The poetry scene in Vancouver is huge, and the amount of local talent staggering. On May 16 at the People’s Co-op Bookstore, poetry fans had the opportunity to experience some of the coast’s best poets with The Poetries: 5 West Coast Poets. The intimate night of readings featured work by Vancouver poets Jordan Abel, Jordan Scott and Chelene Knight, as well as Seattle poets Elizabeth J. Cohen and Deborah Woodard.

Jordan Abel kicked off the evening with a performance piece from his book Un/inhabited, a collection based off of passages from 91 Western Cowboy and Indian themed works. Abel selected words relating to the politics of land and ownership from these books to inspire his poems, paying particular attention to the terms “frontier” and “colony.” Rhythmic recordings of Abel’s voice intermixed throughout the performance, in sync at times, overlapping at others. The performance was humbling, with multiple voices resonating throughout Abel’s politically charged work. I’ve seen Jordan Abel perform before, but the way in which he hypnotizes his audience is always astounding.

Jordan Scott is another poet who reads his poetry with humbling beauty. Scott’s poetry plays with words and setting. He read from his most recent publication, Decomp, an “extended photo–essay and prose poem” written in collaboration with Stephen Collis. In contrast to Abel, Scott stood alone in front of the audience with his poetry on sheets of paper. But his poetry still read as performance; words bounced off the walls, forming vivid imagery in the mind to a rhythm like no other.

Chelene Knight, a graduate of SFU’s Writer’s Studio, was the third poet of the evening. Knight opened with a poem dedicated to a deceased friend and then moved on to read from her first book, Braided Skin. With a liquid voice, Knight read a selection of work focused on issues of race. She was expressive as she moved through her poetry with ease, reading also from her upcoming collection, Dear Current Occupant, which promises to be as exceptional as Braided Skin.

Next up was Elizabeth J. Cohen, the first Seattle poet to read. Using lyrical essay in poetic form, Cohen incorporated elements of biography and prose. Cohen is a magnetic performer; her poetry created an intimacy with the audience that was simply captivating.

Deborah Woodard, a Seattle-based translator and a poet, read last. Woodward uses erasure, a form of poetry that involves erasing words from existing texts, to create new works from borrowed words. Reading first from her own work, with poems such as “Maiden Flight” and “Gorilla Girl,” Woodard then moved on to a translated collection by Amelia Rosselli. Though originally written in Italian, the poems did not lose their eloquence when recited in English. Her vibrant performance was a strong finish to an incredible evening.