Vancouver Poetry House

Van Slam: Slam and Open Mic feat. Rebecca Thomas
2023-03-27 20:00 - 22:00 (America/Vancouver) | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of slam poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Rebecca Thomas!

A bit about them: Rebcca Thomas is an award winning Mi’kmaw poet and activist who does not want to be a poet or activist. She just happens to be good enough at poetry and persuasion to get people to listen but her ultimate goal is to make Canada a better place for her Indigenous community because so many people tend to forget they were here first. She has accidentally found herself as the former Poet Laureate of Halifax. She has performed with the Halluci Nation and has spoken and lectured at conferences and coffee houses from coast to coast. She writes kids books about growing up the child of a residential school survivor. Her first book I’m Finding My Talk has been shortlisted for the First Nations Community Reads Award. Her most recent collection of poetry called “I place you into the fire” was listed as one of CBC’s top 20 books of 2020. Her book “Swift Fox All Along” was a finalist for the 2020 Governor General’s Award for children’s literature. She has an upcoming children’s book called “The Chair” set for a 2024 publishing date. She pays her bills by helping students who are overwhelmed with life and studies as a Student Services Advisor at the Nova Scotia Community College.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Van Slam: Open Mic feat. Heather Haley
2023-03-20 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Heather Haley!

A bit about them:Heather Haley is a Vancouver writer, singer, and videopoetry pioneer. A member of the punk band, the 45s, and the originator of the all-female group, the Zellots, Haley’s edgy style stems in part, from her days in the Los Angeles underground music scene. Known for pushing boundaries by creatively integrating disciplines, genres and media, she published “The Edgewise Café,” one of Canada’s first electronic literary magazines and as AURAL released CDs of spoken word song, “Princess Nut” and “Surfing Season.” She is the author of poetry collections: “Sideways,” “Three Blocks West of Wonderland,” “Skookum Raven” and a novel, “The Town Slut’s Daughter.” Her work has toured Canada, the US and Europe and appeared in a wide range of periodicals and anthologies. Committed to honesty, feeling, craft and a sense of the absurd, Haley continues to ask all the tough questions “a nice girl’s not supposed to ask” and performs in indie folk duo, The Pluviophiles.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Van Slam: Slam and Open Mic feat. Franz Seachel
2023-03-13 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of slam poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Franz Seachel!

A bit about them: Franz Seachel is a South-Asian settler residing on unceded Coast-Salish lands of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaɁɬ təməxʷ (Musqueam) nations. She is a multidisciplinary artist, organizer, and workshop facilitator. Franz has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She is the Founder/ Executive Director of Enable: Arts Society, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting community-based and collaborative art projects by emerging and/or marginalized voices. Her work has been featured at Word Vancouver, Voices of Today in Toronto, Vancouver Poetry Slam, Richmond World Festival, Ode to Surrey, and Surrey Muses, amongst others. Franz is a creator of space. She believes in the connection of art. She believes art makes living bearable and does her best to put more colour into the world. She means this both in the sense of brightening up the mundane with creation, as well as in her mission to uplift the truths of marginalized bodies. She teaches writing workshops on embodying the writing practice by combining her knowledge as a Yoga teacher and parts of her own artistic practice. Franz hopes you dream often, and breathe deeply; she hopes you find reasons to stay. You can follow her on Instagram, @franz_seachel.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Van Slam: Open Mic Feat Duke AI
2023-03-06 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Duke AI!

A bit about them:

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to read will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Slam and Open Mic Feat. Dash Reimer
2023-02-27 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of slam poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Dash Reimer!

A bit about them: Dash Reimer is a settler artist and educator based out of Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon. He works within the worlds of spoken word poetry and hip hop and has a decade of experience performing on stages across Turtle Island, North Africa, South Africa and Turkey. Dash was the National Youth Poetry Slam Champion in 2012 and has been on many slam teams. He is passionate about community care, grassroots neighborhood movements and baking his friends tasty treats. Dash has been an avid collaborator in playwriting, jazz combos, improv troupes, rap crews and everything in between.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Open Mic feat. Mike McGee
2023-02-20 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the incredible, Mighty Mike McGee!

