Poet Laureate

The Poet Laureate is a literary ambassador for the City of Nanaimo. Through their role they raise the profile of literary arts in our community by creating and presenting poetic works and activities that are relevant to our times and respond to our place. Nanaimo’s next Poet Laureate will engage and inspire, bring their own unique voice and experience to collaborate and realize poetry projects for the benefit of our community. 

Call for the next Poet Laureate now closed.

Activating poetry through a Civic Role

The activities of the Poet Laureate will be shaped by the Poet’s own artistic objectives and trajectory. They will be invited to:

• participate in the life of the city and serve as a literary ambassador for Nanaimo;
• participate in agreed upon civic events by presenting works that are relevant to life in Nanaimo. Events in the past include reciting at civic Canada Day celebrations, or at Council meetings);
• inform and participate in programming organized by the City, or by City partners, related to National Poetry Month (April);
• produce at least one new work each year that is relevant to life in Nanaimo and collaborate to disseminate that work to a broad public
• liaise with and serve as a mentor to Nanaimo’s Youth Poet Laureate 
• work in collaboration with City Staff and other partners as appropriate.

Kamal Parmar (2021-2024)

Kamal Parmar is a Nanaimo-based poet and writer who has been passionately engaged with writing from a very early age. She experiments often with Haiku poetry and also with creative non-fiction. Her poems explore a range of topics, from childhood recollections of her home in India, to the beauty of the Canadian prairies, to her personal journey, alongside her mother, through Alzheimer’s. Kamal’s work has been published in the UK, Canada and India. Her books include Still Waters (2020), Letters to a Son and a Daughter (2019), In the Rising Mist (2013), Fleeting Shadows (2010) and Filigree and Flint (1997).  Kamal has been involved in the life of the cultural community in Nanaimo for many years. She has frequently presented poems at venues across Vancouver Island, was involved with the City of Nanaimo’s Culture Committee, and more recently with Nanaimo Arts Council.  She is active member of a several provincial and national writers’ organizations and guilds. Currently, she is a full member of the League of Canadian Poets, and is a Board member of the Federation of BC Writers. She is also a member of Haiku Canada and of The Writers Union of Canada and the Canadian Authors Association.  She has been involved with the Ontario Poetry Society. 

Canada Day 2023 Poem

Poems for Windows

Over the course of 2022, poetry posters have been designed by Webb Creative as an activation of the Urban Design Roster. Members of the public were invited to submit poems for inclusion in the project, which offered a new poem each month in various locations across Nanaimo.  

Flying High, reading at City Council, January 2022

The First Snowfall

Summer Is Passing

Sky, not a deep blue but mottled with cloud.
Every time I look, they change from wispy silver to curling grey.
A week back, a burnt-orange sun hung in the coppery bowl of the sky
and the evening star, late coming.
The sea shimmered like lapis lazuli,
now ruffled, strong waves toss,
fill the air with spray that tickles my cheek.
The waning pulse of the day,
as darkness closes in, much before lights on.
The church bell tolls for evening vespers.

Summer passes.
The breeze, empty of honeysuckle
claps through arbutus and maple leaves,
rises and falls among the willow.
No longer is there the mundane crescendo of the honey-bee
nor the rasp of crickets or cicadas,
echoing from overgrown bramble bush.
Feathery dandelions dance in the breeze,
children shout and run, chasing butterflies.
as summer is passing—
and children won’t let go.
In dark lakes and moors, ringed with oak and willow,
the swallow and skylark stop and listen
to the first drizzle of rain.
The air laced with juniper.

Tina Biello (2017-2020)

Tina Biello was selected as Poet Laureate for her strong connection to the artistic community and passion for the arts. She has a great vision and plan for her new role and is very keen and excited to engage the mainstream community in poetry. As a published poet who has done readings in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Fanny Bay, Montreal and Italy, she has seen firsthand the importance of getting poetry to more of the population. Most people who attend readings are already poetry aficionados, but Ms. Biello would love to see more people appreciate the power of poetry. She understands the importance of collaborating with other art forms through her experience working with other artists. She also worked with composers and has even had her poems composed into music.

• Transit poems "Roll Out" on December 6
• City of Nanaimo Set to Celebrate Local Poetry

Naomi Beth Wakan (2013-2016)

Naomi Beth Wakan was named Nanaimo's inaugural Poet Laureate from 2013 to 2016. She raised awareness of poetry, literary arts and the positive impact that poetry has on community life. She is a prolific writer and a respected member of the local literary community.

• Nanaimo's Poet Laureate Receives FBCW Honorary Ambassador Award
• Naomi featured in Spring 2015 WordWorks Magazine
• Nanaimo Celebrates Local Poetry in April
• Nanaimo Participants in 2015 Mayor's Poetry Challenge
• Naomi reads a poem to Council for the 2015 Mayor's Poetry Challenge
• "Bookmobile" Gabriola Co-op Radio Series

Questions?

We're happy to help! Contact us directly at 250-755-4483 or cultureandevents@nanaimo.ca. Subscribe to receive Love Arts Nanaimo Updates and follow us on Instagram @Culture_Nanaimo.

Related Links

• Youth Poet Laureate
• Nanaimo Poetry Map