Yukon-based poet announces ‘Alaska Highway Poetry Crawl’ tour

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A poet with extensive experience throughout his travels in Canada will descend on the Peace region for several readings later this month.

Peter Jickling, a poet based in Whitehorse, Yukon, shared a press release announcing the Alaska Highway Poetry Crawl, with dates in Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson and Fort St. John.

Currently an English professor at Yukon University, Jickling has also been a playwright and a journalist, with his 2011 play Syphilis: A Love Story touring western Canada and winning the 2013 best comedy at Victoria’s Fringe Festival.

His first book of poetry, Downtown Flirt, was published back in 2019. Jickling told Energeticcity.ca the book came as a result of his travels to eastern Canada.

“I had always talked about one day going away somewhere, leaving Whitehorse behind,” said Jickling. “I unexpectedly came into a little bit of money [in 2016]. Now I finally had the means to go away and do this. So it was  sort of a put up or shut up situation.

“I actually had moved to Toronto for six months. I just started writing poetry. I [had] done it before, not in a sustained practice sort of way. But then in Toronto, I started doing it, started going out to readings and open mics and meeting the community and that ended [up being] my first poetry collection.”

According to Jickling, the tour is designed to “build connections and foster a collective writing community in northwestern Canada.”  

He says, with the semester at school finished, he started planning for the tour in May.

“Northwestern Canadian little towns are as far away [as you can] get from the Canadian literature centre,” said Jickling. “I feel like it’s important for us to make connections with each other [and] make opportunities.

“I’m hoping that [writers] along the Alaska Highway can start to build a slightly larger writing community and begin to operate as a little bit more of a cohesive unit. Maybe this poetry crawl is a small step in that direction.”

Each stop will feature a special guest: in Fort Nelson writer Kerissa Dickie will take the stage alongside Jickling. Dickie’s work includes the 2007 book Wild Flowers and Seh Woo, My Teeth, the latter of which made the 2022 CBC Nonfiction Prize shortlist.

Dawson Creek’s stop includes Donna Kane, who was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2020 for her book Orrery.

Fort St. John’s stop will be guested by Norma Rrae. Rrae’s work includes the titles Justyce Scales of the Otherly and Obscura and Hot Moroccan Nights.

Additionally, the Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek stops will feature an open mic where community members can showcase their own work.

The Alaska Highway Poetry Crawl begins on Thursday, July 17th at the Fort St. John Public Library on 10015 100th Avenue from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Fort Nelson stop will take place at the Phoenix Theatre the following evening, starting at 7 p.m. 

The final stop in Dawson Creek is scheduled for July 19th beginning at 7 p.m. at the Dawson Creek Art Gallery.

Booking in advance is not required for any of the events.