05/29/2026
Our 2026 Open Theme Poetry Contest brought us many remarkable poems, and we’re thrilled to share this year’s first-place winner.
🥇 Congratulations to Maia P**n for “Tuesdays with Refugees.”
Maia P**n (she/her) is a medical student with a deep love for the arts. Both medicine and writing, after all, give her the opportunity to listen carefully to others’ stories and interpret their meanings. She grew up on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh land, where this poem takes place.
Thank you to our contest judge, Jody Chan .chan, for these words on the poem:
“‘Tuesdays with Refugees’ drifts through a series of delicate yet harrowing images: steam rising from bowls, ‘sidestreet cherries,’ ships and flags, ‘retirees raised on riot.’ Memories of a homeland cohere through multiple voices. This poem is an astute, wide-hearted reckoning with distance, and the landscapes of sound and language.”
🌐 Read the winning poems at www.antlerriverpoetry.ca
