Elee Kraljii Gardiner’s Legacy Project, “Here, Hearing,” links sound with presence, inspired by the origins of poetry (recitation and song) and Vancouver’s exceptional history of music, recording, and soundscape — hearing our “here” and listening well to reflect who, and how, Vancouver is as a city.
Under the umbrella of “Here, Hearing”, Elee’s activities focus on creating community through exchange and collaboration via readings, workshops, and hybrid events. She has invited three exceptional local poets to join her as Poetry Ambassadors in amplifying these projects and created a series of short-term residencies hosted by a range of Vancouver organizations for “Citizen Poets”. These Citizen Poets bring poetry into the public sphere via their presence and contribute to a curated playlist, a collection of audio recordings of poetry that may include aspects of interview or documentary sound reflecting the broad range of experience and identity that is Vancouver. “Here, Hearing” welcomes participation and engagement with the non-hearing.
Poetry Ambassadors
Working in conjunction with Elee are three Poetry Ambassadors. These published poets have a wide variety of experience and community engagement and help with outreach, ideas, and events.
Marc Perez is the author of Dayo, published by Brick Books in 2024. Perez observes and draws inspiration from the world around him. He believes that writing is a powerful political act, and he uses poetry to participate in the discourses that affect him, his communities, and the society in general. Through his poems, he offers the reader his inner self, imaginations, and worldview. He aims to create images that move hearts. In his free time, he likes to wander with his camera and capture fleeting moments in the city.
Johnny D Trinh loves making noise, making food, and feasting with people. Trinh has a long practice in spoken word poetry, theatre making, and community-engaged culinary art. Johnny’s work is focused on celebrating and unpacking the way we tell our stories and how we find identity and community through storytelling. Johnny is the artistic director for Vancouver Poetry House, interim executive director for Historic Joy Kogawa House, and founder of Stage to Page Performance Society. Trinh is also a resident artist with the City of Vancouver creating programs that bring multicultural and multigenerational communities together to share stories and celebrate cultural foods. “It takes a community to build an artist, whether we are nurtured by it… or resist against it.” johnnydavidtrinh.com
Kevin Spenst has spent the last thirty years waking up and writing. At first it was flash fiction early in the morning before his day job, then journal writing, and over the last fifteen years it’s mostly been poetry, but it almost always starts with writing about whatever is on his heart or dream-disheveled mind. Writing is a practice for reflection and creativity about his relationship to himself, others (strangers, neighbours, students, community members, friends, and dearest of loved ones) and the planet.
Here, Hearing Curator
Elana Brief
Elana Brief (she/her), a 2025 Citizen Poet whose residency was at Upstart & Crow, has dedicated herself to living life as a poet. She reads and writes poetry daily, participates in workshops and writing groups, attends local readings, and hosts a weekly Poetry Club for teenagers at a Vancouver high school. Elana leads song gatherings and plays fiddle in several local bands. Elana holds a PhD in physics and worked for many years in academia, conducting research in medical physics, biophysics, women’s health research and neuroethics. Elana is serving as the 2026 Here, Hearing Curator, working closely with Elee to coordinate both the administrative and creative work of the project.
You must be logged in to post a comment.