Events

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

July 14th will be another chance to qualify for the IWPS play-offs, and to see Moe Clark

Moe Clark’s lyrically dynamic poetic style is truly unique as it thrives off the energy that surrounds and abounds the body, voice, and soul. Picking up sounds from the everyday, she enjoys studying the intricate glue that connects meaning to words. With a background in voice, visual arts, and performance, Moe brings a unique vibe to the stage of spoken word poetry. She’s performed in various festivals and events over the past four years, including the 2005 & 2007 Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, Liberate the Voice Day, and 2006 & 2007 International Women’s Day. At the 2007 “CBC Calgary Poetry Face Off”, Moe performed her piece “Intersecting Circles” and took home the winning prize. In the summer of ’07 her award-winning poem was hand-picked by the artistic director for the Charlottetown Confederation Centre for the Young Company’s 2007 summer performance “Alberta Fusion”.

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door
All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

July 7th will be the queer poetry slam featuring Suzy LaFollette

http://lavendermenace.com/

Suzy La Follette is a powerful voice of the working class, a brilliant feminist and queer activist, her words leap from the stage through her vibrant performance. She is pure rock n’ roll poetry as her subject matter ranges from underground politics to raunchy hilarity. It has been said that she can spit a poem through a brick wall and she has. She has been featured on ABC, NPR the Best of Urbana 2004, Slam Planet War of the Words CD compilation and is published in Gary Mex Glazner’s “How To Make A Life As A Poet.” She has toured the US and Canada, performed at Universities, Take Back the Night, LadyFest, Prides, smoky bars and poetry slams and shared the stage with the likes of Diane Di Prima, Billy Collins, Daphne Gottlieb, Genevieve Van Cleve, and toured extensively with Andrea Gibson. Suzy was a member of the Flagstaff Poetry Slam team in 2002 and 2003 (where she placed 6th in the nation), and a member of the Austin Poetry Slam team in 2005. Taylor Mali, the President of Poetry Slam Inc. says, “If you are searching for truth, listen. You will find it in Suzy La Follette.” She recently became a firefighter and lives in Austin, TX with her partner, her cat and her dog.

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door
All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 30th will be another chance to qualify for the IWPS play-offs, and a great chance to see our feature, the very funny Sara Bynoe.

http://sarabynoe.com/

Sara and her endeavors be it Teen Angst or otherwise have been strongly featured in the media with features on many CBC Radio programs (As it Happens, The Roundup, Freestyle..), CBC Newsworld’s The Hour, Urban Rush, Breakfast Television, The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, The Calgary Herald, The Montreal Mirror, The Ottawa Citizen, Nylon Magazine, Quills National Poetry Magazine, The Georgia Straight and as a spotlight in the VancouverActorsGuide.com (to name a few).

She is a vibrant, creative, and a fiercely determined woman who is blessed with the ability to see projects through to fruition.

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door
All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone.
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 23rd features Jessica Lohafer from Bellingham.

http://www.myspace.com/jessicalohafer

To compete, you must be between 13-22.

To check it out & support the Youth Slam, you can be any age.

Doors and Sign Up at 7:15pm. Show starts at 8pm.

Still only $5 at the door

The Youth Poetry Slam is a relatively new event that will be held on the 4th Monday of every month at Café Deux Soleils. The first Vancouver Youth Slam was held last year at the Vancouver East Cultural Center.

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 9th will be the first annual Erotica Poetry Slam, led by Lisa Slater.

The Feature will be Lisa Slater and The Svelte Ms. Spelt

Doors and Sign Up at 8pm. Slam Starts shortly afterward. Still only $5 at the door

A new aspect of the Vancouver Poetry Slam, the “Alt Slam” is a themed poetry slam that takes place on the 2nd Monday of every month starting in January 2008. These slams do not count towards qualification in this year’s Poetry Team play-offs. But they will be a lot of fun!

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 2nd will mark the beginning of the summer season of Van Slam.

Our feature will be Electric John from Toronto.

‘Electric’ Jon Negrych began his career as a Winnipeg teenage polka sensation in 1987, playing tenor saxophone and singing in the Legion band, Fantasia.

