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. 

Upcoming Programs/ Events: 

Read, Reflect, Write 

Wednesdays, Mar. 5, Apr. 2, Jun. 4 | 7 - 8pm
FREE | Drop-In | Harbourfront Library Meeting Room
A Poetry Workshop about Savouring, Wondering, and Daring. Facilitated by Poet Laureate, Neil Surkan.  

Poetry in the Harbour: A New Reading Series in Nanaimo

Wednesdays, March 12 and June 11 at 7pm
FREE | Drop-In| Vancouver Island Conference Centre, Piper’s Lagoon Lobby (101 Gordon St, Nanaimo, BC) 
Join Poet Laureate, Neil Surkan, and special guests for an evening of poetry. On the evening of March 12, Susan Alexander will be joined by special guest Bethany Morley. 

Susan Alexander’s poems have appeared in Canadian and international anthologies and literary magazines, such as The Southern Review, Pangyrus, Arc and Grain. Her most recent publication is Berberitzen with Raven Chapbooks (2024). She is the author of two collections, Nothing You Can Carry (2020) and The Dance Floor Tilts (2017) with Thistledown Press. Her poetry has won multiple awards, including the 2022 Vancouver’s City Poem Prize. She has hosted poetry readings and panels for the Federation of BC Writers and Victoria’s Festival of Writers. Susan lives on Nexwlélexm/Bowen Island, the traditional and unceded territory of the Squamish people. 

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