WESTERN FRONT – Theophylline: A(n) (a)po(r)etic Migration Reading Group

To accompany a reading and talk by writer-in-residence Erín Moure, Western Front and The Capilano Review are pleased to present a three-part reading group dedicated to Moure’s most recent book of poems, Theophylline: A Poetic Migration (Anansi, 2023).

Theophylline is a work of poetry motivated by asthma, seeking poetry’s futurity in a queer and female heritage. In it, Moure crosses a border as translator, to engage the poetry of three American modernists—Muriel Rukeyser, Elizabeth Bishop, and Angelina Weld Grimké. Moure asks: What is breath for? What is archive? Why write a poem, instead of…something else?

Facilitated by The Capilano Review’s Literary Editor Emily Fedoruk, the weekly sessions will explore Theophylline, alongside texts by Muriel Rukeyser, Elizabeth Bishop, and Angelina Weld Grimké.

A copy of Theophylline is included in the price of registration. Books will be available for pickup at Western Front, and the additional texts in discussion will be forwarded to participants a week in advance of the start date.

Space is limited to 10 participants. Participation in the reading group also includes exclusive early registration for Moure’s upcoming writing workshop Embodying Poetry’s Learnings on October 4, 2025, at Western Front.

A tilted white page with black serif text on a dark background. The text reads, Listening. The patter of voices elsewhere in the house. In the room, the three women American modernist poets whose works voices I have chosen to open myself to all have in some way a relation to elsewheres. Thus translation. An elsewhere of nearly forbidden light. The layout is irregular, with varying line breaks and spacing, creating a visual sense of fragmentation.

About the Artist

Erín Moure is a poet, essayist, and translator of poetry based in Montréal, Canada who works across Galician, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. A recipient of two Governor General’s Literary Awards—poetry and translation—as well as the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the A.M. Klein Prize, she holds two honorary doctorates and has been International Translator in Residence at Queen’s College (Oxford) and Woodberry Creative Fellow (Harvard).

Accessibility

If you require the workshop space to be accessible for a wheelchair, scooter, or other mobility aid, or require a reservation for an access requirement such as ASL interpretation, please contact info@westernfront.ca or +1 (604) 876 9343 to arrange. We will make our best endeavours to help you. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.

Acknowledgements

Presented in partnership with The Capilano Review as part of their annual Writers-in-Residence program.

Extract from Erín Moure, Theophylline: A Poetic Migration, (Anansi, 2023).

Extract from Erín Moure, Theophylline: A Poetic Migration, (Anansi, 2023).

Western Front is a non-profit artist-run centre in Vancouver.

We acknowledge the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations as traditional owners of the land upon which Western Front stands.