Kathy Figueroa
Writer, Photographer, and Small Business Owner in Bancroft, Ontario, Canada
Kathy Figueroa is a Canadian poet, photographer, writer, and book publisher. Folks in and around the northern part of Hastings County have seen her articles and photographs in the Bancroft newspapers since 2004. In May, 2006, The Bancroft Times published her poem, SPRINGTIME IN PAUDASH. The resulting positive response prompted her to continue sharing her often humorous verse and, to date, her poems have appeared in The Bancroft Times and/or Bancroft This Week newspapers on close to 150 occasions.
After self-publishing ten chapbook titles in 2012, Kathy’s newspaper poems were later published by Brian Wrixon Books in PAUDASH POEMS (2012), FLOWERTOPIA (2014), and THE CATHEDRAL OF THE ETERNAL BLUE SKY (2014). She self-published THE BALLAD OF THE POETRAIN POETEER: WINNIPEG TO VANCOUVER (2015) and THE RENAISSANCE OF RHYME (2017), in addition to compiling and editing an anthology, A REALM OF RHYME OF THE RURAL KIND (Brian Wrixon Books, 2014), of work by members of the POETS’ SOCIETY OF HASTINGS COUNTY NORTH, which she founded in September, 2010. This group of writing enthusiasts continues to meet in the Bancroft area.
In 2018, Kathy Figueroa registered a small publishing house, FLOWERTOPIA STUDIO, which published D. Bader's THE POETRY OF POT and Honey Novick's UNDEFEATED RELEVANCE.
Kathy enjoys sharing her work at readings in Ontario communities such as Bancroft, Belleville, Cardiff, Kingston, Marmora, Maynooth, Ottawa, Peterborough, Roblin Lake, and Toronto, as well as further afield in Edmonton, Jasper, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. She created two PAUDASH POETRY FESTIVALS (2011 & 2013), prior to staging THE WORD IS WILD LITERARY FESTIVAL, held over two days in June, 2014, in Hastings Highlands. This featured a variety of regional writers. In September, 2018, she organized and staged THE WORD IS WILD LITERARY FESTIVAL II, in Highlands East. From May - September, 2018, her POEM WALK PROJECT poster poems and photos were displayed at ten locations in Maynooth, and later exhibited at the Hastings Highlands Public Library during November and December, 2018.
In addition, her short play CONFLICTED ABOUT THE WOLF was staged in Bancroft in 2012, as part of a “24 Hour Theatre Project,” at the Village Playhouse. For many years, Kathy was also involved with various aspects of film production. She was the Poetry Editor of the Quinte Arts Council publication UMBRELLA from October, 2017 - March, 2019. -updated 03/31/19