Rising to the Sealey Challenge once again

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I’ve done the Sealey Challenge, reading 31 poetry works over the 31 days of August, since 2020 (with one break in 2025 because I was pretty “booked up” reading In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust at the time).

I discussed at some length and documented my 2023 Sealey Challenge reading here. Here’s a quick summary of my Sealey Challenge “mix” this year:

  • Full collections vs chapbooks/journals/smaller works – 20/11
  • Canadian works – 25/31
  • Rereads – 8/31
  • Audiobooks – 1/31

My 2026 Sealey Challenge poetry reading, spread out on the floor

Handwritten listing of my 2026 Sealey Challenge poetry reading

And now, let’s get down to business with the highlights of all that reading. The link to each post goes to an Instagram post, which includes an excerpt from each work.

1/31: Sublunary by Lisa Richter (2026 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here

Mavis the Airedale sits prettily with the poetry collection Sublunary by Lisa Richter (University of Alberta Press) before her

2/31: Choral Coral Carol by James Lindsay (2026 Knife Fork Book) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook Choral Coral Carol by James Lindsay (2026 Knife Fork Book) sits in the grass

3/31: The Things I Found at the End of the World by Arielle Twist (2026 Opaat Press) Read the full post here

Poetry pamphlet The Things I Found at the End of the World by Arielle Twist (Opaat Press) sits on a colourful scarf with a notebook with a vibrant cover and a fine tip black pen

4/31: Evacuations by Kevin Irie (2026 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Evacuation by Kevin Irie (University of Alberta) held up next to a bright red hibicus

5/31: Marigold and Rose by Louise Glück (2022 Farrar Straus & Giroux) Read the full post here

Audiobook of Marigold and Rose by Louise Glück (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) on laptop screen, with blue and muted colours crochet work sitting on laptop keyboard

6/31: Descântec For My Split Tongue by Adriana Oniță” (2026 Palimpsest Press) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Descântec For My Split Tongue by Adriana Oniță (Palimpsest Press) sits on a wooden chair with a notebook with an ornate cover and a black felt tip pen

7/31: Calling It Back to Me by Laurie Graham (2026 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Calling It Back to Me by Laurie Graham (McClelland & Stewart) nested in a bush with bright green leaves and rose hips hanging from some branches

8/31: total by Aisha Sasha John (2026 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here

Poetry collection total by Aisha Sasha John (McClelland & Stewart) sits on old wooden garden fence with green leaves above it, along with a notebook with an ornate gold cover and a black pen

9/31: Love’s Little Dojo by Jordan Williamson (2026 Pinhole Poetry) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook Love's Little Dojo by Jordan Williamson (Pinhole Poetry) sits on a table with a croissant and a takeout coffee

10/31: Crazy/Mad by AJ Dolman (2024 Gordon Hill Press) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Crazy/Mad by AJ Dolman (Gordon Hill Press), with its striking cover of a merged image of a hand and a face, sits on a rust-coloured countertop

11/31: Python Love by Shannon Arntfield (2025 University of Alberta Press) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Python Love by Shannon Arntfield (University of Alberta Press) surrounded by loopy strands of red and purple yarn

12/31: dig.desire Vixen issue edited by Jennifer LoveGrove (1997) Read the full post here

Poetry magazine/chapbook dig.desire Vixen issue (1997 series edited by Jennifer LoveGrove), handmade with blue cover, silver highlights and bound with silver thread, sitting on a background of tin foil

13/31: Rising, Falling, Hovering by C.D. Wright (2008 Copper Canyon Press) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Rising, Falling, Hovering by C.D. Wright (Copper Canyon Press) sits on a faded wicker chair with a notebook with an ornate gold cover

14/31: The Radha Poems by Jeevan Bhagwat (2025 Silver Bow Publishing) Read the full post here

Poetry collection The Radha Poems by Jeevan Bhagwat (Silver Bow Publishing), with its colourful abstract cover, sits on a surface covered with bright green moss and some yellow and red leaves

15/31: Half-Earth by Blair Trewartha (2026 Palimpsest Press/Anstruther Books) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Half-Earth by Blair Trewartha (Palimpsest Press/Anstruther Books) being read in an optometrist's office, with shelves with eyeglasses on them in the background

