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royalcitylit

Non-profit Society, Literary Arts.
#PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY N #PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY NIGHT Hope to see you there July 22. 💙Our host will be Marlo Browne! @theyoungandgifted24 💙It is Marlo's first time hosting PIP. 💙Come on out to cheer him on! 😎 Marlo Browne is an award-winning Barbadian multi-hyphenate artist who has published 5 poetry books and currently lives in Langley. Marlo has performed and featured at many events and has converted some of his poetry into short films. To date, he has released three short films- ‘I'm Sorry’ in 2023 and ‘Dear Single Mom’ and ‘Invisible’ in 2025. The first film ‘I'm Sorry’ was the runner up in the Short Film category of the Langley City Film festival in 2023. The second short film, ‘Dear Single Mom’ won a Bronze Award at the National Independence Festival of Creative Arts in Barbados in 2025. His fourth and fifth poetry collections, entitled ‘The Life and Times of a Poet’ and ‘Journal of a Black Man’, both earned Gold Book Awards from Literary Titan in May and September 2025 respectively. @artsnewwest @new_westminster @royalcitylit #PoetryinthePark #poetrycommunity #RCLAS #poetry #openmic #iheartnewwest #newwest #newwestevents #ArtsNewWest #NWPoetLaureate #poetryandart
#PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY N #PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY NIGHT Christina Shah Featuring this week! PIP Debut on WED July 22 Christina Shah lives in New Westminster and works in heavy industry, where she drinks from the firehose of knowledge. Her poetry has appeared in numerous Canadian literary journals. Her work has been shortlisted for the Fiddlehead’s 2021 Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize and has appeared in Best Canadian Poetry 2023. She is one-fifth of the Harbour Centre 5 poetry collective, whose chapbook, Brine, was released in 2022. Her first video poem, “rig veda” (in collaboration with videographer Mark Mushet), was translated into Spanish and screened internationally. rig rig veda, her first solo chapbook (Anstruther Press), received an honourable mention for the bpNichol Chapbook Award in 2024. if: prey, then: huntress is her first full-length poetry collection. @artsnewwest @new_westminster @royalcitylit #PoetryinthePark #rclas #poetry #openmic #IheartNewWest #newwest
#PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY N #PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY NIGHT Aidan Chafe Featuring this WED July 22 Aidan Chafe is the author of the poetry collections Gospel Drunk (University of Alberta Press) and Short Histories of Light (McGill-Queen's University Press), that was longlisted for the 2019 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. He has also published two chapbooks Right Hand Hymns (Frog Hollow Press) and Sharpest Tooth (Anstruther Press). He is the recipient of the ONLY POEMS’ 2025 “Poet ofthe Year” prize. He lives and works on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, BC). --- @artsnewwest @new_westminster @royalcitylit
Royal City Literary Arts Society presents POETRY I Royal City Literary Arts Society presents POETRY IN THE PARK 2026 In partnership with Arts New West and City of New Westminster @artsnewwest 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 22 Featuring Aidan Chafe and Christina Shah Host: Marlo Browne 📍 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! Aidan Chafe is the author of the poetry collections Gospel Drunk (University of Alberta Press) and Short Histories of Light (McGill-Queen's University Press), that was longlisted for the 2019 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. He has also published two chapbooks Right Hand Hymns (Frog Hollow Press) and Sharpest Tooth (Anstruther Press). He is the recipient of the ONLY POEMS’ 2025 “Poet ofthe Year” prize. He lives and works on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples (Vancouver, BC). Christina Shah lives in New Westminster and works in heavy industry, where she drinks from the firehose of knowledge. Her poetry has appeared in numerous Canadian literary journals. Her work has been shortlisted for the Fiddlehead’s 2021 Ralph Gustafson Poetry Prize and has appeared in Best Canadian Poetry 2023. She is one-fifth of the