Poetry Pen Pals: Poems Connect Dunedin and Québec City

By Ōtepoti He Puna Auaha | Dunedin UNESCO City Of Literature | Posted: Wednesday Apr 09, 2025

Ōtepoti UNESCO City of Literature is excited to announce a creative collaboration with Québec City UNESCO City of Literature’s Morrin Centre!

The Poetry Pen Pals project is an opportunity to connect our communities through the ongoing exchange of handwritten poems by both established and brand-new poets, celebrating the rich literary activity of both cities.

The Ōtepoti City of Literature team recently had the pleasure of meeting Hee-Won Son, Morrin Centre Heritage and Tours Coordinator, who was in Aotearoa on a personal trip. It was a unique opportunity to carry out our first poetry exchange in person! The wonderful poems from the Morrin Centre, written on the theme ‘Impressions of Québec City’ during a Dear Dunedin: Poetry Letter Writing Afternoon event, will be displayed in the City of Literature space on the Ground Floor of Dunedin City Library.

Check out Hee-Won’s journey as she hand-delivers the first Poetry Pen Pals letters from Québec City to Ōtepoti HERE.

Ōtepoti’s beautiful poems for the exchange were written by South Dunedin’s SuperGrans during a series of workshops led last year by City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet Jenny Powell. Each poem was meticulously transcribed by Dunedin Public Libraries’ Kelcie Watkins-Dooley especially for this project. Ōtepoti City of Literature is also grateful to Sandy McKay and the SuperGrans poets for granting permission to include their Wish poems, which the City of Literature will also soon publish as a book.

For the occasion of the poetry exchange Jenny wore her ‘chain of office’, handcrafted by Jill Bowie of Dunedin Public Libraries. Attendees at future poetry workshops led by the City of Literature South D Poet Lorikeet will be invited to participate in the Poetry Pen Pals project. Those interested will be encouraged to handwrite an original poem in any language to be included in a parcel for the Morrin Centre, where it will be exhibited and shared on social media.

This special project is a unique opportunity to foster creativity, cultural exchange, and new literary friendships across the globe.

If you would like an original poem to be sent to Québec City, please contact anne.shelah@dcc.govt.nz.

To stay up to date, follow #PoetryPenPals on social media and be sure to tag us in your posts as we embark on this poetic journey together!

Dunedin City of Literature and Morrin Centre

Dunedin City of Literature and Morrin Centre