Board & Organizers

Shima Aisha Robinson is an amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton – Treaty 6) born poet and spoken word artist who embodies, with every poem and pursuit, the ancient meaning of her chosen pen name. Dwennimmen is the name of an ancient African Adinkra symbol, which means strength, humility, learning and wisdom. She brings a wealth of experience in program development and community work to the Edmonton Poetry Festival. For Dwennimmen, poetry has long been a compass, a salve, an anchor and guiding light. She looks forward to reconnecting, fostering community, and celebrating poetry together in ways that are fun, innovative, and accessible.

Raised in a mining town in the mountainous back-country of southeastern British Columbia, Paul now lives in Edmonton where he lives and writes with his wife and two children. He has worked as an arts administrator in the non-profit sector and spent nearly two decades with the Government of Alberta and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts before making the jump to Municipal government administration in 2018.

Paul Pearson has been heavily involved in the literary arts community in Alberta for more than 20 years. He is the co-founding editor and chapbook designer for the Olive Reading Series and a current board member of the Edmonton Poetry Festival. His poems have appeared in Descant and Event, and the anthology Writing the Land: Alberta Through Its Poets from House of Blue Skies. His debut collection, Lunatic Engine, was published by Turnstone Press in the fall of 2020.

Kim Mannix is a poet, dark fiction writer, and journalist who lived in six Canadian cities before deciding to call Sherwood Park home. As a lover and supporter of local arts, she’s delighted to be part of the Edmonton Poetry Festival board. She works as an entertainment and lifestyle writer for MSN, and has had her creative efforts published in several Canadian and international journals and anthologies. She is a co-editor of Watch Your Head, a climate crisis anthology, and is deeply grateful to the earth that sustains us all.

Grayson Thate (he/him) is a poet and communications professional born in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton). As a past Youth Poet Laureate, he has been passionate about poetry and how it brings people together for many years. With a background in policy and education, Grayson is excited to be on the Edmonton Poetry Festival board and work to connect people with poetry in ways that are innovative and accessible.

Emma Elder (she/her) is a poet and full-time student at the University of Alberta. She is studying Honors Physiology with a goal of pursuing medicine, and intends on publishing her debut poetry collection soon! As treasurer of the EPF board, she looks forward to supporting the festival and is committed to sharing her love of poetry with the Edmonton community. Emma is a human body fanatic and science nerd, but has never lost sight of her artistic side.

Alice Major founded the Edmonton Poetry Festival in 2006 while she was serving as Edmonton’s first poet laureate. (She warns all future laureates to be careful what they start!). Alice has published 12 award-winning collections of poetry, including The Office Tower Tales (which won the Pat Lowther award) and Memory’s Daughter (which received the Stephan G. Stephansson Prize). Her recent book Welcome to the Anthropocene was nominated for three major awards. Her 12th collection is Knife on Snow, released by Turnstone Press in Spring 2023. Other awards include the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist medal and an honorary doctorate from the University of Alberta. Her website is here.

Marco Melfi (he/him) joined the Edmonton Poetry Festival Board in 2019. He has had poems published in the Antigonish Review, The New Quarterly, Prairie Fire, Funicular, FreeFall and he was the recipient of the Fiddlehead’s 2021 Ralph Gustafson Poetry Contest. His chapbook, In between trains, was published in 2014.

Kasia is a website developer and communications professional. After twelve years as a freelancer running the sole proprietorship CodeWord Media Design, Kasia accepted a full-time role with Paper Leaf studio in the spring of 2022. Prior to launching her business, Kasia obtained a BA in English from the University of Alberta, and worked in marketing communications for companies in the tech and manufacturing sectors. Kasia was a co-founder of the Words with Friends Edmonton Creative Writing Collective. She also sat on the Board of Directors for the Edmonton Poetry Festival from 2013 through 2016, serving stints as both Treasurer and Communications Committee Chair. Kasia released her self-published collection, the mourning after: poems 1996-2011, in October of 2011.