Vancouver poet Al Mader is no stranger to Verses or the Van Slam family, in fact he is appearing in the “Shut the Front Door” show with a number of other awesome spoken word artists. We know how hard it is to wait until April, so you can get your … Continued

The good news keeps on coming! We are super excited to share another interview with Ivan Coyote who is part of the duo (with Rae Spoon) that makes up Gender Failure. You can read about it here! If you haven’t bought your tickets for Gender Failure, you can get them … Continued

So! a new qualifying season is underway to determine which 5 poets will have a chance to become the next Vancouver Poetry Slam Team. It’s crucial to understand the points system. This is the fourth year that we’re using it. You can read about how it works for qualifying for … Continued

So! a new qualifying season is underway to determine which 5 poets will have a chance to become the next Vancouver Poetry Slam Team. It’s crucial to understand the points system. This is the fourth year that we’re using it. You can read about how it works for qualifying for … Continued

One of our most highly anticipated shows – Gender Failure – has already been touring festivals for a little while, but Verses is happy to host the official book launch! The festival is only a month away, but if you can’t wait for that, you can click here to read … Continued

To get you prepped for the onslaught of artistic awesomeness that’s coming your way in April, we’re running a series highlighting our amazing performers. Because you are busy and important, we’ll keep it short. 100 words or less, (almost) everything you need to know. Name: Cheryl Maddalena Hails from: Boise, Idaho Best … Continued

Check out this great interview of Zaccheus Jackson with Grounded Magazine: “Through that act of attrition by getting up there and just saying those words I made myself accountable to my community. And so I don’t have a shadow of a doubt that spoken word and this community right here, … Continued

To get you prepped for the onslaught of artistic awesomeness that’s coming your way in April, we’re running a series highlighting our amazing performers. Because you are busy and important, we’ll keep it short. 100 words or less, (almost) everything you need to know. Name: Zaccheus Jackson Hails from: Vancouver, British Columbia … Continued

This year, we are kicking our advertising efforts up a notch with awesome bus shelter ads all around the city! In addition – we are holding a photo contest and the prizes are Verses tickets and Festival Passes!! There are 10 ads in total which will be up starting from … Continued

So! a new qualifying season is underway to determine which 5 poets will have a chance to become the next Vancouver Poetry Slam Team. It’s crucial to understand the points system. This is the fourth year that we’re using it. You can read about how it works for qualifying for … Continued

The moment we’ve all been waiting for is finally here! 8 days and over 80 poets – the BIGGEST Verses Festival of Words  is coming to Vancouver April 5-12th with 34 events. Who’s going to be there, you ask? What kind of events are we talking about? CLICK HERE TO … Continued

After the poet’s name is the order that they performed in the first round, then their first round score. After that is the position they performed in the second round (if they made the cut) and their second round score, followed by their total score for the evening. 3rd February, … Continued

The January 27th youth slam kicked off our 7th year of running this show, the longest running youth slam in Canada, in fine style with our feature, Lishai and some more new poets coming out and wowing the audience. We also had 50-70 people lined up outside hoping to get … Continued

After the poet’s name is the order that they performed in the first round, then their first round score. After that is the position they performed in the second round (if they made the cut) and their second round score, followed by their total score for the evening. 13th January … Continued

Registration for the 4th annual Hullabaloo is now open. The festival will run April 24–26 at Astorino’s, a venue run by our new sponsor, the Brittania Community Centre. It will be filled with amazing feature poets, workshops, All-Star Slams, 16 teams of youth poets, and plenty of community spirit! Teams … Continued

Want more info on WordPlay Poetry-in-Schools? Check out the new WordPlay Brochure .pdf for info on events, poets, rates, and all the amazing workshops and assembly performances that you can bring to your school. To book WordPlay poets, email Johnny MacRae at wordplaypoets@gmail.com

Rupert Common brings his notorious blend of high concept hip hop and spoken word to the Van Slam stage. Extra poems from slammers Julie Peters, Hannah Johnson, and reigned Van Slam Grand Champ, Zaccheus Jackson.

A reminder that all poets who make the second round at the youth slam earn points towards making the youth slam playoffs on FRIDAY MARCH 21st.  There are also 2 key eligibility requirements for making the youth team.  You MUST SLAM AT LEAST TWICE during the season and you CANNOT … Continued

After the poet’s name is the order that they performed in the first round, then their first round score. After that is the position they performed in the second round (if they made the cut) and their second round score, followed by their total score for the evening. 16th December … Continued