Van Slam Finals Night
The 19th annual Van Slam Finals Night features Vancouver's top eight slam poets competing for a spot on this year’s Van Slam team.
$12 – $15
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Youth Anarchy Slam featuring Zaccheus Legacy Project
ContactYouth poets (aged 12–20) are asked to break one of the classic poetry slam rules. Includes a feature performance by youth presenting work inspired by Zaccheus Jackson.
$4 – $19
Thursdays Writing Collective
Havana Theatre 1212 Commercial Drive, VancouverThursdays Writing Collective is comprised of 150 activists, academics, slam poets, novelists and storytellers who explore issues of self-determination through creative writing. The Collective holds free, drop-in writing sessions in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside at Carnegie Community Centre. Founded in 2008 by Elee Kraljii Gardiner, the Collective has published six chapbooks.
$5
Real Vancouver Writers’ Series
Havana Theatre 1212 Commercial Drive, VancouverWhat Is Real Vancouver Writers' Series, Alex? Four fantastic poets reading new work. But after the poetry comes Jeopardy. CanLit Jeopardy, featuring silly and serious answers about our national literature, to be put into questions by these very same poets.
$8 – $10
Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Day Two (Bouts #5 & #7) Plus Mashed Poetics
ContactCanada’s best slam poets show us their two and three minute poems.
Plus, in this edition of Mashed Poetics, the 1983 self-titled album by Violent Femmes will be performed live with poets presented new works inspired by the music between each song.
$10
ASL Showcase
Havana Theatre 1212 Commercial Drive, VancouverA multi-genre presentation in American Sign Language, showcasing performative verse through complex perspectives. This event will be hosted by Alex Lu and Maggie Harkins, and will feature the support of ASL/English language interpreters.
$5
Chicken Sessions
Agendas & MinutesChicken Session: a house concert, poetry and story performance , potluck, party, and some Louisiana hospitality. Chicken Session #14 is a Sunday afternoon backyard brunch with poet Robert Lashley, and musicians Chicken-like Birds, as well as debut work by others in 12 open mic spots beforehand. Bring food to share!
$5
Van Slam Finals Night 2016
Help us celebrate the 20th annual Van Slam Finals Night! Join us at The Wise Hall to hear the top 8 poets of Vancouver's 2015/2016 season drop their most killer poems as they vie for a spot on this year’s Van Slam team! Poets have been gaining points by ranking … Continued
$12 – $15
Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam
ContactYouth Slam The monthly Monday night youth slams at Cafe Deux Soleils continue with an awe-inspiring feature from JB the First Lady. Help kick off the new season of Vancouver’s Youth Poetry Slam by coming to watch this display of electric energy from the hottest new young talent Vancouver has … Continued
$4 – $10
Teen Angst Poetry
Sheri-DTeen Angst Poetry Somewhere in the back of your closet gathering dust and turning yellow with age is comedic gold. Those old journals, poems, and essays you wrote as a teenager when you thought you could do no wrong, would probably make you cringe at your former feelings if you … Continued
$5
Poetry Is Dead Launch (Secret Identities Issue)
VQ_021 copyPoetry Is Dead Launch (Secret Identities) Poetry Is Dead's "Secret Identities" issue explores hybrids like the comic book, the prose-poem and the super-hero. Fallen Kryptonians, mad scientists, Sith Lords, teenaged sidekicks, cyborgs, dinosaurs, screaming-pink glam Hologram bands — we're peeling off the mask, stripping down the tights, slipping inside the … Continued
$8 – $10
oratorealis Launch Party
JustinMollySlamoratorealis Launch Party oratorealis is a biannual literary journal committed to publishing Canadian spoken word and experimental poetry. Through poetry, essays and reviews, oratorealis aims to shine light on the sounds and ideas of this northern nation. Their goal is to bring poetry not frequently seen in print to the … Continued
$7
Vancouver Storytelling Society Showcase
Havana Theatre 1212 Commercial Drive, VancouverStorytelling is unique within narrative arts. Come experience the power of Story to unfold meaning within the space of the teller and audience. Sink into a world that awakens the senses for engagement, deep listening, attunement with embodied language and a stirring of deep inner ecology. Stories bridge the language … Continued
$8 – $10
Mashed Poetics: Jagged Little Pill
Mashed Poetics: Jagged Little Pill Mashed Poetics is a spoken word and music mash-up. Picture this: a band is formed for the sole purpose of learning a classic music album. Poets from across the country are wrangled and assigned songs from said album. Poets will present new works inspired by … Continued
$8 – $10
Chicken Sessions
Agendas & MinutesCome unwind over brunch at Chicken Sessions! Inspired by Mike McGee’s Kitchen Sessions, and the local Under the Bed series run by RC Weslowski and Wilhelmina Salmi, Chicken Sessions is a house concert, a poetry and story performance space, a potluck, a party, a salon with some Louisiana hospitality tossed … Continued
