borders, boundaries, margins: an evening of poetry readings

Thursday, April 16, 2026, 7:00 pm ET

Poetry Matters warmly invites you to borders, boundaries, margins, an evening of poetry readings with Shanice Nicole, Carlos A. Pittella, and Elizabeth Wood.

Free and open to the public

Please register here

The following day, we will extend our exploration of poetry in a roundtable discussion featuring members of the Poetry Matters research project, in collaboration with McGill Psychology. This will take place in Arts W-120, from 12-3 pm (Friday, April 17th). All are welcome. 

Shanice Nicole is a Black feminist educator, facilitator, writer, (out)spoken word artist, and mother based in Montreal. Her debut children’s book, Dear Black Girls, published in 2021 by Metonymy Press, is described by Shannon Ozirny of Quill and Quire as a “powerful, honest affirmation of belonging that is striking in its poeticism.” She is also the curator of free community resources such as Jobs & Things and All Black Everything Montreal. Shanice Nicole was nominated as Gala Dynastie’s Author of the Year in 2022 and named as one of CBC’s Black Changemakers in 2024. 

Carlos A. Pittella is a Latinx poet and editor currently residing in Lethbridge/Sikóóhkotoki. He is the recipient of a 2022 Frontier Global Poetry Prize. While completing his MA in English and Creative Writing at Concordia University, he was also awarded a 2023 Forces AVENIR award as part of the Headlight Anthology editorial team. His poetry is haunted by borders and bureaucracies and often inhabits the movement of being in-between places, languages, and times. “There is such a lovely propulsion to Pittella’s lyrics,” writes poet and publisher Rob McClennan. Pittella’s writing has appeared in places such as Shō, Jacket2, Glyphöria, & The Capilano Review. His first chapbook in English footnotes after Lorca was published in 2024 by above/ground press, and in 2025 he published Propersitions with Cactus Press. His latest work, the manifesto Dante’s Bureau, will be published by Anstruther Press in 2026.

Originally from rural Ontario, Elizabeth Wood is a Montreal-based educator, visual artist, art writer, and poet. She “distill[s]” poetry from “rending moments,” Dawn MacDonald observes. Wood’s first chapbook Outlaw, Rainy Day appeared in 2022 (Turret House Press). Wood is a contributor to their collective chapbook XTRACTS Studio #7 (2022). Her chapbook, The quiet only knows half of itself, was published through Anstruther Press in 2025. Wood’s poems and writing on art have appeared in numerous arts publications, exhibition catalogues, and poetry journals.