For years, both these poets lived and worked in male-dominated trades and industries. Both humorous and tender, their stories illustrate the at-times surreal world of industrial construction and labour culture.

Location: Poetry Tent, UBC Robson Square

Type: Poetry, In Conversation

Moderator: Heidi Greco

Readers: Hilary Peach, Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood (Anvil Press) | Kate Braid, Hammer & Nail: Notes of a Journeywoman (Caitlin Press)

About The Moderator

Heidi Greco lives and works on Territory of the Semiahmoo Nation in Surrey. In addition to writing in many genres, she often leads workshops. She enjoys poking about in the forest or garden and cooking big meals for her family. More details, including links to her long-standing blog at heidigreco.ca

About The Readers

Hilary Peach is a writer, recording artist, and producer of unusual art projects. For twenty years she also worked as a transient welder, travelling across Canada and the United States, working in pulp mills, chemical plants, refineries, and generating stations. In 2022 she released a memoir about this time, Thick Skin: Field Notes from a Sister in the Brotherhood (Anvil Press 2022). She has a collection of poetry, BOLT (Anvil Press 2019), and has released three audio-poetry projects, Poems Only Dogs Can Hear, Suitcase Local, and Dictionary of Snakes. Hilary Peach now works as a welding inspector and a Boiler Safety Officer, and is writing fiction.

Kate Braid has written, co-written, edited and co-edited almost 20 books and chapbooks of non-fiction and prize-winning poetry including, with Sandy Shreve, 2 editions of "In Fine Form: A Contemporary Look at Canadian Form Poetry." Her most recent book of poetry is "Elemental" (Caitlin, 2018) and of non-fiction is "Hammer & Nail: Notes of a Journeywoman" (Caitlin, 2020). See www.katebraid.com