be 5 years since the first post on Where Poets Read. Thank you to all who have checked this site to find out info about a reading, talked about this site, used this site in classes and research projects, and/or as a way to connect to and through poetry.
How did Where Poets Read start? In 2016, I had the idea for it because I wanted to know when and where the poetry readings were happening (back then, there were no event listings in Montreal like there are now through QWF and La poésie partout); I had compiled extensive lists of local readings to share with my students in poetry courses I was teaching at the time at Concordia University; and, along with compiling those lists, a friend visiting Montreal asked if I know of any readings happening that weekend and I said, do I ever! Plus, I do research on archival recordings of poetry readings and I thought that it could be a useful record of poetry readings someday in the future. It has proven useful already – this list has contributed data to a research project about the transition to online events during the pandemic. Where will poets read next? And what kind of archive will these lists build? I contemplate these questions as I add readings to the list – yes, it is only me who runs this and its social media in my “spare time,” often on a weekend morning with a coffee. It might be time to apply for a grant, but, for now, it continues as it has always been: a list that is not exhaustive but that does gather and share a selection of readings, mostly in Montreal and sometimes beyond.
The first reading to be posted here was Susan Holbrook and Nicole Markotic | Resonance Reading Series held on May 17 2016 at the Resonance Reading Series (curated by Klara du Plessis at Resonance Cafe in Montreal). Now, I am about to add a new post that will be the 800th!
To mark 5 years, I had dreamt of organizing an epic outdoor Where Poets Read Reading, but, with these pandemic times, I am going to simply update the list, applaud all the organizers who continue to bring readers and listeners together, and continue dreaming of an outdoor reading, hopefully to happen safely this summer…
Stay tuned for that, and thank you for being here and for supporting poetry.