Students who send their poems into the journal will also be eligible to apply to FutureVerse, an all-expenses paid 4 day poetry intensive in Vancouver from May 12-16! This program will give students the opportunity to work with well known authors, publishers, and activists as students work on developing their unique voices. For a year after FutureVerse, participants will also meet online to continue sharing, developing, and growing as writers. So how do you apply?
- Send in a poem to our journal Voices/Voix anytime between Sep 1, 2024 and February 15 2025
- Check off the box “I would like to be considered for FutureVerse”
Eligible students are:
- In grades 10-12
- Are 18 or under on September 30, 2024
- Canadian residents and/or citizens
16 students in all will be selected from across Canada to partake in FutureVerse. Along with the 9 reciters selected to compete in National Finals, they will participate in an immersive poetic experience. Submit your poem for a chance to join us on this life changing adventure!
FAQs about FutureVerse
How are students chosen?
Students who send in their poems to the Voices/Voix Monthly Prize and/or the VOICES/VOIX journal are automatically considered for FutureVerse. The VOICES/VOIX Journal editor shortlists top poems and sends them to the Poetry In Voice team. Those selected poets are then sent an application form to fill out and return to Poetry In Voice.
How can I increase my chances?
Poems are judged monthly so instead of submitting all your poems in February it’s best to send in multiple poems each month.
When do you find out if you’ve been selected?
We will announce the shortlist of FutureVerse participants in March.
When and where will FutureVerse take place?
This year’s FutureVerse intensive will take place from May 12-16 in Vancouver. For a year following the FutureVerse intensive, participants will meet online to continue sharing, developing, and growing as writers.
What kind of stuff will students do at FutureVerse?
Students will get to take part in writing workshops on subjects like eco poetics and activism, Indigenous literature and decolonizing poetry, publishing and professionalization. Here’s a glimpse of the 2025 highlights:
- Poetry Hunt: In this activity, students will form bilingual teams to explore downtown Vancouver, completing poetic challenges while discovering the city’s vibrant cultural scene in a fun and interactive way.
- Eco-poetic walk with Rita Wong: Poet and activist Rita Wong will take the high schoolers around Stanley Park to talk about the link between poetry and ecology.
- Ekphrastic workshop and Indigenous Studies Experience at MONOVA: Students will learn about Vancouver’s Indigenous Nations and wool weaving, and get inspired by artwork at the Museum & Archives of North Vancouver.
- Braided languages with Dominique Bernier-Cormier: The students will learn how to use the two official languages to braid bilingual poetry together.
- FutureVerse Public Reading: After an intensive series of workshops and writing sessions, students will share their poetry on stage with a live audience.
How many times can I apply?
You can send in as many poems as you like to the VOICES/VOIX journal. Each poem will be considered on its merit and can lead to a potential shortlist.
I still have questions, who do I ask?
You can contact our Creative Director, Sarah Tsiang: sarah@poetryinvoice.ca
Our first two FutureVerse events held in Calgary and then Ottawa were both resounding successes. Here’s a little of what students had to say about the experience:
"I was always the kind of person who would be so reserved and insecure that others would wonder if they even knew me. At Futureverse I found people whose beautiful hearts and souls would rest between the lines of poetry. They were poets who were also interested in my own heart and soul and listened to me when I spoke. By the end of it, I learned that it's not so scary to open up, write poetry and make a new friend (or 25). Thank you Futureverse for allowing me to grow towards the sun that is healing." -Andrea Granata
“FutureVerse has had such a significant impact on my life. The environment that the team at Poetry in Voice creates is incredible! There is such an encompassing creative support for the students where we feel valued, listened to, and inspired the entire time.” - Caprice Strgar (FutureVerse)
“I have to admit, when I first looked into the Vers l’Avenir program, the words “Life-changing” and “meilleurs jours de ma vie” sounded like clickbaits and too good to be true. I think that this was a mutual sentiment among everyone… I think that this program is so great because it is organized by people who love poetry for people who love poetry… Our poetry was able to connect us and allowed us to speak to one another on a level that went beyond even words. We were raw and vulnerable and cheered each other on and loved each other for it…Thank you to the group of editors who chose us, YOU CHANGED OUR LIVES and I cannot be more grateful. I have found my people in the four days that I was in Ottawa…Now I’m really starting to sound like the people from the clickbaits.” -Abby Zhang (Vers l’Avenir)
“I loved it so much because I'm one of the people personally guilty of getting too caught up in life and I've had less and less time to hang out with my friends and they're so occupied with their own world, especially going into my graduating years and we're all just kinda burnt out and lifeless and lonely. But working towards my own goals right now and this poem and kinda in a way this whole past week was a very nice reminder to plan some time to just sit down and relax for a bit every now and then…I was writing all the way back home on the plane; you guys actually made me fall in love with poetry.” - Thomas Li (FutureVerse)
“I feel so immensely grateful to have met a community of people who are as genuinely passionate about poetry and creativity as I am, who created a kind and supportive environment that allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and try things I may not have done otherwise. This is an experience that will forever stick with me in the memories I've made, the people I've met, and the knowledge that there is always a space for poetry either waiting to be made or already present in the world. FutureVerse made me see poetry in a new, inspired light I hope to never let go of. Thank you to everyone who helped bring this program to life!” - Tosia Wolska-Chaney (FutureVerse)
“The whole thing was amazing I loved it so much. I definitely enjoyed all the new knowledge I have learned, and all the new people I had the chance to meet down there. This experience was amazing and will be one of my favourite memories.” - Feather Mason-Delorme (FutureVerse)
“This week has truly been one of the best weeks of my life and I’m so so grateful for the experience.” Ange Yeung (FutureVerse)
"It was perhaps one of the best weeks of my life. I had never been surrounded by so many likeminded artists and had never felt so at home then with everyone there. An amazing and unforgettable week which I will cherish forever" – Batool Ali (FutureVerse)
FutureVerse has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities i have ever experienced – Tyler-Rose Arden (FutureVerse)