The city would like to hear from poets interested in becoming Vancouver's third poet laureate. The position is open to published poets who reside in Vancouver and have an established body of work or have been recognized for notable contributions early in their career. The deadline for nominations and submissions is Aug. 24. The city's first poet laureate in 2007 was George McWhirter, professor emeritus of the University of B.C., and the second and current poet laureate is the award-winning Brad Cran. A three-person panel of representatives from the literary community, nominated by the Vancouver International Writers Festival, will evaluate submissions. The poet laureate will be selected for a three-year period that starts in October. The new poet laureate will be announced on Oct. 19 at a poetry festival created by Cran as his legacy project. The poet laureate receives an annual stipend of $5,000, made possible by a generous donation from Yosef Wosk and held by the Vancouver Foundation. The post is meant to strengthen residents' relationship to literature and add to the cultural life of our city. For more information, see vpl.ca.
