Candice James re-appointed as New Westminster’s Poet Laureate

New Westminster, BC– New Westminster City Council has appointed local poet Candice James to a second term (2013-2016) as the City’s Poet Laureate. James has served as Poet Laureate since 2010.

“It is truly an honour to be the Poet Laureate for New Westminster,” said James. “It is the highlight of my life and I am thankful to the Arts Commission and City Council for the confidence they have shown in me by my re-appointment. I will continue in my quest to make our Royal City, and our Royal City poets, shine.”

The City of New Westminster has had a Poet Laureate since the appointment of Edna Anderson in 1998. Don Benson followed Anderson and served as Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2006.

During her current term as Poet Laureate, James has brought greater visibility to the poetic literary scene in New Westminster. She created “Poetic Justice”, a weekly poetry reading series, “Slam Central”, a monthly spoken word performance poetry event, and “Poetry in the Park”, a weekly summer event that runs each year in July and August.

In an aim to put the spotlight on local talent, James gathered works from local poets and facilitated the publishing of a poetry book, “Royal City Poets Anthology” (Silver Bow Publishing, 2011) which is available to borrow from the New Westminster Public Library and available for purchase online. She is currently working on “Royal City Poets Anthology 2” which is to be launched in October 2012. James also uses her monthly column in the Piffle, a local publication, to feature New Westminster poets as they pen their ruminations on their community, its people and events.

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Contact:              
Candice James, Poet Laureate
Phone: 778-322-1131
Email: