Kamal Parmar
Nanaimo’s former Poet Laureate and writer, Kamal Parmar, has been passionately involved in writing for the last 20 years. She has a number of books in poetry and non-fiction. She also has numerous poetry publications in reputed Canadian literary journals and magazines and has a few books published in UK, Canada and India. She has won many Honorable Mentions and prizes for her poems and has also given many poetry readings and presentations in various libraries in Ontario, Saskatchewan and in British Columbia. Her books are available in most libraries in Canada and she is also a book reviewer. She was also an active member of various Writers’ organisations and Guilds.
Currently, she is a Full member of the League of Canadian Poets, a member of Haiku Canada and of The Writers Union of Canada. She is also a Board member of the Canadian Authors Association—BC Branch.
As a former Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, she organised readings and panel discussions with the community of Nanaimo and other cities of Vancouver Island, in order to create awareness about poetry and help our community discover their poetic talent.
Her forte is writing poetry about Nature, whose beauty is all around us. She is of the view that whether one is a beginner, playing with words or an established writer, poetry is a very powerful tool in healing…be it mental, social, emotional or physical. She is currently busy compiling a book of personal essays.
Geoff Inverarity
Geoff was one of the original founders of the Gulf Islands Film and Television School, where he mentored over 100 student films over the course of 20 years. In addition, Geoff has has been a University Lecturer in English Literature, a reader for Telefilm Canada, and has been a volunteer at Loving Spoonful in Vancouver since 2002.
He is the founder and producer of the Gulf Islands Poetry Festival and was the Galiano Representative for the Gulf Islands Arts Council (1991-1992). He was the President of the Galiano Preschool Society and also served on the Community and Economic Development Committee during the 2009-2010 review of the Galiano Official Community Plan.
He is currently a Board Member of both the Galiano Island Galisle Affordable Rental Housing Society, and is President of the Galiano Books Literary Festival. Geoff has an LL B and an MA (Hons) from Aberdeen University, a PhD in English Literature from Queen’s University, Kingston, and an MFA from the University of BC. He has won awards for his screenwriting, poetry, and non-fiction prose. His poetry collection, All the Broken Things, was published by Anvil Press in 2021.