Harbour Centre 5 poetry collective, whose chapbook, Brine, was released in 2022. Her first video poem, “rig veda” (in collaboration with videographer Mark Mushet), was translated into Spanish and screened internationally. rig rig veda, her first solo chapbook (Anstruther Press), received an honourable mention for the bpNichol Chapbook Award in 2024. if: prey, then: huntress is her first full-length poetry collection. -- Marlo Browne is an award-winning Barbadian multi-hyphenate artist who has published 5 poetry books and currently lives in Langley. Marlo has performed and featured at many events and has converted some of his poetry into short films. #PipPipHooray #rclas #PoetryinthePark
Thank you all SOOOO much for making this such a sp Thank you all SOOOO much for making this such a special night! It was such a fantastic session of Poetry in the Park! We are back, baby! #pippiphooray #rclas #artsnewwest #IheartNewWest #nwpoetlaureate
#PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY N #PipPipHooray, It's POETRY in the PARK WEDNESDAY NIGHT Jude Neale Featuring tonight on our opening night! WED July 15 Jude Neale is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Bowen Island, a Canadian poet, vocalist, spoken word performer, and occasional disturber of the literary peace. She has published fourteen books, with more waiting in the wings, and her work has been recognized across Canada and beyond, including nominations for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the National Magazine Awards. Her poems travel through grief, wonder, memory, family, the body, the natural world, and the strange little miracles that keep us alive despite ourselves. A lifelong performer, Jude brings music, humour, and a certain unruly tenderness to the page and the stage. As Poet Laureate, she believes poetry belongs everywhere: in libraries and theatres, yes, but also at kitchen tables, on ferries, in grocery lines, at celebrations, in sorrow, and wherever human beings are trying to say what matters. @artsnewwest @new_westminster @royalcitylit
#PipPipHooray Poet Jude Neale Featuring at Opening #PipPipHooray Poet Jude Neale Featuring at Opening Night of Poetry in the Park this week WED July 15 Jude Neale is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Bowen Island, a Canadian poet, vocalist, spoken word performer, and occasional disturber of the literary peace. She has published fourteen books, with more waiting in the wings, and her work has been recognized across Canada and beyond, including nominations for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the National Magazine Awards. Her poems travel through grief, wonder, memory, family, the body, the natural world, and the strange little miracles that keep us alive despite ourselves. A lifelong performer, Jude brings music, humour, and a certain unruly tenderness to the page and the stage. As Poet Laureate, she believes poetry belongs everywhere: in libraries and theatres, yes, but also at kitchen tables, on ferries, in grocery lines, at celebrations, in sorrow, and wherever human beings are trying to say what matters. @royalcitylit @artsnewwest @new_westminster @___judescool
#PipPipHooray Poet Raoul Fernandes Featuring at #PipPipHooray Poet Raoul Fernandes Featuring at Poetry in the Park opening night! WED July 15 Raoul Fernandes lives with his wife, two sons, and orange tabby, on the traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). His first collection of poems, Transmitter and Receiver (Nightwood Editions, 2015) won the Dorothy Livesay Award and Debut-litzer Award for Poetry in 2016. He is the Poetry Editor for EVENT, one of the organizers of the Dead Poets Reading Series and works in public libraries in Vancouver. @artsnewwest @new_westminster @royalcitylit
Poetry and Art Salon with Janet Kvammen JUNE 28, 2 Poetry and Art Salon with Janet Kvammen JUNE 28, 2026 SUNDAY 2:00-4:00 pm ANVIL CENTRE | Atrium Lobby 777 Columbia Street Drop-in. No registration required. Feature Poet Lozan Yamolky Feature Artist Tristan Wright Join Janet Kvammen, Poet Laureate of New Westminster, for a free afternoon of poetry readings, art “Show & Tell” chats and more! Come listen, share, and connect. In partnership with Royal City Literary Arts Society and the City of New Westminster. @nwartservices @anvilcentre @new_westminster   Bios in comments.
