Poetry Moves is thrilled to welcome Shon-Lueiss Harris as its new Program Coordinator. Shon-Lueiss is a poet, artist, and copywriter whose creative work and community involvement bring a thoughtful perspective to the program.
Shon-Lueiss has moved fluidly between creative disciplines throughout his career. Drawing and painting first sparked his artistic life, while writing took hold after he moved to the Pacific Northwest. Today, he balances copywriting with poetry, with his work appearing in Poetry Moves, Beacon Quarterly, and his newsletter, Dreamsong, where he explores memory, wonder, and connection. He also serves on Vancouver’s Culture, Arts and Heritage Commission.
His connection to Poetry Moves is personal. After having his own work featured in the program, he experienced the affirmation of seeing his words shared with the community. That experience helped change how he saw himself as a poet, and now he is stepping into a role that allows him to help create that same sense of possibility for others.
As Poetry Moves enters Season 16, his experience as both an artist and community advocate brings a meaningful perspective to the program.
In Conversation with Shon-Lueiss Harris
What first drew you to poetry, and what has kept you writing?
There was this English teacher back in high school who clearly majored in Shakespeare. His energy around the poetry was infectious, even for an angsty teen. I suppose he sparked something. But I wasn’t in the place for that spark to catch. This was almost a decade ago, early into my copywriting career. I was pretty torn up by the feeling that all my creative energy was being poured into hocking high-end sports gear and mushroom supplements. This more experienced copywriter, Edmund Sandoval, heard about it, and he started leaving poetry books on my desk. He’d write lines on sticky notes and leave them places. I tried it too and haven’t really stopped since.
Your Substack, Dreamsong, explores memory, wonder, and connection. What role does poetry play in how you make sense of the world around you?
Poetry is the companion to my spirit. I write to grieve and to grow, to dream and to create, to work and to play. Dante Alighieri pondered love with his poetry. He also dealt with the pain of being driven away from his home. Caciqua Anacoana made time to speak her poetry while leading her people through violent oppression. I don’t think poetry plays any singular role in anyone’s life. I think life would be so dull and difficult without poetry.
You’ve had your own work featured through Poetry Moves. What was that experience like, and how does it feel to now be helping shape the program from the other side?
Being featured by Poetry Moves was a powerful moment of affirmation. The doubt I felt about sharing such personal work followed me all the way up to the stage. And afterward? People clapped. They told me the feelings and fears I put on the page mattered. Poetry Moves achieves so much, from inspiring poets to sharing beauty with the community, and I’m just thankful to be part of it.
What excites you most about joining Poetry Moves as it enters Season 16?
There’s a lot to be excited about right now. We’re honoring Susan Dingle for her amazing tenure as poet laureate, so it’s reflective. We’re introducing the next poet laureate, so it’s visionary. It feels like I’m joining Poetry Moves at this time of change, and I’ll tell you, the future looks bright.
What do you hope Poetry Moves can offer someone who might not consider themselves a “poetry person”?
Like me? I always cringed calling myself a poet. It didn’t matter that I was the guy who’d pull off the side of the trail to scribble a few lines or that I had a hundred or so poems waiting to be bound and shared with the world. “Poet” felt like a title that I hadn’t yet earned.
Poetry Moves changed that. It is very hard to doubt you’re a poet with friends sending you photos of your poem out in the wild. It is very hard to feel unworthy when you’re invited to share the stage with poet laureates and talented writers.
I’d say Poetry Moves is proof that you are enough and that the world needs your poetry.
Poetry can create unexpected moments of connection between strangers. What do you think happens when a poem shows up in an ordinary place, like a bus where someone may not have expected to encounter art?
I call them “quiet moments.”
Amazing things don’t always announce themselves. A lot of our world uses the loud and flashy to signal what’s worth our attention, but often it’s just a show. Even peacocks walk quietly. I think encountering poetry out in the world is an unexpected invitation. It’s like you’re on a hike and happen upon an owl on a low branch. You don’t come for this exact moment, but when it happens, it can change the whole experience.
What would you love to see more of in Clark County’s poetry and literary community?
My favorite café is in uptown. This group of illustrators meets there every Saturday morning to sip coffee and draw together. I’d love to see the literary side of that. Poets gathering in our parks. Spoken word in our local theatres. Slams bouncing pub to pub, town to town. Some of this is already happening, and that gives me hope.
You’re also serving on Vancouver’s Culture, Arts and Heritage Commission. What has that experience taught you about the role artists and community members can play in shaping the city’s cultural future?
Mayor McEnerny-Ogle made arts and culture a key point in the 2026 State of the City. It was hosted at the Arts Hub, featured the Vancouver Arts & Music Festival, and introduced Inspire Vancouver to the community. The whole thing demonstrated just how serious the city is about arts and culture.
This is a fantastic time for artists and passionate community members to get involved. The energy and investment is here, now. Consider this your formal invitation. Apply for that grant. Volunteer at the festival. Go for a position on the Culture, Arts and Heritage Commission — applications close September 30th.
Is there a poem or a poet that has stayed with you over the years, and why?
I fell for Dante Alighieri long before getting into poetry. I can’t tell you how a 12 year old stumbles on The Divine Comedy, but it happened, and I’ve been captivated ever since. There’s something distinctly mythic about epic poetry. It demands attention, perhaps even reverence. His work showed me a Christianity stranger than my own. Yet his journey through the afterlife felt exactly as you’d expect a medieval poet’s journey might. I suppose Dante showed me how a poet can shape the world. And for a kid from an intensely religious household, that sort of autonomy stood out.
Or do you have one of your own poems you would like to end with?
each word is a dream
in a young heart, beating strong
longing to be more