Come and enjoy poetry readings from 2 accomplished poets, as they stop in Barrie during their province-wide book promotion tour.
Poet: Jessica Bebenek
Jessica Bebenek is a queer interdisciplinary poet and educator from Tkaronto (Toronto) who now splits her time between Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) and an off-grid shack on unceded Anishinaabeg territory. She works as a risograph printer and bookmaker at Concordia University’s Centre for Expanded Poetics, where she organized the international Occult Poetics Symposium.
In 2021, Bebenek was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust of Canada RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Her writing has been nominated for the Journey Prize and Pushcart Prize, and she is the author of eight poetry chapbooks, including I Remember the Exorcism. No One Knows Us There is her first book of poetry. Read this longer bio with more accolades: https://www.jessicabebenek.art/bio
Jessica's debut poetry collection No One Knows Us There is coming out April 8 with Book*hug Press.
Poet: Christine Wu
Christine Wu is a Chinese-Canadian poet whose work has appeared in journals including The Fiddlehead, The Malahat Review, Contemporary Verse 2, The Temz Review, and LooseLeaf.
Christine holds a BFA from the University of Victoria, an MLIS from Dalhousie University, and is currently a graduate student at the University of New Brunswick where she serves as co-managing editor of Qwerty. Originally from the West Coast, Wu now lives in Kjipuktuk (Halifax). For more information on Christine, visit https://pencanada.ca/news/qa-with-2023-new-voices-award-winner-christine-wu/
Christine's poetry debut Familial Hungers was released in February 2025 published by Brick Books
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Our Downtown Branch is centrally located in the Downtown core at the corner of Worsley and Owen Streets. The building and facilities are fully accessible. Enjoy a beverage or a small snack from our Café located inside the lobby, use our complimentary wifi, experiment with technology and maker tools, or soak up the sun on our Rooftop Reading Garden.
