Royal City Literary Arts Society presents
POETRY IN THE PARK 2026
Royal City Literary Arts Society presents
Poetry in the Park 2026
In partnership with Arts New West and City of New Westminster
Every Wednesday night from July 15 – August 19 from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Each weekly session will feature 2 poets and an Open Mic.

WEDNESDAY JULY 29
Feature Poets: Jónína Kirton & Russell Thornton
Host: Jessica Lee McMillan

 Where? Centennial Lodge, Queen’s Park, New Westminster
 When? Wed evenings JULY 15-AUGUST 19 | 6:30pm | Open Mic Sign Up 6:15pm
 Why? Because poetry is alive and well in New West

FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT
Everyone is welcome!

Bios:

Jónína Kirton, an Icelandic and Red River Métis poet was born in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Treaty 1, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, Dene peoples and the homeland of the Métis. She graduated from the SFU Writers
Studio in 2007 and was sixty-one when she received the 2016 Vancouver’s Mayor’s Arts Award for an Emerging Artist in the Literary Arts category. Her second collection of poetry, An Honest Woman, was a finalist in the 2018 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize.
She currently lives in subsidized seniors housing in New Westminster BC, the unceded territory of the Hul’qumi’num speaking peoples. A chronic pain sufferer, she has walked with her husband as he has faced life threatening health issues. This journey is documented in her fourth book. Save Your Prayers – Send Money, released in April 2026 with Talonbooks.

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Russell Thornton’s Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025 was brought out by Harbour Publishing this spring and is his tenth book of poetry. Among his earlier collections, The Hundred Lives was shortlisted for the 2015 Griffin Prize and Birds, Metals, Stones & Rain was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General’s Award for Poetry. His book of creative non-fiction, The Tree of My Only Address, is due out in spring 2027 from Caitlin Press. He lives in North Vancouver. Russell’s book The White Light of Tomorrow was longlisted for our 2024 Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry.
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Jessica Lee McMillan (she/her) is a poet and steadfast civil servant. She has an English MA (SFU), is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio, and is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets. Read her current/forthcoming poems in CV2, The Malahat Review, New Poetry, QWERTY, Canto, and Canadian Literature. Jessica is the author of the chapbook shine like a dime in the dirt under the moon (Pinhole Poetry, 2026). She lives on the land of the Halkomelem-speaking Peoples (New Westminster, BC) with
her little family and large dog.

Bridging the Gap 2025
RCLAS Co-operative Poem, National Poetry Month, April 2025
© 2025 by the poets
Compiled by Janet Kvammen, New Westminster Poet Laureate  

18 contributing poets in order of appearance: 

  Candice James   Alan Girling
   Jerena Tobiasen
   Susan McCaslin
   Jessica Lee McMillan
   Angus Pratt
   Karen McLaughlin Freeborn
   Cynthia Sharp
   Isabella Mori
   Julia Schoennagel
   Chelsea Comeau
   Emily Molinari
   Jude Neale
   Jennifer Getsinger
   Angela Kenyon
   H.W. Bryce
   Alan Hill
  Janet Kvammen

New Membership & Renewals here:

New and Renewing Members