Read Local BC

Author reading: Theresa Kishkan in celebration of The Art of Looking Back
2026-06-12 18:30 (America/Vancouver) | Upstart & Crow, 1387 Railspur Alley Vancouver, BC V6H 3R7, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3R7, Canada
Join Theresa Kishkan for a reading from her new memoir, The Art of Looking Back.
At 23, Theresa Kishkan met an artist who became obsessed with her. She was young, she was flattered, and the situation quickly overwhelmed her. He drew and painted her for a few months, after which she went away for a year. When she returned, she was determined not to resume the relationship.
But the artist made contact with her after the birth of her first child and became a family friend, bringing gifts of paintings. Those images hung in Theresa’s home, and one in particular reminded her almost daily of her younger self, in ways both positive and not so much. She avoided looking too closely at his images of her and at his long, passionate and often troubling letters.
Decades later, while sorting old correspondence, she was taken back to those early days and began, at last, to write about her relationship with the now-deceased artist. The Art of Looking Back is a meditation on the male gaze, on reclaiming one’s younger self, and on agency: how we lose it, how we find it again. This poetic memoir asks questions about older men and younger women and girls, and the persistence of that dynamic in art.

Poetry & Art Salon
2026-06-28 14:00 - 16:00 | Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St., New Westminster, British Columbia, V3M 1B6, Canada
Enjoy an afternoon of poetry readings, art “Show & Tell”, chats, and more! Come listen, share, and connect. Presented by Janet Kvammen, Poet Laureate of New Westminster. In partnership with Royal City Literary Arts Society.
Admission Fee: Free, Drop-in
Feature Poet Lozan Yamolky
Feature Artist Tristan Wright

Mashed Poetics 82: Hole's Live Through This
2026-07-09 20:00 - 23:00 | Lana Lou’s, 362 Powell Street , Vancouver, BC, V6A 1G4, Canada
Mercedes Eng, author of cop city swagger, Prison Industrial Complex Explodes and more, is one of the poets performing at Mashed Poetics 82: Hole’s Live Through This. Head to Lana Lou’s for an evening of music and poetry. For more information, click here.
Mashed Poetics 82: Hole’s Live Through This
Lana Lou’s
Vancouver, BC
July 9, 2026
Doors at 8 p.m., show beings at 8:30 p.m. PDT

White Mice Poetry Reading
2026-07-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Irish Heather Shebeen, 248 E Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, Canada
On Thursday, July 16, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Indran Amirthanayagam, and David Radavich and others will read with the winners of the “Home Port” White Mice Poetry Contest hosted by Rod Kessler, 6–8 pm, at the Irish Heather Shebeen, 248 E Georgia St. This reading is sponsored by the International Lawrence Durrell Society as part of the On Miracle Ground XXIII conference (some poetry will be in Greek and French).
Registration for the conference is NOT required at attend this event, but seating is limited.
