Saturday, June 6, 2026, 1-4 p.m EDT. “Summer Soiree” Feature for The Ontario Poetry Society reading, Stratford Perth Museum, 4275 Huron Road, Line 34. Stratford, ON N5A 6S6. I’ll be reading from COLOUR FIELDING and its companion volume, ORDINARY/MOVING, https://www.silverbowpublishing.com/penn-kemp.html. Contact: David Stones, dmstones@rogers.com
Tuesday, June 9, 7–8 pm. Launch, Sublime: Poems for Vanishing Ice. With Laurie Graham, Tanis MacDonald, and Geoff Martin. Waterloo Public Library, Eastside Branch, 2001 University Ave E, Waterloo ON. Contact: geoff@wheelhousewriting.org. I’ll also read from COLOUR FIELDING, https://www.silverbowpublishing.com/colour-fielding.html.
Saturday, June 13, 2026, 1:30 p.m. TREA’s anniversary celebration event, Grosvesnor Lodge, 1017 Western Rd, London, ON N6G 1G5, (519) 645-2845info@trea.ca. TREA (Thames Region Ecological Association). Contact: Penny Lee pennylee@live.ca, 519-777-3449. Sponsored by PlayConnect. Contact: Mindy, 416-703-0201, marketing@playwrightsguild.ca,
✨Spring Publications ✨
May, 2026. centred.ca/penn-kemp. Two “very very very” poems: “Studied Things”, https://www.centred.ca/studied-things-a-very-very-very-poem-ioana-dragomir/, and “Re-Keying”, https://www.centred.ca/penn-kemp-re-keying-a-very-very-very-poem/
April 21, 2026. “Five Poems from Colour Fielding”: “ “Drawing In Miniature”; “First Canadian Happening”; “Suppose”; “The Greats”; “The artist will be present”. Editor Theresa Smalec, https://publicreverie.com/local-lights-by-penn-kemp
“These are phenomenal poems, Penn, so uniquely poised between the memorial-autobiographical and the lyrical-philosophic. But chiefly, with beautiful energy and word-creativity everywhere. “We are recognised by our gestures…” They are all my favourites, but if I had to choose one…”First Canadian Opening”. A tiny comment on craft: I love how the one-line comment on Michael Snow & Joyce Wieland as imported-from-Toronto celebrities sticks out in (violates) the smooth flow of tercets and then, lo-and-behold, it turns out to be the tercet-complement of the final two-line stanza. All the pictures of your youth as an artist, your 60s self, the artists you name–vivid, priceless.”Al Moritz
April, 2026. “The Spring Widow” & Pinhole Poetry Interview, https://pinholepoetry.ca/19458-2/
April, 2026. Two new poems: “Dream Song” and “Q & A” for Al Moritz,
Caption: Penn Kemp with a new book of poems, Colour Fielding, in London. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)
It’s been a long road of writing for London’s former poet laurate, Penn Kemp, who at 81 has released the 33rd book of her career – one that revisits her memories of the city’s art scene decades ago. Colour Fielding, which had its digital launch in late April, features 107 new poems by London’s first poet laureate, focusing on the 1960s art scene in London. The book is in keeping with a local focus Kemp has held for the past few years, including her previous books Ordinary/Moving and Local Heroes. The idea for the book came from looking around her home, surrounded by local art – some of which came from her father, James Kemp, a painter and advertising executive at London Life. “I live in the house that I grew up in, and so I’m surrounded by art,” she said. “My father had various works by painters from the London scene, and I think it just trickled into my dream time, and it’s all around me.” Multiple poems in the book are directly inspired by the artists who made up the London art scene, including Greg Curnoe, whose work illustrates the front and back covers. Kemp says the late Curnoe acted as a major source of inspiration for the book. She describes him as a leader in the London art movement at that time, often taking a more local and anti-American approach to his art. “The reason I used Greg’s paintings was that anti-American sentiment,” she said. “I really started writing Colour Fielding to support Canada Strong against Trump. I’m very much an activist, so this was my way of profiling local art.” Others who inspired the book include Don Vincent, Bernice Vincent, James Reaney and Tony Urquhart.
Thanks to the Free Press for continuing to feature local artists and our community of creatives!
April, 2026. Review of River Revery by Michael Greenstein, 42026:
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