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[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]
June 14th, 2026
Interview with Canadian poet about newly published poem, "Field Guide for West Coast Flora and Fauna."
(Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
(Photo: 'Ponderosa' by Lacey Reid)
What are some interesting or important aspects of this work, how it came to be, or what it means, that you want people to know?
My late father was a gentle man. As a young man, he hunted game with his brothers. After his passing, I learned that he got rid of his hunting rifles later in life when he deemed them unsafe to keep around. I also learned that it was years before he put my mother’s name on the deed of the house that they built together. I just found it interesting, the ways he armed himself against the world and the people that he loved. We all do it to keep ourselves safe. The more I learned, the more I felt I got to know him and myself in turn (because the older I get, the more I realize I’m just like him).
How does your city / region and your natural surroundings influence this creative work, and your artistic practice as a whole?
My work often features themes of nature and the Pacific Northwest. I like using nature as a metaphor for survival, growth, and the ways that people relate to each other. Having lived in Vancouver for over nine years, I consider it “home” while at the same time feeling like a temporary settler here. Most of my poems are just different ways of saying homesickness and grappling with the question of where “home” is for me.
A few years ago, I became interested in mushroom hunting after a culinary tour of the forest with a local chef. To properly identify edible mushrooms, you first have to learn how to identify trees. So, on a weekend trip to the Pemberton, BC area that summer, I brought my field guide for BC plants and trees and I set about learning how to identify them. As a neurodivergent person, I sometimes find myself wishing for a social kind of guidebook—a simple way to figure people out. This work is a tongue-in-cheek take on just that.
Read this poem by Lacey Reid:
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"Field Guide for West Coast Flora and Fauna"
Published in Vancouver Poetry Magazine.
Keywords: Nature, Botany, Field identification, Pacific Northwest
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