2:00-3:00 pm, Nanaimo, BC<br /><br />David Fraser<br /><br />Poets in the Underpass<br /><br />More than 20 people turned out (or strolled by and stopped) to hear our poetry in the Pearson Bridge underpass in downtown Nanaimo. The underpass, on the backside of Howard Johnson's Hotel, serves as a sleeping space for some of Nanaimo's homeless population. It is also part of Nanaimo's Scenic Harbourside Walkway, and is flanked by the Millstone River estuary. The sun was bright and the wind strong as we read our poems of urban reality and handed out free booklets and broadsides of our poems. Four members of the audience shared poems of their own during the open stage portion: Willow Chandler, Margaret Doyle, Cj, & Winona Baker. <br /><br />I live near this underpass in a 1930s cottage in Nanaimo's historic Old Quarter. I walk through the underpass daily, and have gotten to know some of the denizens who call it home at night. It was important to me to bring poetry (and people) to this location. I believe poetry is about taking risks and excavating truth from life's rubble. Poetry is everywhere - the cathedral of the underpass, the beer & wine store spawing ground around the corner, the wayward shopping cart with its torn blanket snapping in the wind... So this is where I wanted to cook & eat my poetry this year.<br />-Kim Goldberg

2:00-3:00 pm, Nanaimo, BC

David Fraser

Poets in the Underpass

More than 20 people turned out (or strolled by and stopped) to hear our poetry in the Pearson Bridge underpass in downtown Nanaimo. The underpass, on the backside of Howard Johnson's Hotel, serves as a sleeping space for some of Nanaimo's homeless population. It is also part of Nanaimo's Scenic Harbourside Walkway, and is flanked by the Millstone River estuary. The sun was bright and the wind strong as we read our poems of urban reality and handed out free booklets and broadsides of our poems. Four members of the audience shared poems of their own during the open stage portion: Willow Chandler, Margaret Doyle, Cj, & Winona Baker.

I live near this underpass in a 1930s cottage in Nanaimo's historic Old Quarter. I walk through the underpass daily, and have gotten to know some of the denizens who call it home at night. It was important to me to bring poetry (and people) to this location. I believe poetry is about taking risks and excavating truth from life's rubble. Poetry is everywhere - the cathedral of the underpass, the beer & wine store spawing ground around the corner, the wayward shopping cart with its torn blanket snapping in the wind... So this is where I wanted to cook & eat my poetry this year.
-Kim Goldberg