2025 Events
- December 17, Pandora’s Collective Holiday Fundraiser for Musqueam Youth & Families in Need, 7-9 pm, Celebration Hall, 5455 Fraser (Mountain View Cemetery) featuring five poets
- November 11, “Let Peace be Their Memorial” ceremony for Remembrance Day, 2pm, Seaforth Park, Burrard & First Avenue
- November 1 Spontaneous Poetry Booth, Heart of the City Festival, 1-2:30 pm, Carnegie Centre, Main & Hastings
- July 17-20 Workshop, reading and panel discussion at the Denman Island Literary Festival
- June 28 Announcement and introduction of 3 winning poets published in The Paper Trail at book launch through LiterAsian, Chinese Canadian Museum, 3-4:30 pm
- April 23 Reading to celebrate Elise Partridge, Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver
- April 2 Whole Cloth Reading series event to honour Pat Lowther at Green College, UBC
- January 22 Twisted Poets Literary Salon, Britannia Library
- January 15 Prince of Wales Secondary, Poetry in Voice visit
Past Events
November 23, 2024 Wrap Event and Reception for the City Poems Project 2024, VPL Montalbano Theatre, 8th Floor, 1 pm
November 11, 2024 Remembrance Day Ceremony in Chinatown (noon on Keefer Street by memorial)
October 25, 2024 City of Vancouver Book Award Ceremony and Announcement of New Poet Laureate
October 25, 2024 ProD Day Crafting City Poems Presentation for Teachers, Chinese Canadian Storytelling Centre, 9 am. Tickets through EventBrite.
October 16, 2024 Creative Nonfiction Discussion and Visit to Kwantlen Polytechnique University, Creative Writing (Cathy Stonehouse, instructor)
October 10, 2024 Guest Poetry Workshop with the Downtown Eastside Writers’ Collective, Carnegie Centre
October 9, 2024 Guest Poetry Workshop with students at Artemis Secondary, Victoria
October 2, 2024 Creative Cities Summit, Haiku Highway Activity, Sheraton Wall Centre
September 21, 2024 Word Vancouver 30th Anniversary Opening Gala at the Museum of Vancouver
September 8, 2024 Dead Poets Reading Series, Massy Arts, 23 East Pender, 3-5 pm, hosted by Elena Johnson and Raoul Fernandes (FTL taking photos)
July 17, 2024 Approaches to Teaching Poetry Presentation, UBC Language and Literacy Department, LLED 445, 1-2 pm
July 14, 2024 Dead Poets Reading Series (FTL cohosting with Kevin Spenst), Massy Arts, featuring Daphne Marlatt, Lydia Kwa, Winston Le and Jessica Lee MacMillan, 4-6 pm, 23 East Pender Street
July 11, 2024 Poetry in the Park, Oppenheimer Park, public poetry workshop series, 1-3 pm
July 10, 2024 Poetry in the Park, Emery Barnes Park, public poetry workshop series, 2-4 pm
July 3, 2024 “Wallflowers and Weavers” welcome speech for UBC School of Creative Writing Summer Residency program
July 1, 2024 Chinese Canadian Voices in Poetry: Reading and Panel Discussion, moderated by FTL with panelists Chris Tse and James Wang, Chinese Canadian Museum, 12-1 pm
July 1, 2024 Public workshop on generating poems based on Chinese Canadian History, Chinese Canadian Museum, 10:00-11:30 a.m.
June 25, 2024 Tecumseh Elementary School Year-End Assembly (Vivian Jung Commemoration Project)
June 1, 2024 North by Northwest Interview with Margaret Gallagher about Tecumseh Elementary School Project’s Vivian Jung poetry and mural project (recorded May 29, 2024 with teachers Tilia Prior and Marion Elizabeth Collins)
May 23-24, 2024 Downtown Eastside Writers Festival, Opening Poem and Blue Pencil Sessions, May 24, 1:30-4:30 p.m.
May 12, 2024 Dead Poets’ Reading Series, Massy Arts, 23 East Pender, 4-6 pm (FL on organizing team).
