Nearly three years ago, Pancouver published Mississauga poet Anna Yin’s Emily Carr and Her Monkey ‘Woo’. This week, Yin is in Victoria, where she was able to visit Emily Carr House, which is the famed artist’s birthplace as well as a national and provincial historic site.
Planet Earth Poetry is presenting Yin along with poets rob mclennan and Phoebe Wang at Russell Books on April 24 as part of National Poetry Month. In advance of the readings, Yin wrote a new poem, “Victoria, The Poetry Garden”, which you can read below.
Victoria, The Poetry Garden
By Anna Yin
Two decades ago
I parted with a seed of poetry.
Today
I return with a shy handful of blossom.
The April sky loosens its clouds.
Bright tulips sway; wild lilies nod.
Along the Inner Harbour
water gathers light,
fishermen’s homes drifting in painted reflection.
In Beacon Hill Park
peacocks open their quiet pride,
calling across green meadow;
ducklings and seagulls
stitch circles around the fountain.
Cherry trees—white and pink—
lean into the wind.
Half-shadowed yellow and red houses
stand in composed silence.
I stop by Emily Carr’s home,
pause before a tall totem pole.
Tonight, between sea and blossom,
at Planet Earth Poetry,
I will join a chorus—
voices carrying farther than wings.
Anna Yin was Mississauga’s inaugural Poet Laureate (2015–2017) and is the author of seven poetry collections, including Breaking Into Blossom (Frontenac Press, 2025). She has translated four poetry books, notably Mirrors and Windows (Guernica Editions, 2021). Her work has appeared in Queen’s Quarterly, ARC Poetry, The New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio, and more. She has read on Parliament Hill, at international festivals, and at universities in China, Canada, and the U.S. A recipient of multiple awards and grants, she created and teaches Poetry Alive and her website: annapoetry.com.
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