2017 Verses Festival of Words passes now only $30!
Your 2017 Verses Festival of Words Pass gives you full access to all #VS17 events: Hullabaloo Youth Poetry Slam Competition – free at VPL Central Three Showcases: "Oceans to Sail" Showcase with Saul Williams and Guests Sounds Like Fire: Femme4Femme The Body Is Not An Apology Five Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championships … Continued
$75
Black Lives Matter Showcase
ayandaBlack Lives Matter Vancouver is the local chapter of the international group of activists calling for an end to police brutality, and aiming to lift up Black voices. Curated by Cicely-Belle Blain and hosted by Holly Bishu, this showcase gives space to the artists within the movement, paying respect to … Continued
$10 – $12
2017 Van Slam Team Finals
2017 Van SlamTeam Finals is part of Verses Festival of Words again! #VS17 #VersesFestival Celebrate the 21st annual Van Slam Finals Night with visiting feature Desireé Dallagiacomo. Vancouver's top nine slam poets of the season compete for a spot on this year’s team to represent Van Slam at major tournaments … Continued
$12 – $15
Geist 104 vs Oratorealis 3 Launch
VQ_021 copyGeist is the Canadian magazine of ideas and culture — fact + fiction, photography and comix, essays, reviews, and the weird and wonderful from the world of words. Issue 104 will be launched this night. Oratorealis publishes biannually Canadian spoken word and experimental poetry. Oratorealis is thrilled to be launching their … Continued
$12 – $14
Mashed Poetics featuring Spice by the Spice Girls
Mashed Poetics is a night of spoken word and music mash up. We pick a music album, find a cover band and ask poets to write new poems based on the songs. Then we do it all up live with the poets performing in between songs. Mashed Poetics has been … Continued
$10 – $12
Radical (Re)Imaginings: Visions of a Queer Future Showcase
Havana Theatre 1212 Commercial Drive, VancouverA showcase featuring recently created work by youth, and a set by each of poets Amal Rana, Molly Billows, and jaye simpson. Some of the performances will have been created the day before at the Radical (Re)Imaginings workshop with facilitators/youth mentors Rana and Billows, and some of it will be … Continued
$8 – $10
Chicken Session #26 Community Backyard Stage
Agendas & MinutesHouse concert, poetry and story performance, potluck, party, and some Louisiana hospitality. Chicken Session #26 is a Sunday afternoon backyard brunch with Poet Al Mader and Musician Lexi Marie, as well as debut work by others in 12 open mic spots beforehand. Bring food to share! Noon -- Food and … Continued
$5
![[ID: Group photo of 11 members of Thursdays Writing Collective on stage together. They are all smiling. Two members are crouched at the front of the group for the photo. A red Verses banner is in the background. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Thursdays-Writing-Collective.jpg "Thursdays Writing Collective")
Thursdays Writing Collective Discussion and Workshop
Thursdays Writing Collective has been writing together at the Carnegie Centre at Main and Hastings for 10 years. Over that last decade, TWC members have met to share the acts and products of writing, improve their writing skills and make connections within Vancouver’s literary community. "TWC includes writers identifying as Indigenous, … Continued
$8 – $10
![[ID: Christopher Michael is standing on stage speaking into a microphone on a stand in front of him. He is bearded. His eyes are closed behind glasses and his eyebrows are raised. His left arm is stretched toward audience palm up at a 45 degree angle with his right hand indicating the inside of his left elbow. He is wearing a black t-shirt with a black vest over it and jeans. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Christopher-Michael.jpg "Christopher Michael")
Van Slam Team Finals featuring Christopher Michael
Celebrate the 22nd annual Van Slam Finals Night with visiting feature Christopher Michael. Vancouver's top nine slam poets of the season compete for a spot on this years team to represent Van Slam at major tournaments and festivals across North America. Poets gain points by ranking in the top four … Continued
$12 – $15