A bit about them: Mighty Mike McGee is a well-traveled “stand-up poet” and storyteller from San José, California. In the world of poetry slam, he is the first to win both the 2003 National Poetry Slam Individual Grand Championship and the 2006 Individual World Poetry Slam Grand Championship. He has toured very extensively throughout United States, Canada and Europe. Since 2002, he’s covered several hundred thousand miles performing his brand of poetry and humor. McGee has been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, CBC Radio and Television, and NPR’s Snap Judgment. He was one of the first Americans to perform spoken word at the University of Paris, la Sorbonne in 2005. He was appointed Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley) for 2018 & 2019. McGee’s first collection of humor and poetry, In Search of Midnight, is available through Write Bloody Publishing. He can be found somewhere between Silicon Valley and Vancouver, B.C. as often as possible.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Slam and Open Mic feat. Joshua “Scribe” Watkis
2023-02-13 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the amazing Joshua “Scribe” Watkis!

A bit about them: A lifetime immersed in the performing arts has made Joshua “Scribe” Watkis devoted to the gift of storytelling. Through Spoken Word Poetry and Hip-Hop, he has taken thousands into his world to experience it as he does. The Scarborough born poet has performed on stages across Canada, appeared on CBC and has opened for the legendary Hip-Hop band ‘The Roots’. His goal is not only to bring audiences through his story, but to gift them with the courage to share their own stories, in their own words, out loud.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Slam and Open Mic feat. Sydellia Ndiaye
2023-02-06 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the incredible Sydellia Ndiaye!

A bit about them:
Sydellia Ndiaye is an internationally recognized, veteran, spoken word artist who received her start in what is considered to be home to some of the world’s best slam poets, Chicago. The Senegalese-American artist has been blessed to touch souls all over the world by performing her spoken word in North America, Europe and Africa.
Sydellia has also competed in several competitions throughout her career. She was one of the top 8 finalists in the “RISE AND FLOW” Emerging Artist Competition 2020 organized by R.I.S.E Edutainment and the winner of the April 2020 Toronto Poetry Slam put on by one of the largest poetry organizations in Toronto. She is currently the champion of the Toronto Poetry Slam 2022 and 2nd place winner of the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam.

Outside of Spoken Word, Ndiaye is a mental health advocate who has partnered with several mental health organizations and initiatives.Truth and love are discussed synonymously in our world but seldom practiced. Sydellia believes her destiny is to exercise the purity of speaking truth and spreading love while moving hearts and limbs through the power of spoken word.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Open Mic feat. Joseph Dandurand
2023-01-30 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from the incredible Joseph Dandurand!

A bit about them: Joseph Dandurand is a poet from the Kwantlen First Nation in B.C. He has written a poem every day for 30 years, and has published 13 collections. The East Side of It All, which tells his story of survival through poetry, was a finalist for the 2021 Griffin Prize. Dandurand draws on first-hand experience of life as a drug user and single-room occupant in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. His autobiographical poems “could easily drown in the brutality and tragedy they capture—but instead they heal,” wrote the Griffin Prize jurors. “Powerful, visionary parables of suffering, redemption and retribution,” Toronto Star wrote of his multi-layered poems, which trace the narrator’s healing journey as he reconnects with family, the natural world and Indigenous storytelling. Dandurand, who is also a playwright and archaeologist, is director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre and lives with his three daughters.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

VanSlam: Slam and Open Mic Feat. Julia Gaskill
2023-01-23 19:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from Julia Gaskill!

A bit about them: Julia Gaskill (she/her) is a writer, performer, community organizer, and professional daydreamer hailing from Portland, Oregon. Her work has been published through Vagabond City Lit, Nailed Magazine, Trampoline Poetry, Knight’s Library Magazine, and more, and she’s been featured on YouTube channels such as Button Poetry, SlamFind, and Write About Now. She was included in the 2020 anthology ‘In Absentia’ and has poems featured in forthcoming anthologies through Alternating Currents and FreezeRay Poetry. Julia has run the poetry mic Slamlandia since 2018, and she co-founded The Bigfoot Regional Poetry Slam in 2019. Her debut poetry collection, weirdo, came out through Game Over Books Press in October 2022.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:

Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Your Voice is Needed at the Board Table
2023-01-19 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom
REGISTER
Cognitive diversity, also known as diversity of thought can simply be defined as inclusion of people who have different information processing styles or problem-solving skills and who can offer unique perspectives because they think differently.
Boards that are diverse are creative, innovative and they encourage greater consideration of alternatives while providing access to a wider range of information and perspectives. There are many reasons why people sit on boards. In this interactive workshop, you will learn:

Advantages of sitting at the board table
What participating on not-for-profit boards involves
How to decide which board to join
Whether you have what it takes to be on a board

Members of Synergy Executive & Boards Consulting Group will facilitate this session.
Synergy Executive & Boards Consulting Group specializes in placing, promoting and supporting the advancement of BIPOC subject matter experts and professionals seeking to bring their voices and talents to boardrooms, C-suites and other decision-making tables. Synergy, networks and connections by supporting companies to achieve their diversity goals through building talent pipelines; government and industry stakeholder engagement and management; and through equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism consulting.
Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.

VanSlam: Open Mic feat. Apollo The Child
2023-01-16 19:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
Come join us for another night of poetry! As always, our event is in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

We will also have a live feature set from Apollo The Child!

A bit about them: Khaleefa ‘Apollo the Child’ Hamdan is a spoken word poet, hip hop artist, radio host, youth
worker and is the former co director of the Urban Legends Poetry Collective. Apollo created the
free after school youth writing program Youth Speak with the Ottawa Public Library. His
cinepoem 'My Hero Drives a Cab' was featured on Button Poetry and he was part of the CBC
documentary 'In Their Words'. Apollo has represented Ottawa a total of 9 times nationally.
Apollo continues to be an active part of the art scene as he continues to mentor and spread
positivity.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Van Slam Feat. KP Dennis
2023-01-09 20:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
It’s our first Slam of the new year! Come join us and get the new year started well as always in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from KP Dennis!

A bit about them:K.P Dennis a Black, non-binary, writer, theatre creator, and inter-dispclinary artist based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. They were the 2016 Youth Poet Laureate of Victoria, the 2017 recipient of the VACCS Community recognition Award, and in 2020 they received the Witness Legacy Award for Social Purpose and Responsibility Through Art. Their work explores future building through a queer afro-surrealist lens, using magic and fantasy to explore what we will have to do and who we have to become, to liberate our futures.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are strongly encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.

Van Slam Feat. Becoming Christopher
2022-12-19 19:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey poetry peeps!
It’s our final Van Slam of the year! Come join us and celebrate our final slam of 2022, as always in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from Becoming Christopher!

A bit about him: Becoming Christopher is a writer, spoken word poet, and co-creator of the online creative community “The Heart Union”. He’s performed on the national stage, earning 6th place at the 2022 Canadian Poetry Slam. His personal development and experiences with mental illness bring both passion and magic to life in his work. He recently released his first poetry collection “we could be doing something right.” And after driving across North America in his van, he’s fuelled his next project; writing on masculine initiation and self discovery.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Masking Policy:
Masks are encouraged, but the venue is a restaurant and members of the audience will be maskless.
Venue Access

Van Slam feat. Zynab Mohammed
2022-12-12 19:30 - 22:00
Hey poetry peeps!
We’re back again with another Van Slam! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format. Bring your selves and your words to Community Pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.

Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from Zynab Mohammed!
Artist Bio:
Zaynab Mohammed is an award-winning performing poet living in the Slocan Valley of BC. She was born in Vancouver, to immigrant parents fleeing war torn countries. Inspired by the hardships her family has endured, her writing touches on what is possible in the realms of healing and creating new ways forward. She is currently writing her first one-woman show, informed from a year of research, on the topic of listening. The vision is to inspire folks to listen a little bit more to themselves, to each other and most importantly, to the earth.

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:30 both in person and online.

Tix for our live event are $10-15 sliding scale, online tix are pay what you can.
Both online and live tix in advance can be found here: Tickets
Or just head on down and get a ticket at the door!