The deadline for our 2026 Cogswell Award is June 2 The deadline for our 2026 Cogswell Award is June 28. Full details here: https://rclas.com/2026-fred-cogswell-award/ THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!! #poetrycommunity #RCLAS #CogswellAward #bookaward #CanLit #canadianpoet #Canadianpublishers
Joseph Dandurand, Kwantlen First Nation. poet, s Joseph Dandurand, Kwantlen First Nation. poet, storyteller, playwright, and children's book author, director of Kwantlen cultural centre 6.6.26 @artsnewwest @tourismnewwest @newwestcraft @new_westminster @royalcitylit
Celebrate 5 Years of the Indigenous Market & Expre Celebrate 5 Years of the Indigenous Market & Expressions of Reclamation SATURDAY June 6 from 11 AM – 5 PM on the boardwalk at River Market for a vibrant day celebrating Indigenous art, culture, music, fashion, food, and community. Joseph Dandurand is reading at 3:00PM, (Tellers of Short Tales, in partnership with RCLAS.) Come together to honour creativity, culture, storytelling, and connection at this special 5th anniversary celebration.
Register for our free RCLAS workshop today! RCLAS Register for our free RCLAS workshop today! RCLAS Writing Workshop: How to Save Your Darlings with Mark Cameron DATE: SAT Jun 13 2026 TIME: 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm LOCATION New Westminster Public Library Main Branch - Auditorium 716 6th Avenue New Westminster, BC, V3M 2B3 Pre-register here: https://www.nwpl.ca/events/how-to-save-your-darlings/?occurrence=2026-06-13 Sometimes we must sacrifice words for the benefit of a story. But what if our darlings—characters, scenes, quotes, plot threads, or turns of phrase that we hold dear—don’t really need to be killed? This interactive workshop will discuss how to recognize which elements of a story are worth saving and how to make them count. We’ll explore how literary devices like metaphors, motifs, backstory, and world-building can be used to breathe life into our literary darlings. And we’ll take inspiration from iconic darlings (books and film) that were narrowly saved from the cutting room floor.   Advance prep for attendees: Think of something from one of your own stories—fiction or nonfiction—that is precious to you, but which doesn’t quite belong in the story you’re trying to tell. Come ready to fight for it—to make it worth saving—through a series of thought-provoking exercises. (But be warned: just as not all stories have a happy ending, not all darlings can be saved!) Takeaways you can expect from this workshop: * How to weave a seemingly unimportant element deeper into a story * How to differentiate between valuable and extraneous content * The story-enriching value of iterative editing * Getting the ideas in your head to shine on the page * Knowing when to let go (RIP) Mark Cameron, Workshop Leader: Mark Cameron is an author, poet, and musician who writes across a broad range of genres and forms. He has self-published two novels and is currently working on two book-length projects: a Young Adult speculative fiction novel and a creative nonfiction book about navigating modern overwhelm. A resident of New Westminster, BC, Mark recently earned a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction. An aspiring writing instructor, he also co-chairs the Wine Country Writers’ Festival in Penticton.
Howdy folx! We hope to see at the next Poetry and Howdy folx! We hope to see at the next Poetry and Art Salon, coming up NEXT weekend. We are back in Room 417 for this one. Enjoy an afternoon of poetry readings, art “Show & Tell”, chats, and more! Come listen, share, and connect.  Presented by Janet Kvammen, Poet Laureate of New Westminster. @iheartnewwest ⚘SUNDAY May 31, 2026 ⚘2:00 - 4:00 PM ⚘Anvil Centre. Studio 417. ⚘ Free, Drop-in ⚘Feature Poet Katie Stobbart @katieshutter ⚘Feature Artist Damarys Sepulveda #rclas #NWPoetLaureate #poetryandart #NewWest #newwestartists #poetry
