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‘The Fifth Season’: An Evening of Poetry with Cori Howard

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Description

Join us for an evening to celebrate the launch of Cori Howard’s new poetry collection, The Fifth Season, out now from Caitlin Press. Expect a great evening of cocktails, conversation and poetry about marriage, motherhood, divorce, dating, desire and midlife reinvention. Howard will be in conversation with fellow poet Andrea MacPherson.

In The Fifth Season, Howard explores the seasons of a woman’s life, from marriage and motherhood to divorce, what she aptly names “disaster dating” and reinvention. Through the arc of midlife, these poems offer a map back to the self and a return to longing and new freedoms.

In poetry that is raw, honest and personal, Howard carries the reader through the thresholds of her life, illuminating the experiences of womanhood and the questions we ask ourselves during times of transition and reimagination.

Books will be on hand for sale and signing. This event is free, but please RSVP for your spot here as capacity is limited.

More about Upstart & Crow:

Upstart & Crow is a not-for-profit creative studio and literary incubator that champions writers, readers and stories, and the role they play in shaping our lives. We develop original programs, support artists and revel in creative projects focused on Literature In Translation / Climate Solutions / Poetry / Civic Dialogue / Community & Skills Building … all with the aim of elevating the role of literature and storytelling in our lives. Find us on Granville Island, Gibsons and online at upstartandcrow.com.

Accessibility:

The main studio of our shop is accessible for folks with mobility aids. There is a washroom on the main floor available for attendees.

Questions: hello[at]upstartandcrow.com.

The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season is exquisite, brave, and shatteringly honest; a powerful portrait of womanhood through marriage, divorce, mothering, and midlife and into the fierce possibilities that lies beyond.”

—Carol Shaben, author of Into the Abyss

“Cori Howard’s The Fifth Season captures the complicated and complex feelings about motherhood and selfhood in mid-life. Her delicate, lyrical language will delight readers, even as she depicts deep sorrow and seasons of loss. This book is a gift to women who’ve had to let go, let go, and then let go again, and it reminds us all that pleasure might be waiting for us after we mourn.”

—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of GROUP: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life and B.F.F.: A Memoir of Friendship Lost & Found

View Book

About the author:

Cori Howard is a journalist, essayist and poet. Her writing has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, National Post, Globe and Mail, among many others. This is her first collection of poetry. Her previous books include Between Interruptions: Thirty Women Tell the Truth about Motherhood. She lives on the unceded ancestral lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in Vancouver.

About the moderator:

Andrea MacPherson is the author of four poetry collections and three novels. She has been shortlisted for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, longlisted for the ReLit Award, and selected for CBC Canada Reads: People’s Choice. Andrea holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia, is the former editor of Prism International, and has taught creative writing and literature at a number of universities. She lives in Cloverdale with her daughter.

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