Poetry abounds in New Westminster this month.
The Poetic Justice reading series is continuing on Sunday afternoons in March, running from 3 to 5 p.m. each Sunday.
The sessions include readings by featured poets, as well as open mike sessions.
On March 2, Poetic Justice will run at Renaissance Bookstore, 43 Sixth St., with host Alan Hill and featured poets Una Bruhns, Janet Kvammen, Manolis and Gail van Kalsbeek.
On March 9, it's host Franci Louann and featured poets Larry Falls, Sonja Grgar and Eva Waldauf. On March 16, you can hear from Ronica Prosad, Ariadne Sawyer and Sho Wiley, in a session hosted by Lilija Valis. Both those sessions are also at Renaissance Bookstore.
The last two sessions of the month move back to the backroom at the Heritage Grill.
On March 23, Franci Louann hosts a session featuring Jane Byers, Bonnie Quan Symons and Lara Varesi, while, on March 30, Louann hosts Rob Budde, Daniela Elza, Deborah L. Kelly and John Sibley Williams.
Check out www.poeticjustice.ca for all the details and current information.
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Need a kick-start to get writing your own poetry?
The Royal City Literary Arts Society is introducing a new Wordplay group.
"Wrap your mind around the writing prompts we provide," says an invitation from the group. "Try your hand at generating some fabulous first drafts, and free your poetic heart!"
Wordplay is a free monthly poetry-generating drop-in series that will run on the first Wednesday of each month in the backroom of the Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St.
Participants should bring their own writing tools and paper. And note, it's not a critique group - it's designed to be fun and get the words flowing!
The first session is set for tonight (Wednesday, March 5) at 7 p.m.
For more details, email [email protected].
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Film buffs, don't forget to mark your calendars for the upcoming Last Mondays at the Movies screenings.
The Arts Council of New Westminster's film series is continuing at the Massey Theatre, with showings on the last Monday of the month.
Coming up on March 31, it's 20 Feet From Stardom, which shines the spotlight on the backup singers behind some of the last century's musical legends. (The March movie was previously announced as Philomena, but the schedule has since changed - keep an eye on the arts council website for the most current details.)
On April 28, you can enjoy The Invisible Woman, which tells the story of Charles Dickens' secret relationship with a budding actress who appeared in a play he adapted. It stars Felicity Jones as Nelly and Ralph Fiennes as Dickens.
The Massey Theatre is at 735 Eighth Ave. All screenings are at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $9 at the door.
See www.artscouncilnewwest.org for all the details about the film series.
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Submit submit submit!
That's the message coming from the Royal City Literary Arts Society, which is inviting people to take part in its annual Write On! writing contest.
Submissions are now open for work in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. The fiction and non-fiction works have a 1,500-word maximum, while poems must be no more than one single-spaced page.
There will be first-, second- and third-prize winners in each category, as well as honourable mentions, and winners and honourable mentions will be published.
Fees are $10 per entry for society members and $20 per entry for non-members.
Check out www.rclas.com for all the rules. The contest closes March 15, so don't delay too long!
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Got an item for Lively City? Send arts and entertainment ideas to Julie, [email protected], or find her on Twitter, @juliemaclellan.