Join us for a special edition of Tellers of Short Join us for a special edition of Tellers of Short Tales with local author Lesley Hebert, author of The Heart of Japan. In this original and distinctive travel memoir she shares her experiences as a new grandmother, eager to understand the country where her daughter-in-law grew up. DATE: Wednesday June 03 2026 TIME: 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm LOCATION: New Westminster Public Libary Main Branch - Auditorium - 716 6th Avenue New Westminster, BC, V3M 2B3 Author reading, meet and greet and book signings. Followed by an Open Mic if time permits. Author Bio: Originally from the UK, Lesley Hebert is a retired teacher of English as a second language who lives New Westminster with a sociable husband and anti-social cat. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in print and online platforms including Beyond Words, Canadian Stories, travelthruhistory.com, The First Line, Pocket Lint, Parabola, Immigration Diaries, Forage, The Mocking Owl and several anthologies, including A Poetry of Place: Journeys Across New Westminster, Red Eyes and Tired Lungs: A BC Wildfire Anthology and The Age Collective GOLD Poetry Project. A member of the Federation of BC Writers and the Royal City Literary Arts Society, she won first place (non-fiction) in the RCLAS Write On 2023 competition. Her first publication, in 2017, was Telling Our Stories: New Westminster Lawn Bowling Club Celebrates its 100th birthday. The Heart of Japan, was published in January, 2026. Both of these books are available in the New Westminster Public Library. She is currently working on a historical romance set in 11th Century Japan. In partnership with RCLAS, City of New Westminster and New Westminster Public Library. #RCLAS #Tellersofshorttales #booklaunch #books #writing #reading #NewWest
Help us spread the word about our free workshop fo Help us spread the word about our free workshop for newcomer women and female identifying folx coming up on May 28th! Thank you! Your Story in Verse: Free Poetry Workshop for Newcomer Women With Jessica Lee McMillan and Alan Hill Your story in your own words – a poetry workshop for newcomer women – no experience needed! Meet new people, learn new skills, share your story. Date: Thursday May 28, 2026 Time: 6:30pm-8:00pm FREE to attend. Drop in ok but registration helpful – Email secretary@rclas.com 📌Location: Wildfires Bookshop Literary Lounge 712 A 12th Street New Westminster, BC Presented by the Royal City Literary Arts Society and City of New Westminster #rclas #writingworkshop #FreeWorkshop #NewWest
📌WORKSHOP REMINDER 📌Register today 📌 Only a few sp 📌WORKSHOP REMINDER 📌Register today 📌 Only a few spots are left! Don't miss out. Coming up this Tues aft May 5 we have a writing workshop with author Cynthia Sharp in partnership with @efryvancouver This includes an art exhibit as well featuring the works of Naureen Ali. Link to register is also on our website www.rclas.com #RCLAS #writingworkshop #EFry #community #newwest
POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHT (In partnership with Groove POETRY OPEN MIC NIGHT (In partnership with Groove Cat Books and Records and Royal City Literary Arts Society) Thursday, April 16 from 7:00 PM-9:00 PM Location: Groove Cat Books and Records 775 6th Street, New Westminster, BC Phone: 604-553-0929 Free 2-hour parking, Wheelchair accessible. Bring your poetry to share! 5 min slots, sign-up starting at 6:50pm “Admission is free, but please support our hosts with a minimum $5 purchase — think of it as fueling the poetry with books, vinyl, and good vibes.”  Bring a new poem to read, or dust off an “oldie but a goodie”! Don’t really think yourself a poet but LOVE poetry? You could share a famous, or even a not-so-famous poem that you LOVE! Or, just come to listen! That works, too — Be there or be square! PEACE! #RCLAS #GrooveCatBooksandRecords #poetry #openmic #iheartnewwest #newwest #newwestevents
BIG NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT! Our COGSWELL AWARD has a b BIG NEWS ANNOUNCEMENT! Our COGSWELL AWARD has a brand new submission period. It will be opening up on April 1! We are also thrilled to announce our 2026 Judge is Kevin Spenst!!! YAY!!! #CogswellAward #rclas #poetry #bookawards #CanLit #canadianpublishers
Celebrate UNESCO Poetry Day Join us in celebratin Celebrate UNESCO Poetry Day Join us in celebrating the beauty and power of poetry! Bring a poem to read and enjoy lively dance performances by the Ilocano Group and Forever Young. There will also be time to socialize, share ideas, and enjoy light snacks together. Venue: Moberly Arts & Cultural Centre Date: Saturday, March 21, 2026 Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm For more information, please contact: Ashok K. Bhargava or Janet Kvammen, Bonnie Quan Symons
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