Some stories are rivers. Some are roots. And some drift between.
On July 9th, join us for an evening of poetry and conversation with Samantha Nock and Rachael Moorthy, two writers who carry the ache and beauty of in-between places, who write toward home, memory, longing, and land. Together, their voices honour the layered nature of identity, carrying history in the body, grieving, being shaped by land and ancestry, and living inside questions that don’t always need answers.
Hosted by Kayla MacInnis at Enabling Arts, the evening will offer space to gather, listen, and reflect. Bannock and Heartberry Soda, crafted with Indigenous plant medicines and stories, will be available by donation, with all proceeds supporting the venue and future community arts programming.
This event is presented in partnership with Word Vancouver, with thanks to the Indigenous Voices Awards for funding support, and to Enabling Arts for hosting this gathering.
Time: Doors at 6 PM. Event at 6:30 PM
Location: Enabling Arts, 343 Railway St Unit 104, Vancouver, BC V6A 1A4
Host: Kayla MacInnis
Readers: Samantha Nock, Rachael Moorthy
About The Host
Kayla MacInnis
Kayla MacInnis is a Red River Métis storyteller with roots in Treaty 6 through her father and Scottish-Ukrainian ancestry through her mother. Born in the prairies and raised by the sea, her work weaves words, photographs, and research to explore how stories live in the body, on the land, and in the felt textures of daily life. Her poems have appeared in The Fiddlehead, Prairie Fire, CV2, and Room. She is currently working on her first poetry collection, The Deepest Blue. She plays the cello, believes cumulus clouds are proof that even the sky has lighthearted days, and was once told that if she were a body of water, she’d be a river.
About The Readers
Rachael Moorthy
Rachael Moorthy is a daughter of water who still hasn’t figured out how to answer the question "where are you from?" Born and raised on S'ólh Téméxw, her debut novel River Meets the Sea (House of Anansi, 2023) seeks to carve out a space of belonging for racialized folks whose ancestral ties have been severed, and whose identities are therefore shaped primarily by their relation to community and the land. Rachael's writing has been published in PRISM International, SAD Magazine, Revue Zinc, and others. She was shortlisted for the 2020 Far Horizons Award for poetry.
Samantha Nock
Samantha Nock is a Cree-Métis writer and poet originally from Treaty 8 Territory in the Peace Region of northeast British Columbia. Her family is originally from sâkitawâhk ᓵᑭᑕᐚᕽ (Île-à-la-Crosse), Saskatchewan. Samantha currently resides on unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Lands in so-called Vancouver. She has had works published in Maisonneuve, Vice, Prism International, and Best Canadian Poetry, among others. Her debut book of poety, A Family of Dreamers, released Fall 2023 with Talonbooks. Samantha was long-listed for the 2024 Pat Lowther Memorial Award and short-listed for the 2024 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. You can find her on Bluesky @samnock.bsky.social and Instagram @2broke4bingo.
Land Acknowledgement: We honour the unceded, occupied, and ancestral territories of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), Kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), SEMYOME (Semiahmoo), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen), and səlilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. These lands continue to hold and sustain us, and we recognize the responsibilities that come with gathering here.
We also acknowledge that Cree and Métis peoples live and gather as guests on these territories, holding deep relationships of kinship, care, and responsibility alongside the host Nations whose lands we are on. We raise our hands to the waters, medicines, and ancestors, seven generations forward, and seven generations back. May this gathering be rooted in respect, reflection, and action, and may we continue learning how to show up in good relation to land, story, and each other.
