One of the festival flagship events, "Oral Traditions" is an evening that amplifies diverse voices with a focus on oral traditions. For 2025, led by Sonya Littlejohn, Oral Traditions will be a collaborative showcase with partners: Native Hip Hop Society, Wordsmiths, and Soul Stories. This event will celebrate Indigenous, Black, … Continued
Poet Sheri-D Wilson launches the next volume of her epic work, The ONEIRONAUT ∅2 Come Celebrate as we launch the 2nd volume in a three-book one-story fantasy trilogy written in the beguiling words of poet Sheri-D Wilson. Sheri-D will be joined by friends: C.R. Avery, Billeh Nickerson, & Anjalica Solomon. Tuesday, April 15th, … Continued
The first round of competition features back-to-back slams as 24 of the best poets across Canada begin the tournament that will determine the 2025 Canadian Poetry Slam Champion! During Round 1, competing poets will perform 2-minute and 3-minute poems. This event will also stream live on the POETV YouTube channel. … Continued
The second round of competition features back-to-back slams as 24 of the best poets across Canada compete to see who will make Saturday night's CIPS FINALS! During Round 2, competing poets will perform 4-minute and 1-minute poems. This event will also stream live on the POETV YouTube channel. Thursday, April … Continued
Stage to Page returns for a public workshop where poets will explore ways to collaborate with music and other disciplines. Industry experts from across artistic disciplines and sectors offer tips and feedback to poets on their works, culminating in a musical jam session. Fri, April 18 at Chill X Studio … Continued
Always a fun event that offers opportunities for folks passionate about poetry to share work in a supportive environment! At this open mic-style event, attendees can sign up when they arrive at the event to share poems in an informal setting. Friday, April 18th, at Chill X Studio (2270 Manitoba St) … Continued
A longtime friend to Verses, Mashed Poetics returns with a showcase that brings music and poetry together as we celebrate The Tragically Hip album "Fully Completely"! Poets are invited to create work inspired by a song, artist, or album. Then, in true concert style, Mashed Poetics performs covers of the … Continued
A rare opportunity to learn from the incredible Beau Sia! Verses Festival of Words poet of honour and legendary Spoken Word poet Beau Sia offers a masterclass that offers coaching, tips, and feedback to poets interested in performance and writing compelling work. Sat, April 19 at Chill X Studio (2270 … Continued
After an intense preliminary competition, the top poets compete to crown the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam champion for 2025! Before the competition begins, enjoy an incredible opportunity to see our poet of honour, Beau Sia, perform a feature set, and help us celebrate the recipient(s) of this year's Zaccheus Jackson … Continued
Oral Traditions 2026: (Inaugural) International Indigenous Poetry Slam April 27 | Chill-X Studio Doors: 7pm | Sign-up 7:30pm | Show: 8pm Adv. $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets from Zeffy here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/oral-traditions-at-verses--2026 Buy a Verses Festival pass HERE Co-produced with … Continued
Famous Last Words from Death Rides A Unicorn April 28 | Chill-X Studio 6:30pm to 8:30pm Adv. $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Buy Advance Tickets for this event here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/famous-last-words-verses-2026-edition Buy a Verses Festival pass HERE A hilarious evening of poetry … Continued
Un-Closing Captions: possibilities for descriptive text April 29 | Chill-X Studio 3 pm to 5pm Adv. $10 or by donation | $10 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets for this event here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/captioning-and-scoring-poems-workshop Buy a Verses Festival pass HERE Led by Vancouver Poet … Continued
Writing Workshop led by Skylar Kay April 30 | Chill-X Studio 2pm to 4pm Adv. $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/verses-festival-writing-workshop-with-skylar-kay BUY A FESTIVAL PASS HERE Skylar Kay is an Alberta-based poet and grad school dropout. Since releasing … Continued
May 1 | Chill-X Studio 8pm to 10pm Adv. $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/mashed-poetics-verses-2026-edition BUY A FESTIVAL PASS HERE Mashed Poetics is one of Vancouver’s longest-running poetry showcases-- an all-star line-up of poets is invited to write poems … Continued
Projected Poems: The Practice and Evolution of Poetry in Film and Video with Sheri-D Wilson, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Brandon Wint, and Heather Haley Date: May 2, 2026 Time: 11:30 am (2 hours with Q&A) Location: Chill-X Studio with live audience, and filmed for streaming in future, likely with Sanderson Productions … Continued
May 2 | Chill-X Studio 3pm to 5pm Adv. $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/stage-to-page-showcase-intimate-dialogues BUY A FESTIVAL PASS HERE Stage to Page Showcase: Intimate Dialogues brings poets Abdulsalam, Jeremy Loveday, Skylar Kay, Amber Dawn, and Clifton Joseph together … Continued
May 2, | Chill-X Studio Doors: 7pm | Show: 8pm Adv. Tix: $10 | $15 at the door (no one turned away for lack of funds) Advance tickets here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/canadian-individual-poetry-slam-finals-ft-spin-el-poeta BUY FESTIVAL PASS HERE Join us for the final night of the national competition to determine the 2026 Canadian Individual … Continued