Yvonne Blomer
Poet
Writer
Editor
Teacher
News
About
Writing, critic, teacher and poet, Yvonne Blomer is the author of the critically acclaimed travel memoir Sugar Ride: Cycling from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, and three books of poetry, most recently As if a Raven. She works as an editor, teacher and mentor in poetry and memoir. She served as the city of Victoria poet laureate from 2015–2018. In 2018 Yvonne was the Artist-in-Residence at the Robert Bateman Centre and created Ravine, Mouse, a Bird’s Beak a chapbook of ekphrastic ecological poetry in response to Bateman’s art. In 2017 Yvonne edited the anthology Refugium: Poems for the Pacific (Caitlin Press) with poets responding to their connection to the Pacific from the west coast of North America, and as far away as Japan and New Zealand. Sweet Water: Poems for the Watersheds is the second in a trilogy of water-based poetry anthologies published by Caitlin Press and edited by Yvonne. She is currently working on a collaborative collection of multi-genre writing with poet and author Jenna Butler titled “Desire Paths: Field Notes on Women, Land and Body.”
Yvonne lives, works and raises her family on the traditional territories of the WSÁNEĆ (Saanich), Lkwungen (Songhees), Wyomilth (Esquimalt) peoples of the Coast Salish Nation. She gives thanks for the beauty of the west coast and the privilege of living and writing from there.
Events
First annual poetry chapbook contest
Raven Chapbooks announces the first annual Poetry Chapbook Contest for Emerging* Writers living in the Capital Regional District (CRD), which includes Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands.
Winning manuscript to be published in spring 2021.
*Emerging Writers must be unpublished poets, or poets with a maximum of one published chapbook and/or one full length book of poetry to qualify for the contest.
Deadline for submissions is November 30, 2020
Manuscripts will be blind judged. Judges for the contest are two award-winning BC poets, Yvonne Blomer and Robert Hilles.
November 5, 6pm
West Coast launch
Join Yvonne, reading with Jenna Butler and other contributors from the anthology Watch Your Head for a Zoom launch. Hosted by Stephen Collis. Search FB for “Watch Your Head” launch
August 19, 7:30pm
Poets Corner
Visit poetscorner.ca for the Zoom link.
Join Yvonne for a collaborative reading with her special guests, and featured reader Sarah de Leeuw.
Sept 24, 7pm
WORD Vancouver
Details on how to attend online will be mid-August at wordvancouver.ca
Join WORD to listen to poets read from the Sweet Water anthology.
Sept 30 – Oct 4
Victoria Festival of Authors
Yvonne Blomer and Beth Kope lead listeners through Thetis Lake Park for the Third Annual Poetry-Tree Walk at the VFA with Arleen Pare, Joanna Lilley, Jenna Butler and Annick MacAskill. More details at victoriafestivalofauthors.ca