May 5, 2024 Stanley Park Poetry Walkabout, Jane’s Walk Vancouver Festival with poems by Betsy Warland, Jaeyun Yoo, Onjana Yawnghwe, and Fiona Tinwei Lam, coordinated and led by Kevin Spenst
May 3, 2024 Visit to Prince of Wales Secondary School and presentation on poetry
April 27, 2024 By Heart: Poetry Recital Music, at Notional Space, hosted by Rachel Rose and Aislinn Hunter (poem recitation)
April 25, 2024 An Evening of Poetry in Honour of Danny Paert, Historic Joy Kogawa House, Thursday, 7 pm
April 20, 2024 Earth, Sea and Sky, Museum of Vancouver, Maritime Museum & Planetarium Event for Earth Day, Eco-poems read by Fiona Tinwei Lam, 10:30 am with looped eco-poetry videos
April 18, 2024 Unwritten Thursdays Series: Jazz & Spoken Word, Tyrant Studios, 9 pm-11 pm featuring RC Weslowski, Johnny Trinh, Jillian Christmas and Tawahum Bige
April 16, 2024 Watch Party for City Poems Project Program at Mount Pleasant Community Arts Screen at grunt gallery
April 4, 2024 Reception for the Haiku Exhibition, Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (Reading of winning haiku), Museum of Vancouver, 5-7 pm (announcing and reading award-winning haiku)
April 4, 2024 Poetry Month Video Poems Screening (New Poetry Videos for the City Poems Project by SFU IAT 344), Montalbano Theatre, Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch, 11:00-12:30 pm, followed by a reception in Poets’ Corner
April 3, 2024 REELpoetry Festival Houston, online screening of Moving Poems in the City: City Poems Project co-curated with Alger Ji-Liang of the Mount Pleasant Community Arts Screen
March 12, 2024 Reimagining our Cities: Advancing Equity in a Polarized Time (YWCA City Shift Wrap Up Event) Roundhouse Community Centre, 6-8 pm (poem recitation)
January 25, 2024 Presentation on Poetry Videos to SFU IAT 344 (Surrey)
January 17, 2024 Guest Visit to Downtown Eastside Writers Collective, Carnegie Centre
January 14, 2024 Dead Poets Reading Series, Massy Arts, 23 East Pender, 3-5 pm.
January 10, 2024 Virtual visit with Course on Public Poetry, University of Fraser Valley (Dr. Ceilidh Hart)
2023
December 14, 2023 Visit to Tecumseh Elementary School, Grade 5/6 class
December 12, 2023 Night for Giving: Annual Pandora’s Collective Holiday Fundraiser for Musqueam Families in Need, Celebration Hall, Mountain View Cemetery, 5455 Fraser Street, 7-9 pm.
December 8, 2023 Visit to two LLED (Language & Literacy Education) classes, 367 Teaching Writing, Education Faculty, UBC
November 28, 2023 Megaphone Breakfast Fundraiser, Roundhouse Community Centre
November 21, 2023 Poetry reading at Stand.earth Fundraiser, Queen Elizabeth Park
November 21, 2023 Visit to Tecumseh Elementary School (special themed poetry workshop)
November 19, 2023 Dead Poets Reading Series (3-5 pm Massy Arts, 23 East Pender Street)
November 5, 2023 Introductory remarks at launch of Joy Kogawa’s From the Lost & Found Department: New & Selected Poems, Historic Kogawa House.
