Poetry at the Threshold: Witness, Resistance, and Renewal

with Cecily Nicholson, Christina Shah, and Karen Solie

In a world on fire—ecologically, politically, spiritually—what can poetry do? Three acclaimed poets—Karen Solie, Cecily Nicholson, and Christina Shah—join moderator Kyeren Regehr to explore the role of poetry in the face of crisis. Their recent books resist erasure, centring the lives of those that persist despite systems designed to overlook them. They grapple with the impossibility of belonging within extractive and exclusionary systems while refusing sentimentality or easy answers.

What does it mean to write what cannot—and should not—be made beautiful? How do poets bear witness while acknowledging their entanglement within systems of harm?

Join us for a conversation that honours the fierce clarity and quiet persistence of poetry, with poets who do not look away.

Curated by Planet Earth Poetry

Moderated by Kyeren Regehr

Friday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.

Langham Court Theatre / 805 Langham Crt.

Sliding scale tickets: $5, $10, $20

Livestream available

Captioning for in-person and livestream

Contact VFA by September 30 for ASL interpretation