Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie
2-15 AV LAURIER E
MONTRÉAL, QC H2T 1E4
CANADA
For general inquiries please email us at info@poetryinvoice.ca. Or find our team's email addresses below.
Vanessa Berger, French Program Coordinator (elle/she/her)
Vanessa Berger studied creative writing at Université Laval. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary and preschool education, which took her from the classroom to the world of educational publishing (with a detour through rock-climbing gyms). She has benefited from both the UNEQ mentorship program and a Première Ovation mentorship grant. In 2025, she was among the 24 authors nominated for the Radio-Canada Poetry Prize. Her suite of poems 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 won the UQTR Piché Poetry Prize. Always curious, Vanessa is thrilled to join the PIV team to help spark a love of poetry among students and teachers from all walks of life. She particularly enjoys snail mail, long hikes, and beautiful rocks.
Dutch Dion-Glowa, Indigenous Kinship in Verse Coordinator (iel/they/them)
Dutch Dion-Glowa is a queer Métis poet based in Secwepemcúl’ecw and born in the Red River region. A passionate workshop facilitator, Dutch is a certified Reflective and Therapeutic writing practitioner that enjoys using poetry to help heal. With a history of working with marginalized youth, they are passionate about the power of poetry and the connection it can create between people. Dutch is committed to highlighting the incredible talents of Indigenous poets at Poetry in Voice, and creating opportunities for Indigenous youth to see themselves reflected in the literary world. They are also a lover of music, animals and making weird art.
Amanda Merpaw, English Program Director (elle/she/her)
Amanda Merpaw is a writer, editor, and educator. She holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in English literature, as well as a master’s degree in teaching. She has over a decade of experience teaching and holding leadership positions in both educational and nonprofit environments, with expertise in arts & heritage education, equity-based pedagogies, and digital educational content. A passionate editor, she has also held editorial roles at diverse literary magazines and presses. As a poet, Amanda’s work has appeared in a variety of digital and print publications. She is delighted to work for an organization that champions a more poetic cultural landscape by bringing poetry to students and teachers across the country and beyond.
David J. Smith, Co-Executive Director (il/he/him)
David at Le theatre Diamant with 2026 National Finalists and FutureVersers (l to r) Nadine Telesford, Kaniq Allerton, Evans N'goran, and Cianna Rukundo. Photo credit: Cianna Rukundo
David has been with Poetry in Voice/Les voix de la poésie since 2011, first as Technical Director and then as Executive Director starting in 2014. With his background in theatre, filmmaking, photography, and engineering, David has developed our website, created our videos, and orchestrated our live and online contests.
His love of poetry and performance was sparked when he photographed the first team slam at the People’s Poetry Gathering in 1999. In 2007 he spent a year in classrooms and the community filming high school students in Rochester, NY, as they formed a slam team for Brave New Voices. He is thrilled that it’s now his job to encourage students to read, recite, and write poetry. Since Gretzky retired he has been an obsessive follower of Liverpool Football Club.
Caprice Strgar, English Program Coordinator (elle/she/her)
Caprice Strgar is a student and writer, currently based in Halifax, pursuing a BA at the University of King’s College and Dalhousie. Her work has been published in both Canadian and international literary magazines. She has experience as an editorial intern and is currently Mad Persona Magazine’s publicist. Caprice’s journey with Poetry in Voice began when she was a student in the 2024 FutureVerse cohort. Following her incredibly transformative experience in the program, she led many presentations and workshops about PIV and poetry. Caprice has also managed various initiatives connecting students with the arts. She is thrilled to work for the organization that has shaped her vision of how we engage with and embrace poetry in numerous contexts.
Ariane Tapp, Co-Executive Director (elle/she/her)
Ariane Tapp holds a bachelor's degree in literary studies, with a major in creative writing, and a master's degree in literature and stage and screen arts, with a master's thesis in screenwriting. A lover of the French language, Ariane is also a poet and a proofreader, and she has taught French as a second and foreign language in Quebec and Europe. In 2022, she led the Cercle des autrices et auteurs de la relève, in collaboration with the Institut Canadien de Québec. Ariane is happy to contribute to bringing poetry to light and make it shine with Poetry in Voice, an organisation she has admired from the very beginning. She is also passionate about cinema, music, natural landscapes and cats.
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