This exciting event is happening in our city! This FRIDAY November 22nd, the city will announce the winner of the 2013 City of Vancouver Book Award. Best of all, there are 3 books of poetry on the short-list, including Ink on Paper by Brad Cran, The Ballad of Mrs. Smith … Continued

Applications are open for artists interested in featuring at the 2014 Verses Festival of Words. Next year’s festival will take place April 5–12, 2014 at venues surrounding Vancouver’s Commercial Drive neighbourhood. We’re looking for writers from all genres, especially those who are practicing in unconventional areas of the oral–literary spectrum. … Continued

So much going on in Festival land, it’s hard to keep up! A short and sweet recap here. Thanks, CJ!

Congratulations to all of our poets who performed last night, and particularly to the 2013 Van Slam team, Floyd, Erin Kirsh, Jillian Christmas, Duncan Shields, and Zaccheus Jackson. One of the strongest Van slam finals of all time. Here, read a recap. Thanks also to our brilliant feature Truth Is, … Continued

Hey look! People are talking about us! Inside Vancouver No Fun City The Drive Yelp Emily Carr Recruit  

Check out this article on slam poetry by HUSH Magazine: Slam Poetry. Performance Poetry. Spoken Word.  Upon hearing these words, you might think of the following: A room full of solemn, mime-like creatures dressed in black berets and turtlenecks. Rhythmic snapping in time with the slow drone of a poet … Continued

After much travail and bated breath, the day is finally here! That’s right, the 2013 Verses Festival of Words kicks off tonight with the Vancouver Poetry Slam Finals Night at the Rio Theatre. You can follow along with all the fun on the blog, or you can find us on … Continued

Every week we’ll be featuring an exceptional, useful, or just plain weird word. Use it to inspire a poem, impress your coworkers, or scare away the person sitting too close to you on the bus.

After Amy Everhart received a standing ovation for her feature set, we finished up the festival with the Team Finals bout. The scores were very tight and the poetry was on point. In the end, this is how it shook out: First place: Words Worth Wording (aka Port Moody Secondary) … Continued

A weekly post featuring poems by innovators who continue to inspire the artists who will take the stage at Verses Festival of Words. Sonnet 100 by William Shakespeare Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget’st so long To speak of that which gives thee all thy might? Spend’st thou thy … Continued

The bouts keep getting more intense as we approach the end of prelims. Here are the final team rankings. The four teams in bold advance to Team Finals Night. The first number is the team’s finish in their first bout, the second number is their finish in the second bout. … Continued

Wow. It has been a heckuva Hullabaloo. Here are the standings after day one. The first number represents the ranking in the school’s bout. The second number is the point differential the team was from winning their bout, which is only important in a tie-breaking situation. Pearson College – 1 (0.0) … 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: Sheri-D Wilson Hails from: Calgary, … 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: Regie Cabico Hails from: New … 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: Veda Hille Hails from: Vancouver, … Continued

Every week we’ll be featuring an exceptional, useful, or just plain weird word. Use it to inspire a poem, impress your coworkers, or scare away the person sitting too close to you on the bus.

A weekly post featuring poems by innovators who continue to inspire the artists who will take the stage at Verses Festival of Words. Listening to Myself by Al Purdy see myself staggering through deep snow lugging blocks of wood yesterday an old man almost falling from bodily weakness — look … 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: CR Avery Hails from: Vancouver, … Continued

Every week we’ll be featuring an exceptional, useful, or just plain weird word. Use it to inspire a poem, impress your coworkers, or scare away the person sitting too close to you on the bus.