October 29, 2023 Reading from The Rainbow Rocket children’s book at All Souls Event at Mountain View Cemetery at 1 pm (open to public)
October 27, 2023 Spontaneous Poetry Booth in front of the Carnegie Centre at Main & Hastings, Heart of the City Festival (Request a poem to be created and typed out just for you, Friday, 1-2:30 pm)
September 22, 2023 Vancouver Book Award Ceremony, Vancouver Public Library (Poet Laureate Status Report for City Poems Project, Friday, 2pm VPL Central Branch)
Sept 16, 2023 Moving Words in the City: Poetry + Video in Synergy, A Screening of Selected City Poems Poetry Videos at Word Vancouver Festival (Saturday, 2:30-3:30 pm UBC Robson Square)
September 10, 2023 Dead Poets Reading Series (3-5 pm Massy Arts, 23 East Pender Street)
September 9, 2023 Annual Poetry in the Afternoon Reading at Historic Joy Kogawa House (featuring 8 local poets), Sunday, 3-5 pm
September 9, 2023 Canine Library with VPL and Vancouver Park Board, Paws 4 Stories, St. John Ambulance BC/Yukon and Trout Lake Community Centre. (Saturday, Trout Lake Park, east side)
August 5, 2023 Pre-concert talk for “A Woman’s Voice in Bach’s World: Christiane Mariane Von Ziegler” Summer Music Festival, Early Music Society (Saturday, Christ Church Cathedral, 6:30-7pm)
June 11, 2023 Poet Laureate City Poems Contest: Poetry Video Awards Ceremony and Screening, Museum of Vancouver, 1-3 pm (free)
May 26, 2023 Megaphone Voices of the Street Anthology Launch, SFU World Arts Room, 6:30-8:30 pm
May 25, 2023 Downtown Eastside Writers’ Festival, Poetry Table at Oppenheimer Park
May 23, 2023 Downtown Eastside Writers’ Festival, Welcoming remarks, Tuesday, 10:30 am
May 17, 2023 Megaphone Magazine workshop for Voices of the Street anthology contributors
May 16, 2023 School visit, Queen Alexandra Elementary School, primary and intermediate classes
May 14, 2023 Dead Poets Reading Series at Massy Arts, 3-5 pm (Fiona co-hosts with Kevin Spenst for 3 readers including Marc Perez, Saba Pakdel and Hari Alluri)
May 7, 2023 Interview on the random finding of poems with four poets laureate on CBC Radio’s Tapestry (at 44:40 minute mark)
May 7, 2023 Welcoming remarks, Wine and Words: Dim Sum with Authors, Fundraiser for Word Vancouver, hosted by LiterASIAN 2023 at Floata Restaurant
May 6, 2023 “The Aesthetic and Rhythmic Kindness of Poetry” LiterASIAN 2023 Poetry panel featuring David Ly, Tariq Malik, Steffi Tad-y, and Gillian Sze, moderated by Fiona Tinwei Lam, Saturday, 3.00-4.30pm, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden.
April 30, 2023 Interview with Margaret Gallagher with reading of two poems on North by Northwest, CBC Radio
April 29, 2023 Closing Event, Verses Festival, 312 Main Street, Saturday, 3pm
April 28, 2023 Recorded Reading posted for Story Stream Podcast with Vancouver Public Library
April 19, 2023 Emily Carr University (ECUAD 2D Animation) Final Class Screening
April 13, 2023 Poetry & Place: In Conversation with Poets Laureate: Webinar, The Writers Union of Canada, Online
April 12, 2023 Visit, UBC Transition Program through Poetry in Voice
April 11, 2023 Emily Carr University ECUAD Foundation 160 Class screening of poetry videos
April 8, 2023 Youth Poetry Video Workshop Screening, Moberly Arts Centre
April 5, 2023 Emily Carr University (ECUAD 2D Animation) Rough Cut Screening
April 3, 2023 UBC FNIS 454 Poetry Video Screening, Performance Centre, The Nest, UBC, 11 am
April 1/23, Poetry about Place Poetry Writing Workshop, Museum of Vancouver, 2-4 pm. Registration here.
March 31/23, Judging of Vancouver Team Regional Competition for Poetry in Voice, Prince of Wales Secondary School, 12:30 pm
March 31/23, Review of SFU IAT 344 Screening of Student Poetry Videos, 10:30 am
March 31/23 Grief Dreams Podcast, Interview and discussion with Dr. Joshua Black about The Rainbow Rocket, Episode E218
March 30, Online Canadian launch of Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry, Thursday, 7 pm PT featuring 12 Canadian readers.
