March 25, 2011: Barbara Pelman and Barry Dempster

For many years Barbara Pelman has taught English at high school and college, primarily in B.C. Born in Vancouver, she has degrees from the University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto. She has been an active participant in the Victoria writing community: as a member of the Random Acts of Poetry team, a regular reader at Planet Earth Poetry, and the instigator of Victoria’s “Poetry Walls,” created by her students, in the downtown core.

Pelman’s poems have appeared in many literary journals, including Event, Fiddlehead, Antigonish Review, Dalhousie Review and CV2. Borrowed Rooms is her second book of poetry, following One Stone published in 2005 by Ekstasis Editions.

Barry Dempster is the author of sixteen books, including a novel, The Ascension of Jesse Rapture, a children’s book, two volumes of short stories and twelve collections of poetry. He has been nominated for the Governor General's Award twice and has won a Petra Kenney Award, a Confederation Poets Prize, a Prairie Fire Poetry Contest and the Canadian Authors Association Jack Chalmers Award for Poetry. In 2010, he was a finalist for the Ontario Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He is also acquisitions editor at Brick Books. His most recent books include Love Outlandish (Brick), Ivan’s Birches (Pedlar Press) and Blue Wherever (Signature Editions).

Barry Dempster will offer a workshop on Saturday March 26 from 11-3 contact planetearthpoetry at gmail dot com for details