Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie
2-15 AV LAURIER E
MONTRÉAL, QC H2T 1E4
T: 514.668.0768 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
David J. Smith, Executive Director (il/he/him)
David at the Winnipeg Art Gallery with 2019 National Finalists (l to r) Berry Genge, Clara Sismondo, Aksa Caleb, Nawal Semir, and Alexander Morin
david@poetryinvoice.com
T: 514.668.0768
David has been with Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie since 2011, first as Technical Director and then as Executive Director starting in 2014. With his background in theatre, filmmaking, photography, and engineering, David has developed our website, created our videos, and orchestrated our live and online contests.
His love of poetry and performance was sparked when he photographed the first team slam at the People’s Poetry Gathering in 1999. His ongoing interest in slam led to a wild year of filming high school students in Rochester, NY, as they formed a slam team for Brave New Voices in 2007. He is thrilled that it’s now his job to encourage students to read, recite, and write poetry.
Sarah Tsiang, Director of English Communications (elle/she/her)
sarah@poetryinvoice.com
T: 613.453.1484
Before joining Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie in 2020, Sarah taught poetry and creative writing at UBC and Sheridan College. She is the author of 2 books of poetry and the editor of a poetry anthology. She also works as the Poetry Editor of Arc Poetry Magazine and loves nothing more than discovering and working with the rising stars of Can lit.
She’s thrilled to have the opportunity to be around both talented students from across the country as well as the supremely gifted poets who provide content for our website and anthologies.
Catherine Cormier-Larose, French Poet and Events Coordinator (elle/she/her)
Catherine at the Winnipeg Cabaret
catherine@lesvoixdelapoesie.com
T: 514.528.0162
Catherine was already a poet, critic, and artistic & general director of Productions Arreuh when she joined Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie in 2016. She coordinates our French-language Team Regional events, creates city-specific poetry hunts for our National Finalists, and oversees the creation of VOICES/VOIX, our student poetry journal. She also visits dozens of schools each year with our Poet In Class/Poètes à l’école program. .
If you’re trying to find her, look in a local bookstore or at the back of the room during a literary event.
Tessa Griffin, Program Coordinator (she/her/elle)
Tessa stage managing the 2017 Finals in Vancouver
tessa@poetryinvoice.com
T: 416.518.0064
Tessa Griffin creates connections: She unites poets and teachers for our Poet In Class program; she assembles students, teachers, and poets for our Team Regional events in Ontario; and she collaborates with literary-event and festival organizers to create opportunities for students to recite. She also plans and stage manages our National Finals events.
Before coming to Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie in 2016, Tessa worked as a public school and Montessori educator and ran an organization that provided Toronto children with books and opportunities to meet authors. When she is not in front of her computer directing poetry traffic, she enjoys making art, triathlon sports, cross-country skiing, reading, and listening to music.
June Park, Development Manager (elle/she/her)
June is a writer, grant advisor, consultant, and cultural connector with over 20 years of experience working in the arts. She believes deeply in the impact of the arts on us as individuals and communities, and is committed to diversity and empowerment.
An avid devotee of poetry and its ability to engage, inspire and connect, June studied literature at U Toronto (MA) and U Calgary (BA). She is working on a manuscript, and recalibrates herself yearly by doing a solo wilderness adventure equipped with a pen, blank pages, and some poetry.
Lindsay Cornish, English Program Coordinator (elle/she/her)
Lindsay in the lobby of the theatre at our 2015 Nationals in Montréal
Lindsay is on leave until June 2021.
lindsay@poetryinvoice.com
T: 514.616.4269
Before joining Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie, Lindsay was an educator, a project manager, a writer, and an editor. She grew up in a home where poetry was recited often and enthusiastically, so the moment she heard founding Director and poet Damian Rogers exclaim “Callooh! Callay!” in a Toronto library in 2011, she knew she had to join our team.
She began working as Damian’s assistant and she now collaborates with Rachel to write our English communications, she supports the brilliant poets who curate and create content in English for our website, and she negotiates permissions to build our English anthology. She also reads and recites poetry with her daughter.
Rachel Arsenault, French Program Coordinator (elle/she/her)
Rachel at her desk
T: 438.820.2375
Rachel has worked for Poetry In Voice/Les voix de la poésie since 2017. She coordinates the Poètes à l’école program and works closely with Lindsay to write and edit our French communications.
An enthusiast of literature and languages, she takes great delight in proofreading our anthology poems and she sings in a choir. Rachel is cofounder of Éditions Dent-de-lion, a feminist youth literature publisher.
Website comments, and questions: webmaster@poetryinvoice.com
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Photo credits:
David Smith by Daniel Crump
Sarah Tsiang by David Drummond
Catherine Cormier-Larose by Daniel Crump
Lindsay Cornish by Susan Moss
Tessa Griffin by Joshua Dorsey