![[ID: Photograph of Vancouver Story Slam organizer and host Susan Cormier standing on stage behind a microphone. She holds a clipboard in her right hand with a Vancouver Story Slam label while gesturing with her left hand. She has bright blue and red nail polish. She is wearing a red dress. Her long hair is clipped back at the top. An insert of the Verses Festival of Words poster is at the bottom left with an array of stylized red salmon, arrows and dots moving from right to left across a blue background. It includes the words Eighth Annual Verses Festival of Words April 19 - 29, 2018. /end ID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Story-Slam-Susan-Verses-smaller-scaled.jpg "Story Slam Susan + Verses smaller")
Vancouver Story Slam Invitational Verses 2018 Edition
A special invitational edition of the Vancouver Story Slam storytelling show just for Verses Festival of Words! Ten storytellers share original short stories in a competition for cash and prizes. 50 audience members will receive voting ballots to select the night's winning storytellers. Vancouver Story Slam is Canada's longest-running live … Continued
$10 – $12
![[ID: A close-up of a well-worn wooden electric guitar with SRV initials on it being played by a person's hands with large gold circular rings on the ring fingers. Tha person a black embroidered with white shirt. /end ID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/29497458_1644736835580296_4615277344578433774_n.jpg "29497458_1644736835580296_4615277344578433774_n")
Mashed Poetics: Couldn’t Stand the Weather by Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble
Mashed Poetics is a night of Spoken Word and Music mash up. Mashed Poetics has been a part of the Verses Festival of Words since its inception and is happy to be a part of the 2018 edition. This year, Mashed Poetics is bringing the blues-rock storm of Couldn't Stand … Continued
$10 – $12
![[ID: Graphic image with salmon and red and black designs inside them move diagonally from middle left to upper right. The salmon are leaping along the edge of a turquoise coloured representation of water with spirals along the top edge. The words "EXPLORE ABORIGINAL CULTURE THROUGH THE ARTS. TALKINGSTICKFESTIVAl.CA" appear in the bottom right corner of the image. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/29994623_10156604372386535_508856424_o.png "29994623_10156604372386535_508856424_o")
Talking Stick Festival Community Stage
Native Education College Fireside Lounge 237 5th Ave E, Vancouver, British ColumbiaUPDATE on line-up below! The Talking Stick Festival has been calling community together for over 17 years. With a desire to appeal to Indigenous and non-Indigenous attendees alike, the multi-disciplinary Indigenous arts festival comes to us as a community stage presentation, closing out Verses Festival of Words 2018 with a … Continued
$12 – $15
hold their names close
Victoria Park 1425 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, Vancouver, BCby Frankie McGee Saturday, June 18, 7-8pm Victoria Park Field, 1425 Victoria Dr, Vancouver As Frankie digs into their community and blood lineages of queer and trans ancestors, you’ll be welcomed in to their messy, grief-and-love-filled effort to uncover and remember queer and trans histories. Grappling with their & their … Continued
![Moe Clark portrait [photo credit: credit: Nang K'uulas] smiling outdoors in wooded area with dappled light](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Moe_Clark_2020_44-scaled.jpeg "Moe_Clark_2020_44")
Pot Luck: Open Mic featuring Moe Clark
312 Main Street 312 Main Street, Vancouver, BCTICKETS Hosted by: Johnny Trinh After a feast of food, big dialogues, and a week of intense performance- we close the week by returning to the roots of Spoken Word and Oral Tradition. We gather around the table, we form a circle, and share our stories, songs, and art in … Continued
$10
VanSlam: Open Mic and Slam Competition featuring CR Avery
Community Taps & Pizza 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BCTICKETS Come join us for another night of slam poetry! This will be a live only event. Bring yourselves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr. This event will feature a set from poet CR Avery! what men do with their mouths Bio for c.r avery By P. … Continued
$10 – $15