March 27/23 Review of UBC FNIS 464 Roughcut Student Poetry Videos
March 23/23 Reading of The Rainbow Rocket, Intergenerational Storytelling: Memory Loss (Kits Neighbourhood House), 2:30-4 pm
March 10/23 Review of SFU IAT 344 (Surrey) Roughcut Student Poetry Videos
March 7/23 Visit to Churchill Secondary School, Tuesday, (Library)
Feb 27/23 Visit to UBC FNIS 454 Presentation of Student Team Poetry Video Outlines, with Debra Sparrow
Feb 22/23 Sixth Annual Places that Matter Community Celebration, Vancouver Heritage Foundation, Heritage Hall, 6:30-8:30 pm (Short reading at 7:30 pm)
Feb 21, 2023 Visit to University Hill Elementary School, Tuesday
Feb 14/23, Moving Lines – an I Love Transit Week Poetry and Music Event (Poetry readings, music and poetry-writing), TransLink, Waterfront Station Seabus Terminal, 4:00-7:00 pm with Fiona, Hari Alluri, Angelic Goldsky, and Brandon Wint.
Feb 8/23 Online Poetry Workshop for Vancouver Division of Family Practice, Physician Wellness, Wednesday (Free)
Feb 2/23 Poetry in Parks Workshops, Oppenheimer Park Field House, (Free and open to the public)
Jan 31/23 Visit to Tecumseh Elementary School Grades 3/4 and 5 through Poet in School Program with Poetry in Voice,
Jan 21/23 Launch of the City Poems Video Poetry Contest (for selected local public post-secondary students), Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, featuring presentations by Heather Haley and Tom Konyves
Jan 16/23, Visit to UBC FNIS 454 Indigenous New Media & Digital Storytelling Course (Professor David Gaertner), 12:45 pm
Jan 13/23, Visit to SFU IAT 344 Moving Images Course (Surrey Campus, Professor Kate Hennessy), 10:30 am
Jan 8/23, Dead Poets Reading Series, (Etel Adnan (1925 to 2021) read by Raoul Fernandes; Steven Heighton (1961 to 2022) read by Fiona Tinwei Lam; Phyllis Webb (1927-2021) read by Jane Munro; Don Domanski (1950 -2020) read by Kevin Spenst), Sunday, 3-5 pm, Massy Arts, 23 East Pender Street (Free)
Jan 5/23, Poetry in Parks Workshops, Oppenheimer Park Field House, Thursday, 1-3 pm. (Free and open to the public)
2022
Wax Poetic Interview on Vancouver Co-op Radio with R.C. Weslowski and Altogether Lisa, Dec 28/22
Poets with a Video Camera: Video Poetry you 1980-2020, Exhibit at Surrey Art Gallery, Sept 17 – Dec 11/22
A visit with the Moberly Writers & Storytellers Group, “Stone Soup” Workshop for Seniors led by Johnny Trinh, Moberly Arts & Culture Centre, Dec 5/23 10-11 am (Free)
Poetry in Parks Workshop, Oppenheimer Park Field House, Thursday, Dec 1/22, 1-3 pm. (Free)
School Visit to Royal Canadian College secondary School November 9, 2022
International Reading of Poems by Poetry Filmmakers, People’s Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Sunday, Nov 6/22 at 7 pm. (Related to the Videopoetry Symposium and Surrey Art Gallery Exhibit)
“Two or Three Things One Should Know About Video Poetry”, Video Poetry Symposium, Surrey Art Gallery, Saturday, Nov 5/22 at 12-5 pm
Online Panel on writing about grief with Linda Kash & Cathy Sosnowky, Kaleidoscope Virtual Grief and Wellness Conference, Lumara Society, Friday, Nov 4/22, 3-4:30 pm
Spontaneous Poetry Booth, Heart of the City Festival, Carnegie Centre, Main & Hastings, Saturday Oct 29, 1-2:30 pm
Vancouver Writers Festival, Opening Poem at Poetry Bash (8 pm) and Reading at City of Vancouver Book Awards (1 pm), Friday, Oct 21
Orion Lecture in Fine Arts, “Place as Portal,” University of Victoria, Tuesday, Oct 18, 1:30-3 pm, Strong Building C108 (Free to public) plus visits to two creative writing classes (first year and third year)
Strathcona Poems at the Garden, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden, Oct 2/22, 1-2:30 pm. 7 youth, emerging and established City Poems Contest Finalists read and talk about their Strathcona-themed poems, hosted by Fiona.
