Poetry in the Harbour: A Curated Community Reading!

Poetry in the Harbour

Deadline for submissions: 11:59pm Pacific Time, October 23, 2026

Poets of Nanaimo (and surrounding communities): you are invited to submit a poem to be included in a reading on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, in Piper's Lagoon Lobby (inside the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Nanaimo, BC) at 7 pm. 

Neil Surkan, Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, will curate and host the event. 

Theme:

*The Present*

How has your poetry been reckoning with the present? Or, in other words, how have these times felt — and why?

Have you been collecting moments when the present feels like a present? What gifts have been abundant of late?

Guidelines:

Open to ages 18 and above.

Submit one poem. One page maximum. Word or PDF format. 

If your poem is selected, that’s the only poem we ask that you read at the event.

Please also submit a short third-person biography (maximum 50 words).

How to Submit:

Deadline: 11:59pm Pacific Time, October 23, 2026

Please submit your poem (one page maximum) and a short third-person biography (max 50 words) as a PDF or in Word format.
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Information collected on this form is done so under the general authority of the Community Charter and Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FOIPPA), and is protected in accordance with FOIPPA. Personal information will only be used by authorized staff to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

For further information regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, please contact the Legislative Services Office at 250-755-4405 or at foi@nanaimo.ca

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Last updated: August 6, 2026

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Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act Statement:

Information collected on this form is done so under the general authority of the Community Charter and Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FOIPPA), and is protected in accordance with FOIPPA. Personal information will only be used by authorized staff to fulfill the purpose for which it was originally collected, or for a use consistent with that purpose.

For further information regarding the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information, please contact the Legislative Services Office at 250-755-4405 or at foi@nanaimo.ca