Kevin Spenst is the author of four full-length books of poetry along with sixteen chapbooks including Surrey Sonnets (JackPine Press), Recto Verso Chez the Devil’s Printers (co-written with Joshua Pitre for Collusion Books) and Hymned Data (Pinhole Poetry.) He is one of the organizers of the Dead Poets Reading Series, has a chapbook review column for subTerrain magazine, and teaches poetry at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) territory where he cohabitates with the one and only Cheryl Rossi.
How did your time in the Creative Writing Program influence your work?
UBC revived my love of poetry in the biggest way imaginable.
What’s your latest published/performed work?
A Bouquet Brought Back from Space (Anvil Press, 2024)
Are you connected to any creative writing communities you’d like to mention (UBC alums, film and theatre communities, etc)?
The Dead Poets Reading Series, Poets Corner Reading Series and Wax Poetic on Co-op radio.
Is there anything else about your writing career you’d like to share?
Through the ups and downs of juggling all the bits and pieces of working as an author, I’m glad to have studied at UBC with Rhea Tregebov as my thesis advisor, an undertaking which resulted in my second published book, Ignite (2016, Anvil Press.) I learned an invaluable amount from Rhea about poetry and life. She was a stellar mentor!