Reflections and Dreams: Fiona hosts a reading with Chris Banks, Leanne Boschman and Evelyn Lau for Word Vancouver, Sept 25/22, 5:30-6:30 pm, Segal Centre Room B.
Launch of Quarandreams anthology, a collection of ekphrastic quarantine poems by 20 poets curated and based on photo-based art by Maggie MacPherson, Friday, Sept 23/22, 7 pm, Notional Space, 1523 East Pender.
Launch of New Shoots Anthology of Student Writing, Tyee Hall, False Creek Community Centre, Sept 21, 7-9pm.
Canine Library for Kids, VPL and Vancouver Parks Board, Saturday, Sept 17, 1-3 pm (Free) Fiona & the VPL prepared a dog poem display and dog poem worksheets to help kids and families compose poems to read and share!
Reading with Contributors in recent 2022 issues of Prism International Literary Journal, Thursday, Aug 25, 6-7:30 pm, Massy Arts, 23 East Pender.
Evening Gala Reading for Write On Bowen, Cove Commons, Aug 6, 7:30 to 10 PM.
“Ebb & Flow” opening concert of Bach Festival with Early Music Vancouver Society and Pacific Baroque Orchestra. Reading of water-themed poems alongside music by Maclean, Telemann, & Handel. Chan Centre, July 27/22 with preconcert talk about Vancouver’s lost streams with Celia Brauer and Bruce MacDonald, moderated by Bill Richardson at 6:45 PM.
Poetry in the Park reading, Royal City Literary Arts Society, Queen’s Park, New Westminster, outdoors at the band stand, Wednesday, July 20.
Ta’talu Festival, A Rocha Environmental Centre, 1620 192 Street, Surrey, Saturday, July 9, 2:30 PM (Readings from Worth More Standing tree anthology)
Cross-Genre Panel, FTL with Anosh Irani and Jennica Harper (host Bronwen Tate), Wednesday, July 6, 10-11:30 AM for UBC MFA School of Creative Writing Summer Residency Program.
Tecumseh Elementary June 23 1:15-2:30 PM, Tilia Prior’s grade 7 class (Hogan’s Alley poems submitted for City Poems Contest)
David Lloyd George Elementary, June 20, 1:30-2:30 PM, Cindy Chow’s grade 4/5 class (Concrete Poems and Poems to Ordinary Objects/Places)
University Hill Elementary, June 13, 2-3 PM Kate Sian Foreman-Ng grade 1/2 class and with 30 minutes with Andrea MacEwen’s 2/3 class
Opening Remarks for Launch of Voices of the Street Anthology, Megaphone, SFU Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre, 149 West Hastings, June 22. Workshop June 17th on public reading with readers.
City Poems Awards Ceremony, Alice MacKay Room, Vancouver Public Library, Saturday, June 11. Announcement of shortlisted poets on the City Poems Contest webpage and the City Poems Facebook Page.
Sunday Summer Reading Series, Galiano Inn, Galiano Island, June 5 (Fiona reads with Gary Geddes and Anne Eriksson.)
Panel for Asian Heritage Month, online discussion with Fiona Tinwei Lam, Ying Wang & Nancy Lee with Host Cherlyn Cortes for the BC Centre for Disease Control, May 25.
BC Poets Laureate In/Verse Online Poetry Series reading, BC Writers Summit, BC Federation of Writers online, May 16.