From 1989-1993, he spent 4 years redefining college radio @the University of Winnipeg while attaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Performance.

In the mid-nineties while recording spoken word experiments on a Fostex 4-track recorder in a Winnipeg basement with Jason Eastwood and Richard Altman, Jon turned calling bingo in a Manitoba casino into performance bingo with a twisted Vegas flare. Studying the beat writers of the 50′s as well as experiments with pot and LSD moulded the psychedelic template that would become the creatively limitless benchmark of this young writers vision.

After moving to the Centre of the Universe, he ran the experimental multi-media reading series Dimentia 5 in downtown Toronto for nearly two years.

He currrently fronts the cyber-tronic hip hop group of tomorrow known as Destructicus Prime., along with fellow P-word and MC Spencer Butt.

Jon is also working on a cy-fi graphic novel, Carefully Sealed in the Margarine Container and an album of original honkey-tonk songs. ‘Electric’ Jon practices a form of literary voodoo and is self educated in semiotics.

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 30th will be another edition of the summer season of Van Slam, featuring one of the rookies on this year’s Vancouver Poetry Slam Team, Faust McKenzie.

Check out Faust’s MySpace page.

Or his LiveJournal ramblings.

Dear Slam Family,

This is just the formal announcement that the next Slam Family meeting will be held at Lisa Slater’s apartment on Wednesday May 28th @ 6:30 PM. We will be having another meeting before the team goes off to NPS in Madison in August and I realize that the timing is not ideal for all people but given that my co-slammaster has graciously offered her abode in lieu of spending money to rent a space for the meeting I think we should be thankful that Lisa is inviting us into her home.

If you are coming to the meeting I expect an RSVP via email with myself so that Lisa can be prepared for the appropriate number of guests. (Sean’s email: mcgarragle@gmail.com)

As opposed to earlier meetings this one will be brisk and anything that is not finalized will simply be pushed to the next meeting.

The first 30 minutes of the meeting will be a question and answer segment with your two slammasters. Are you curious about what Lisa and I are doing? Do you have suggestions for ways we can improve either the show locally, or what we do to represent the slam nationally or internationally? Do you have questions about money and how and why we spend it?

Hopefully any additional questions (outside of the 30 minutes) can be answered after the meeting.

15 minutes will be held for each item on the agenda. The 15 minutes will include a five minute presentation if an individual or group wishes to present a topic to the family for discussion along with a ten minute question and answer period. After that point either we will vote on the topic, it will be tabled for a committee for further discussion or it simply will be passed on until the next meeting.

And the stopwatch will be present at all times slam poets and other distinguished guests.

The following list of agenda items I believe certain individuals within the community wish to speak to and/or are topics that need to be addressed:

1) “The Vanguard”
2) The Alt Slams
3) The Youth Slams
4) Semi Finals and Finals 2009

If there are additional points to be added to the agenda please email me and I will attempt to add them to our agenda for the next meeting.

Many people have come to me and said how long the last meeting was and how much more they wanted to say on specific topics. We will not have the luxury of addressing everyone’s issue/ideas every meeting and we will not be able to make everyone happy (sorry Trev, we still can’t afford to rent that pink zebra) but I am going to do my best to see that we continue to be one of the most successful literary or spoken word events in our young nations history.

Sincerely,

Sean McGarragle
Vancouver Poetry Slam Co-Slammaster

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

The Slam on Monday, May 12th is the Haiku Poetry Slam.

The rumours you have heard are true. Our Alt Slam in May will be, yes, a HAIKU DEATHMATCH!

Featuring poetry legend Jack McCarthy!

Jack McCarthy calls himself a “standup poetry guy.” Others have called him “legend.” The Boston Phoenix named him “Best Standup Poet,” The Boston Globe said, “In the poetry world, he’s a rock star.” Poet Stephen Dobyns calls him, “one of the wonders of contemporary poetry.” He’s an engaging minor character in the film “Slamnation” and was a semifinalist for the Individual Slam Championship in 2000. His work appears in the anthologies “The Spoken Word Revolution,” “Poetry Slam,” and the very prestigious “Complete Idiot’s Guide to Slam Poetry.” His major book, “Say Goodnight, Grace Notes,” was released in 2003 to rave reviews. He now lives in Everett, Washington. His website is www.standupoet.net.

