Vancouver Poetry Slam
Hello, My Name is Van Slam
The Vancouver Poetry Slam has been wowing audiences since 1996, making it the longest-running poetry slam in Canada.
- When: Every Monday
- Where: Café Deux Soleils (2096 Commercial Drive)
- How much: Only $6 - $10
- Who: YOU!
1st, 2nd, 3rd & 5th Monday: Open Slam
4th Monday: Youth Slam (ages 14 - 22)
What is a Poetry Slam?
The poet must perform a poem of their own creation, in any style, within the time limit without the aid of props or music.
5 randomly selected audience members will become judges and are given score cards to score the poet from zero to 10.
Where To Find Out More
Van Slam Qualifies Poets for Tournaments
Performance poetry tournaments are popping up all over North America. It seems like there's a new one each year! The Vancouver Poetry Slam has various seasons throughout the year, in which poets can qualify for playoff rounds by winning a slam. We host three separate playoff events: the team playoffs (for NPS & CFSW), the individual playoffs (for IWPS and Canadian Indies) and the all-woman playoffs (for WOWps).
National Poetry Slam
The grand-daddy of them all. The largest annual gathering of poets in one place. The biggest adult poetry slam tournament on planet Earth.
Read more about NPSCanadian Festival of Spoken Word
CFSW is the gathering of the best performance poets in Canada. It is organized by Spoken Word Canada, or SPOCAN. The team determined at Van Slam Finals Night competes at CFSW.
More info.Individual World Poetry Slam
Pronounced "iWhips" by those who know and love it well, this is the showdown of the best performance poets at work today.
Read more about IWPSWomen of the World Poetry Slam
An all-woman event created by women for women poetry slam competitors. Poets who live their lives as women will be eligible to participate in WOWps.
Read more about WOWpsSlammaster Jessica Mason-Paull
Jessica has been an active member of the Vancouver Poetry Slam since 2005. A regular host and long time heckler she resides in East Vancouver. As Slammaster, she hopes to bring new and fabulous features, events and energy to this already incredible community. If you have advice, wisdom, demands or ideas please send her an email (jessica@vancouverpoetryhouse.com) and she will gladly discuss what you have to say. She really enjoys pickled things and pets with politicians names.
