About

Lilac Cube is an contemporary poetry reading series, based in Leamington Spa. The series is generously funded by the Poetry @ Warwick research centre and the Leverhulme Trust, in association with Dr Mae Losasso's research on breath poetics. Scroll down for upcoming events and details of past events, and follow @lilac.cube on Instagram. For any queries relating to this series, contact mae.losasso@warwick.ac.uk

Series design by Seán Purdy.

Upcoming!

The next event will take place on Tuesday the 20th of May 2025 at Southbound Café-Bar in Leamington Spa, featuring readings from Stephen Collis, Annie Lafleur, and Steven Seidenberg. Doors will open at 6:30pm, for a 7pm start. Entry is free and open to all.

Stephen Collis is the author of fifteen books of poetry and prose, includingThe Commons (2008), the BC Book Prize winningOn the Material (2010), and Almost Islands: Phyllis Webb and the Pursuit of the Unwritten (2018)—all published by Talonbooks. A History of the Theories of Rain (2021) was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for poetry, and in 2019, Collis was the recipient of the Writers’ Trust of Canada Latner Poetry Prize. The Middle, the second volume in a trilogy, was published in October 2024, and Knock Down House, an experimental memoir, was published by Pamenar Press in 2025. He lives near Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish Territory, and teaches poetry and poetics at Simon Fraser University.

Annie Lafleur is a writer, researcher and editor specializing in the fine arts. At Le Quartanier, she has published a writing cycle consisting of four books, the most recent of which, Puberté (2023), won the Prix francophone international at the Festival de la poésie de Montréal, the Grand Prix Québecor at the Festival international de la poésie de Trois-Rivières, and a nomination for the Prix Alain-Grandbois from the Académie des lettres du Québec. Also critically acclaimed, Ciguë (2019) and Bec-de-lièvre (2016) were finalists for the Prix des libraires du Québec and the Governor General's Literary Awards. She lives between Quebec City, Montreal and Vancouver.

Writer and artist Steven Seidenberg’s literary works include Anon (Omnidawn, 2022), plain sight (Roof Books, 2020), Situ (Black Sun Lit, 2018), Itch (RAW ArT Press, 2015), and the forthcoming Coda (Omnidawn, Fall 2025). His most recent collections of photographs are The Architecture of Silence (Contrasto, 2023) and Pipevalve: Berlin (Lodima Press, 2017).

Past Events

Lilac Cube launched in November 2024, with readings from Jonathan Skinner, Betsy Porritt and Sam Weselowski. Full the full archive, visit @lilac.cube on Instagram