Check out our upcoming schedule to see who will be dropping by. The Creatives listed are scheduled to appear. but of course, the list and dates are subject to change.
February 22nd – David Martin
David Martin is a Calgary, Alberta Canada-based Educator, Author, and Poet. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Calgary and his Master of Arts Degree in English from the University of Alberta. He was awarded the 2014 CBC Poetry Prize for his poetry collection “Tar Swan”, was awarded the Silver Award for Poetry from the Alberta Magazine Awards in 2023, was shortlisted for the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize, shortlisted for the Banff Mountain Book Competition in 2024, and shortlisted for FreeFall Magazine’s poetry contest in 2024.
His latest poetry collection, “nightstead” was released February 15th.
This will be his first appearance on the program.
March 8th – Maria Giesbrecht
Maria Giesbrecht is a Canadian poet whose work explores her Mexican and Mennonite roots. Her writing has appeared in The Literary Review of Canada, Narrative, Grain, ONLY POEMS, San Pedro River Review, and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2025 Jack McCarthy Book Prize, the Lesley Strutt Poetry Prize, a finalist for the 2025 Narrative Poetry Prize, a Best of Net nominee, and the founder of Gather, an international writing community that connects poets worldwide
This will be Maria’s first appearance on The Program.
March 15th – Kathryn MacDonald
Kathryn MacDonald’s poetry has been published in Room, FreeFall, and other Canadian literary journals and anthologies, as well as internationally in the U.K., U.S., and other countries. Her new poetry collection, The Blue Gate is forthcoming Spring/2026 with Frontenac House. Wayside, a chapbook, is forthcoming Winter 2026 with Big Pond Rumours Press.
Liminal Spaces is a chapbook anthology of ekphrastic poetry by Kathryn and three fellow-poets (2025). She is the author of Far Side of the Shadow Moon: Enchantments (poetry chapbook, 2024), A Breeze You Whisper: Poems (2011) and Calla & Édourd (novel, 2009).
This will be Kathryn’s first appearance on the podcast.
March 22nd – Ebony Stewart
Ebony Stewart, most affectionately known as Eb or Gully, is an author and international touring interdisciplinary artivist. As a Black womxn writer and performance artist, Ebony Stewart harnesses the power of creativity to explore and challenge societal norms, personal identity, and the intersectionality of her experiences. With a spellbinding blend of storytelling, verbal fitness, and raw emotion, she captivates audiences, inviting them into a world where vulnerability becomes strength and authenticity reigns supreme.
She is the author of BloodFresh, Home.Girl.Hood., and Love Letters to Balled Fists. Her work has been featured in Button Poetry, AfroPunk, For Harriet, Teen Vogue, The Texas Observer, Houston Public Media, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic, 2021 Colorism Healing Writing Contest, Write About Now Poetry, plus countless others. Her voice-over work in commercials and films such as, Red Wing, Gulf Coast Love Story, and Black Girls: A Never Whisper Justice documentary has earned her recognition as a skilled and versatile artist.
This will be Ebony’s second appearance.
March 29th – Stephanie Bolster
Born in Vancouver, Stephanie Bolster teaches in and coordinates the creative writing program at Concordia University in Montreal. Her first book, White Stone: The Alice Poems, won the Governor General’s Award and the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her fourth and most recent book of poetry, A Page from the Wonders of Life on Earth, was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, while an excerpt from her current manuscript was a finalist for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2012. Her interests include perception and representation, with a particular focus on the visual arts, domestic spaces, “ruin porn,” theme parks, and the “middle landscape” of zoos and gardens.
This will be Stephanie’s first appearance.
April 26th – Irina Moga
Irina Moga is the author of six poetry collections and a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada.
Her book, Variations sans palais (Éditions L’Harmattan, Paris) won the 2022 Dina Sahyouni International Literary Prize (France).
Irina’s poems, short stories and reviews have appeared widely in Canada, the United States, and France in publications such as Canadian Literature, carte blanche, Contemporary Verse 2, Hotch Potch Literature and Arts, New York Quarterly, California Quarterly, Split Rock Review, Lettres Capitales and Le Pan poétique des muses.
Her work has been nominated for the SFPA Rhysling Award and Best of the Net.
This will be Irina’s first appearance
May 3rd – Leah V
Leah V is a Bronx-born Puerto Rican poet, recognized for intricate wordplay, disciplined memorization, and a body of work that moves confidently across theme and form. Based in New York City, she is a performer, curator, officiant, and creative producer whose practice is grounded in craft, collaboration, and intentional presence.
Her one-woman poetry-play, The Long Way Home, premiered at the Triad to sold-out audiences. She also recently appeared with Poetry Me, Please in a sold-out performance at the Apollo Theater, sharing the stage with poets on one of the city’s most historic platforms.
Leah’s artistic practice is inherently collaborative. She frequently works across disciplines, performing alongside musicians and dancers and, at times, accompanying herself instrumentally. In addition to her performance work, she serves as a poetry coach, workshop facilitator, curator, and wedding officiant.
This will be Leah’s first appearance.
May 10h – Brenda Cárdenas
Current Wisconsin Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas is the author of Trace (Red Hen Press, 2023), winner of the 2023 Society of Midland Authors Poetry Award and silver winner of the 2023 Foreword Review Indie Poetry Award; Boomerang (Bilingual Press, 2009); and the chapbooks Bread of the Earth/The Last Colors with Roberto Harrison, Achiote Seeds/Semillas de Achiote with Cristina García, Emmy Pérez, and Gabriela Erandi Rico; and From the Tongues of Brick and Stone.
Cárdenas served as faculty for the 2021 CantoMundo writers’ retreat and as the 2010-2012 Milwaukee Poet Laureate. In 2014, she co-designed and co-taught the inaugural master workshop for Pintura:Palabra: A Project in Ekphrasis sponsored by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Letras Latinas. She is Professor Emerita of English at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she won a University of Wisconsin System Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award, the Roberto Hernández Center’s Latine Heritage Month Award, and the English Department’s Faculty Graduate Teaching Award. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Woodland Pattern in Milwaukee where she lives with her husband, the poet Roberto Harrison, and their dog Maya.
This will be Brenda’s first appearance.