16/31: Transcription by Ben Lerner (2026 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here

Blurry shot of Transcription by Ben Lerner, with its stark black cover with a bright red dot on it, sits atop some black-covered notebooks on a gray carpet

17/31: Dropping Grandad off at the bridge by Freddy Hyun Smith (2026 Opaat Press) Read the full post here

Bright blue poetry pamphlet Dropping Grandad off at the bridge by Freddy Hyun Smith (Opaat Press) sits on a blue plate with a notebook with an ornate gold cover and a black fine tip pen

18/31: Masses on Radar by David O’Meara (2021 Coach House Books) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Masses on Radar by David O'Meara (Coach House Books) with green post-it notes jutting out of it

19/31: Yield by Jaime Forsythe (2026 Wolsak & Wynn) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Yield by Jaime Forsythe (Wolsak & Wynn), resting on a purple leather purse as the reader shares the Toronto subway with fellow passengers

20/31: Terminal Velocity by Alex Deng (2026 Anstruther Press) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook Terminal Velocity by Alex Deng (Anstruther Press), with its striking black and white cover, perches on the doorknob of a door with white slats

21/31: In a Riptide by Ronna Bloom (2025 Brick Books) Read the full post here

I'm holding the poetry collection In a Riptide by Ronna Bloom (Brick Books) in my lap sitting in the passenger seat of a car. Colourful post-it notes jut out of the book. Above the windshield is a traffic sign with the word

22/31: Blood Money by Kathleen Brennan and Tom Waits (2002) Read the full post here

A laptop screen displays the lyrics written by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan found on the album Blood Money

23/31: The Fullness by Maureen Scott Harris (2006 Anstruther Press) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook The Fullness by Maureen Scott Harris (Anstruther Press) sits atop a woodstove next to a vase of yellow flowers

24/31: The Deleted World by Tomas Tranströmer, translated by Robin Robertson (2011 House of Anansi Press) Read the full post here

Mavis the Airedale terrier looks one as I read the poetry collection The Deleted World by Tomas Tranströmer, translated by Robin Robertson (House of Anansi Press) on a dock next to Big Doe Lake

25/31: Notebook of Roses and Civilization by Nicole Brossard, translated by Robert Majzels and Erin Moure (2007 Coach House Books) Read the full post here

Poetry collection Notebook of Roses and Civilization by Nicole Brossard, translated by Robert Majzels and Erin Moure (Coach House Books), with its vivid red cover, with a yellow post-it note affixed in the middle with a handwritten transcription of a fragment of one of her/their poems/translations

26/31: Asphodel by Shane Neilson (2026 Anstruther Press) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook Asphodel by Shane Neilson (Anstruther Press) sits in the middle of a green plant with small white flowers

27/31: The Last White House at the End of the Row of White Houses by Michael e. Casteels (2016 Invisible Publishing) Read the full post here

Handwritten transcription in a greeting card of a poem from the poetry collection The Last White House at the End of the Row of White Houses by Michael e. Casteels (Invisible Publishing), with the book sitting nearby along with a mug of tea

28/31: Folk Songs by David Barrick (2026 Anstruther Press) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook Folk Songs by David Barrick (Anstruther Press), with a painterly image of a bearded man haunted by a menacing skeleton, sits on a rumpled background of gold, crumpled and torn paper

29/31: God of Shadows by Lorna Crozier (2018 McClelland & Stewart) Read the full post here

My pink/purple shoes are visible as I read God of Shadows by Lorna Crozier (McClelland & Stewart) in a waiting room

30/31: The Life of Tu Fu by Eliot Weinberger (2024 New Directions) Read the full post here

Poetry collection The Life of Tu Fu by Eliot Weinberger (New Directions) sits on a concrete floor with a round piece of red brick sitting nearby

31/31: I Can Make It All Up To You by Jacob Alvarado (2024 knife fork book) Read the full post here

Poetry chapbook I Can Make It All Up To You by Jacob Alvarado (knife fork book) stands upright next to a blue cup of coffee

Inspired to try it in 2027? Trust me, you’ll be richly rewarded with such vivid experiences in word, imagery and more.

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