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. 

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.

Neil Surkan (2024-2026)

Neil Surkan is a passionate Nanaimo-based poet and educator who brings a wealth of experience and talent to the role of Poet Laureate. As a Professor in the Department of English at Vancouver Island University (VIU) with two full-length poetry collections, three published chapbooks, and additional publications in the works, Neil has turned his focus to fostering connection with the broader Nanaimo community. Having moved to Nanaimo in 2021, Neil has worked to forge new relationships by hosting poetry series, facilitating poetry workshops and retreats, editing an issue of Nanaimo’s Counterflow magazine, collaborating with the national Poetry in Voice programme, and joining VIU’s Gustafson Committee (in which a distinguished poet is welcomed to the university each year), among other creative pursuits. Neil’s poetry has explored the search for connection and community, queer parenthood, and themes of isolation, anxiety, and hope. His plans for the role involve responding to place in ways that are relevant to our times. This will include the consistent curation of literary events, the creation of his own poems foregrounding the impacts of writing from and about this place, and the facilitation of poetic activities for the community, such as for example, installing public prompts in locations that invite passers-by to poetize their sensations and responses to the city. 

Kamal Parmar (2021-2024)

Kamal Parmar served as Poet Laureate from 2021 until 2024, having her term extended. Kamal 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.

• Flying High, Reading for Council, January 2022
• Poems for Windows, Urban Design Roster Project, 2022
• Announcing the Hidden Messages Poetry Project
• The City of Nanaimo Presents Poetry in the Park
• New Poem Unveiled on Nanaimo's Poetry Walk

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