Tower Poetry Society
Promoting poetry since 1951
TPS was born in the McMaster University tower
When established at McMaster University in 1951, the members would meet in a room in the “Tower”, which is part of University Hall. Hence, the members decided that the name of the organization would be The Tower Poetry Society. Little did those early members know that the TPS would expand to include non-university members and hold its monthly meetings in other venues within the Hamilton community. In 2026, TPS will celebrate 75 years of promoting and publishing poetry. The Society is Canada’s oldest continuously operating poetry group.
THE TWIN COMMITMENTS OF TPS:
TOWER POETRY, published twice annually, receives open submissions during February and August.
Monthly poetry workshops are held the 2nd Saturday most months* at Westdale Library from 2 – 4pm (*see page for details and exceptions).
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Our next Events…
- Our next TPS Workshop is Saturday, April 11, 2026 at Westdale Library, 2-4 pm. Full details, here: https://towerpoetry.ca/workshops/
- Our next Open Mic is Tuesday, April 21, 2026, at Fool and Flagon, 6:30 – 9 pm. They have amazing food and it’s always a fun night of poetry with like-minded poetry-lovers😊
Complete details: https://towerpoetry.ca/workshops/
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April is National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) and since this is Tower’s 75th Anniversary, we have put together this calendar of prompts for 30 days of poetic fun!
Thank you to Rebecca Clifford & Marilyn Sharp for putting this together. APRIL 2026 National Poetry Month w TPS 75
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Poetry in Place 
Tickets for this & otherfabulous GritLit events:
2026 gritLIT Readers & Writers Festival Tickets, Wednesday, Apr 15 to Sunday, Apr 19 | Eventbrite
- Salon of the Refused
was Saturday, March 21, 2026 from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Staircase Theatre, 27 Dundurn St. North… Read about it here: https://towerpoetry.ca/so-you-were-refused-its-not-the-end-of-the-world/
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This Year’s Art Walk Publication: TPS Art Walk 2025 Booklet & Artwork Insert
Publication Preview
TPS 60th Anniversery Anthology
You can revisit all of the PoARTry dances…
Dances of Poetry & Art – online event
** The TPS Website was overhauled and simplified in 2014, which meant that many aspects of the old site could not be continued. Our historical (archived) Poetry & Information website towerpoetry.ca/poetryplus contains a wealth of information, history, poetry and commentary.