Vancouver poet laureate Evelyn Lau offers free consultations to emerging poets

Vancouver’s new poet laureate Evelyn Lau is taking a personal approach to the role. Lau, the city’s third poet laureate, will be hosting the first in a series of monthly one-on-one manuscript consultations at the Vancouver Central Library in March. The consultations are to take place on the first Monday of each month.

“I look forward to meeting with poets—aspiring or published—to discuss their submitted work and answer questions abuot the editing and publishing processes,” said Lau in a city news release. “I am happy to offer editorial and publication guidance and provide insights into the writing life.”

Emerging poets can apply for a consultation by submitting a paragraph of no more than 200 words explaining why you would like to meet Lau and what you hope to gain from a consultation; and a writing sample of up to three poems, sent to poetlaureate@vancouver.ca. The deadline for the March consultation is February 13.

In a recent interview with the Straight, Lau, a self-described introvert, suggested that she would enjoy hosting regular meetings with aspiring writers. She also said she hoped to get more poetry into public places, citing a Santa Cruz, California, initiative that had verse being displayed on the brown paper that fills windows of stores under renovation.

Lau’s approach so far seems much more intimate and personal than that of her predecessors: the city’s first poet laureate, George McWhirter, edited the anthology A Verse Map of Vancouver, and the second, Brad Cran, organized the Vancouver 125 Poetry Conference.