“If you have the words, there’s always a chance that you’ll find the way.” Seamus Heaney,

Place, belonging, and poetry…An unmissable evening featuring Anne Michaels and Vanessa Bell, two of the finest contemporary Canadian poets.

The rich and diverse landscape of Canadian literature reflects the vastness and beauty of the land itself. The need to belong, and what belonging and place really mean, are themes Canadian poets explore with beauty, wit and exceptional insight into the human condition.

An internationally-celebrated novelist and poet whose work has been translated into more than 50 languages, Anne Michaels’s writing shows both the profound depths and shadows of humanity. Her many awards include the Orange Prize, the Guardian Fiction Prize, and the Lannan Award for Fiction. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and has served as Toronto’s Poet Laureate.

Vanessa Bell is a poet, performer and literary activist whose work has been showcased across Quebec and Europe. Her debut collection of poetry, De rivières, was published in 2019. She won the 2021 Félix-Antoine-Savard Prize and was selected as a 2022 Writers’ Trust Rising Star.

In conversation with Fiona Sze-Lorrain.

Presented with support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Arts Abroad fund & Dublin UNESCO City of Literature.