VPL’s new writer in residence Kyla Jamieson is a poet, anti-oppressive educator and disability advocate

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Public Library is pleased to announce its 2024 writer in residence is Vancouver poet Kyla Jamieson.

She is the author of the poetry collection Body Count, which includes poems written both before and after a disabling concussion she experienced at age 26. Body Count was one of CBC’s best poetry books of 2020 and her poem “If You Are Silent” was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2019. She was also a literary editor with SAD Mag and PRISM international.

Jamieson’s cultural work centres self-expression, interdependence, and embodiment. Drawing from her own experiences, she is passionate about supporting emerging writers and providing accessible opportunities for writers, especially those living with a disability or chronic illness.

"I am writing towards care-full futures where creativity is a tool we use to connect with ourselves and each other while envisioning possibilities beyond the status quo," says Jamieson. "Poetry can open portals to feelings we haven’t felt safe to feel, and give us language for experiences we haven’t known how to articulate. By creating space for the complexities of reality, poetic language invites us to embrace our truths and find pathways back home to ourselves."

This fall, Jamieson will be offering writing consultations and workshops for aspiring writers as well as working on an upcoming project, her sophomore collection of poems. This creative project will reimagine time, care, healing, and intimacy in the context of disability and medical trauma.

VPL’s Writer in Residence program was created in 2005 and is in its 20th year promoting Canadian writing and literature to Vancouver residents. The program is made possible with the generous support of the Friends of the Vancouver Public Library.

Upcoming writer in residence events include: Introducing Kyla Jamieson (Sept. 17), Poetry is for Everyone (Sept. 10, Oct. 1, 17, 22) and Poems Made by Walking (Sept. 24). All events are free. Find out more at vpl.ca/writer.

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About Vancouver Public Library

Vancouver Public Library (VPL) has been dedicated to meeting the lifelong learning, reading and information needs of Vancouver residents for more than 100 years. Our vision is an informed, engaged, and connected city. Our mission is a free place for everyone to discover, create and share ideas and information.