LiterAsian, Introductory remarks at Launch of 2022 Festival, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens, Saturday, May 7.
Launch of Harbour Centre 5’s chapbook, Brine, Historic Kogawa House, May 7th (with readings by Peter Norman, FTL, Robbie Chesick, Rebecca Holand, James Wang, Jaeyun Yoo, Christina Shaw, and Melanie Little).
Downtown Eastside Writers Festival: Welcome speech at Meet & Greet launch on May 5. Carnegie Centre Theatre. Blue Pencil Sessions. Book a 15 minute meeting with Fiona to discuss a draft poem, Friday, May 6, Learning Centre, Carnegie Centre.
Vancouver Writers Fest’s Writers in the Classroom visits, Eric Hamber Secondary and Magee Secondary on May 3 and 11.
Home, Heritage & Migration, A Poetry Workshop , Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens, May 1.
Verse Forward, online reading and discussion with Host Phinder Dulai, poetry editor of Canadian Literature, Thursday, April 28.
Verses Festival: Introductory Remarks for April 21 (Hullabaloo) and April 27 (Canadian Individual Slam Poetry Preliminaries) .
Judging National Competition for Finalists Online for Poetry in Voice, airing April 21. More about the competition here.
SFU Lunch Poems, April 20. Live in-person reading at SFU Harbourside with SFU TWS Graduates Adrienne Yeung and Britt McGillivray.
Judging Open Mic Contest for Poets Corner Reading Series, April 20, 2022,
Screening of “Plasticpoems” at the Poetry Video Showcase at the Unbound Poetry Festival, Delta Literary Arts Society, April 9.
Visit to Bronwen Tate’s Intro to Writing Poetry Course, UBC School of Creative Writing, April 5.
The Art of Revision Workshop, TWS Community Workshop, SFU Continuing Studies, April 3.
Poetry & Place Workshop, Free hybrid live and online workshop following Historic Kogawa House AGM, held at Historic Joy Kogawa House and online, March 28.
Writing the City: Crafting Poems about Place, VPL Free Online Workshop, March 19. Recording of presentation based on workshop here on VPL’s Poet Laureate Playlist.
Buried History: A Poetry Workshop at Mountain View Cemetery, Live workshop after a 20-30 minute walking tour on site, March 5 in partnership with Pandora’s Writing Collective.
Poems about Place: Writing Workshop with Heritage Vancouver for Heritage Week, Feb 21.
Point Grey Secondary School, workshop with grade 8-12 student group (Feb 16, March 9, April 6).
Gung Haggis Fat Choy, Sunday, Jan 30 (Annual celebration of Robbie Burns Day and Lunar New Year hosted by Todd Wong with various entertainers, bagpipe music and more, streaming live.) Recording available to view here.
Poetry to Welcome the Lunar New Year, Fiona hosts and reads with Catherine Lewis, James Wang, Isabella Wang, Lucy Yang, & Jaeyun Yoo, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Gardens, Sunday, Jan 30 (Free online). Recording available to view here.
Beyond the Concert Hall, Online interview with Leila Getz, Founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Recital Society, January 26, 2022
Workshop with the Downtown Eastside Writers Collective, Carnegie Centre (led by Gilles Cyrenne), Jan 20.
Writing the City: Launch of Vancouver Poet Laureate’s City Poems Contest, online panel with local poets Joanne Arnott, Junie Desil, Evelyn Lau, Alex Leslie & Kevin Spenst, moderated by Fiona Tinwei Lam, Sunday, Jan 16 . Recording on VPL YouTube channel available here.
Finding Poetry Everywhere, Interview on On the Coast (CBC Radio, Jan 17/22) with Gloria Macarenko
Interview on North by Northwest about the Writing the City, Launch of the City Poems Contest, (CBC Radio, Jan 16/22) with Sheryl MacKay (37.57-44:55 minute mark)
Spotlight: Fiona Tinwei Lam, Law ’90, Queen’s Alumni Review, Winter 2021 #4 (Interview)