16 haikusters will battle it out. Head to head style.

The show goes like this:

• Open Mic
• Round 1: 16 competitors – best 3 of 5
• Feature: The American Buddhas!
• Round 2: 8 competitors – best 2 of 3
• Round 3: 4 competitors – best 2 of 3
• Round 4: the final 2 – best 5 of 9

Judging will be by audience applause.

The loser of each round will commit seppuku!

Please sign up in advance to battle. Preference goes to 8 male / 8 female. You will need to 20 haiku (potentially) to make it through all four rounds.

It won’t be exactly like this, but to get a feeling for the flavour of the haikus and event…

A new aspect of the Vancouver Poetry Slam, the “Alt Slam” is a themed poetry slam that takes place on the 2nd Monday of every month starting in January 2008. These slams do not count towards qualification in this year’s Poetry Team play-offs. But they will be a lot of fun!

All 5 members of the new Vancouver Slam Team will be performing at Cafe Deux Soleils this Saturday. Who are they you ask? Zaccheus Jackson, Scruffmouth, RadaR, Faust McKenzie and Al Mader aka The Minimalist Jug Band.

Also hitting the stage will be Julie Parrell, CJ Leon, The Svelte Ms. Spelt, Sean McGarragle, Barbara Adler, RC Weslowski and Ardath Whynacht from Halifax. Plus there will be a special vampiric appearance by poet turned lawyer, Matthew Glick.

Where: Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive

When: Saturday, May 17th, doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8:30pm

How much: $10

This night is a spoken word showcase that is officially a part of New Music West.

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

MAY 5th @ W.I.S.E. Hall, 1886 Adanace Street (Adanac and Victoria)
$10 – $15 sliding scale

Tickets can be bought in advance at Van Slam events (such as the Youth Slam on April 28th).

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

8 poets have survived and advanced from our grueling semi-final bouts. They are: Zaccheus Jackson, Richard Lett, Sean McGarragle, Faust McKenzie, Al Madar, RadaR, Scuffmouth, and Spillious the Ridiculous One.

The competition will consists of a round of 3 minute poems, then a 1 minute round, and then another 3 minute round. The poets with the top four cumulative scores will comprise the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team, and will represent Vancouver at festivals across Canada and the U.S.

Our feature will be Toronto’s Dwayne Morgan. Dwayne is celebrating his 15th year as a professional poet and touring with his new book.

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

Normally, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

This will be the first semi-final play-off night to determine the Vancouver Slam Poetry Team, which will represent Vancouver at next year’s National Poetry Slam and Canada Festival of Spoken Word. The 16 top scoring poets in the 2007-08 Van Slam season will have earned a berth in these play-offs. 8 of them will perform on each of the two semi-final nights.

This semi-final bout will see the following competitors throw down their poetic brilliance:

CJ, Lady Jessica, Zaccheus Jackson, Richard Lett, Faust McKenzie, Shannon Rayne, Scruffmouth, and Nora Smithhisler

The top 4 poets from each semi-final will then qualify for the Finals Nights to be held on May 5th at the WISE Hall. Finals Night regularly sells out, so be sure to buy a ticket early. Tickets will be available for sale at each semi-final night.

Our feature for this slam is The Klute from Mesa Arizona.

The Klute has been a member of 4 National Poetry Slam teams from Mesa, AZ, has performed for the president of the American Communist Party, and been introduced from the dais to a crowd of Republicans in the same breath as “the Honorable John Shadegg (Republican congressman from Arizona’s 3^rd District)”.

His poetry is politically and pop-culturally centered with a punk rock sensibility and an occasional reference to demonology thrown in for just a touch of pretension (as if the “punk rock sensibility” bit isn’t pretentious enough). He’s in Vancouver as part of his “One Foot in the Grave” tour

Preview his poetic ponderings by clicking here.

Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
$5 – $10 sliding scale

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!