Excerpts
2022-12-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Presentations House, 333 Chesterfield Avenue, North Vancouver, BC, V7M3G9, Canada
TICKETS
An evening of poetic short performances featuring an ensemble of poets from across the country. Each excerpt represents a preview of a forthcoming full production, offering audience members a sneak-peek of performances in the making.
Act 1: Body Language: A Study of Poetry in Motion – explores how we communicate and the languages we use to do it. It experiments with changing the primary ‘voice’ on stage between spoken word, dance, and Sign.
Act 2: Quiet Kitchen by Johnny Trinh – a food and storytelling short performance
Act 3: InnerGenerational by Anto Chan – explores intergenerational trauma and healing
The ensemble includes: Hari Alluri, Justin Calvadores, Anto Chan, Desiree Dawson, Victoria Karoline, Rei Leung, Johnny MacRae, Lucia Misch, Johnny Trinh, SJ Valiquette, George C Vasquez, Shana Wolfe

Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.

Accessing the Presentation House https://www.phtheatre.org/frequently-asked-questions/ We ask audience members to please wear a mask at all times except when eating or drinking at Vancouver Poetry House events. Our mask request will be in place until further notice.

Excerpts is supported by Canadian Heritage, the British Columbia Arts Council, Canada Council of the Arts and the City of Vancouver.

Van Slam feat. D Fretter
2022-12-05 19:00 - 22:00 | community pizza, 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC, V5N 4A8
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps!

Join us for our first slam at our new home base, Community Pizza! As always this is a hybrid event, and we are excited to continue offering live and online programming! Bring your selves and your words to 1191 Commercial Dr, or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from D Fretter! A bit about him: D Fretter (he/him) has been described as a hip-hop Andrea Gibson and a philosophical Shel Silverstein. His first self-published collection Joy + Misery peaked at number 1 in African Canadian Literature and number 6 in Canadian Poetry on Amazon. His performances have earned him praise from poets like In-Q, Brandon Leake, and Sabrina Benaim. D writes to alchemize his experiences and shares his work in hopes to inspire, encourage, and entertain his listeners and readers.
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.

Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through our eventbrite link, or at the door.
Tickets

Van Slam feat. Dina Del Buchia
2022-11-28 19:30 - 22:00
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps!
It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door, 1638 Venables St. or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs March 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from the Vancouver’s funniest poet Dina Del Buchia!!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery in advance or at the door.
Live TICKETS

Van Slam Feat. Brendan Mcleod
2022-11-14 19:30 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door, 1638 Venables St. or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs February 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from the Vancouver and Canadian Slam legend Brendan McLeod!!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery in advance or at the door.
Live TICKETS

Online tickets –
To attend online, register in advance for tonight’s Van Slam featuring Brendan McLeod:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElce2hrzssEt3I5ewDQ2Vu8MpRHHXLmp7H

Van Slam feat. Dana Neily
2022-10-24 19:00 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door, 1638 Venables St. or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs February 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from Vic Slam stalwart Dana Neily!!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery
Live TICKETS
Online tickets – Eventbrite

Performance Coaching with Charlie Petch
2022-10-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Online Registration
In-Person Registration by emailing Johnny Trinh artisticdirector@vancouverpoetryhouse.com
Award winning theatre artist and performance poet, Charlie Petch wants to help you improve your onstage game. As a former slam coach for Toronto Poetry Slam, and theatre director, I know I can help you not only form a poem that is going to grab an audience’s attention, but also help you with performance tools to ensure the audience will be moved, connected with, and entertained. Whether you recite from the page or from memory, this is the workshop for you. Included is a microphone workshop, how to use a stand, control pops and feedback. For all levels of social anxiety, observe or dive in. You’re all welcome.
Bring your own work for feedback and gentle coaching, let’s get you to really shine onstage.
**This is a hybrid workshop, with the link above for folks engaging online. For more information on registering to attend in-person at Next Door Studios (1638 Venables St.) email: artisticdirector@vancouverpoetryhouse.com
Workshop fee is $25.
Vancouver Poetry House is committed to reducing barriers. If the ticket price is prohibitive- contact artisticdirector@vancouverpoetryhouse.com for confidential support and access to the workshop. No one will be turned away within participant capacity of the workshop, registration is first come first serve.
Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.

Van Slam feat. Truth Is...
2022-10-10 19:00 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door, 1638 Venables St. or to the Van Slam zoom space.

Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs February 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from slam legend Truth Is…!!

Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.

Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.

Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery
TICKETS

To join us online – please register through Eventbrite

Van Slam Feat. Billie Nell
2022-09-26 19:00 - 22:00
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door, 1638 Venables St. or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs February 2023.
Also we will have a live feature set from Billie Nell!!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery
TICKETS

Van Slam Feat. Neko Smart
2022-09-12 19:30 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door on Venables or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs later in the year.
Also we will have a live feature set from Neko Smart!!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery
TICKETS

Van Slam Andy Warner
2022-08-22 19:30 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Hey Vancouver poetry peeps! It’s time to meet up once more in our hybrid live & online format! Bring your selves and your words to Next Door on Venables or to the Van Slam zoom space.
Poets in our slam will win cash & collect points toward the playoffs later in the year.
Also we will have a live feature set from Andy Warner!! Andy is a one of kind performer!
Doors will open @ 7 pm both in person & online, show starts @ 8 pm.
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.
Live Tix $10 or $15 (pay what you choose) available through Slice of Life Gallery
TICKETS

Annual General Meeting
2022-08-13 15:00 - 16:00 | Woodwards Building, 111 W. Hastings Street, Unit 210, Vancouver, BC, V6B 1H4, Canada
There is no fee to become a member of the Vancouver Poetry House Society. As a member, you will be able to vote at our annual general meeting. We welcome your involvement in directing the society.
Become a Member or Renew Your Membership
The BC Societies Act requires us to ask you to renew your membership every year. If you would like to vote at the coming AGM please renew your membership before July 16th. This year our Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday, August 13, 3pm PDT. The meeting will be conducted online and in-person. To receive the Zoom link if you are attending online please register. To join the in-person meeting come to the atrium of the Woodward’s Building at 111 West Hastings Street and someone from the society will be available from 2:45-3:00 to give you access to the building.

Sounds Like Fire
2022-08-11 20:00 - 22:00 | Vancity Culture Lab, The Cultch (C-Lab), 1895 Venables Street, Vancouver, BC, V5L 2H6, Canada
​​Tickets
Doors at 7:30, show at 8
If available, tickets will also be sold at the door.
Sounds Like Fire, Thursday, August 11, C-Lab at the Cultch, 1895 Venables St, Vancouver
We had to cancel Sounds Like Fire during the festival but you just can’t keep a good fire down. The event features award-winning local poets and musicians Francis Arevalo, Kimmortal, Desiree Dawson and Hari Alluri. Sounds Like Fire will be equal parts tenderness and fire, water and righteous rage. Each featured artist brings big love and social consciousness to the stage, while displaying lyrical craft that encompasses hip hop, the poetic page, folk, and experimental music in between.
If you have questions about accessibility at visit Access Verses
Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.

Van Slam featuring Ronnie Dean Harris
2022-06-27 20:00 - 22:00 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Doors at 7, Show at 8
In-person TICKETS, $10-15, Next Door, 1636 Venables Street
We will have 5 sponsored tickets If you don’t have the means just ask, we want you there!
Online TICKETS, $6-10 or by donation
Ronnie Dean Harris aka Ostwelve, is a Stō:lo/St’át’imc/N’laka’pamux artist based in New Westminster, B.C. Beginning in music, he has explored various mediums such as TV, film, visual + sound design along side various research subjects including history, cosmology, genealogy and Indigenous policy. Ronnie is the current Indigenous Cultural Development Coordinator at Massey Theatre in New Westminster working on various cultural + social activations. You can hear Ronnie as the voice of Dad/Walter on the PBS/WGBH series Molly Of Denali and seen on various other TV + film projects.
Poets in our slam can win cash & collect points toward the playoffs later in the year!
There will also be free pinball until 7:45 pm at Van Slam events!!
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.

IMPORTANT – This event is BYOB.
Here’s how that works:
– You get to bring what you want to drink (pre-mixed beverages)
– When you arrive alcoholic drinks will be handed to staff who give you a ticket, which you show to get your drink(s) when you need ’em. Other drinks are yours.
– You tip the bar staff as per usual.
– You can bring whatever food you want as well, but are responsible for the garbage.

SUPER IMPORTANAT – COVID INFO: Van Slam is aware that the pandemic is not over. Therefore, while we can’t enforce the wearing of masks during our events we will emphatically encourage you to do so for your own and others safety and comfort.
Hope you can drop in, We’d love to see y’all!
Any questions or concerns email: slamcoordinator@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.

hold their names close
2022-06-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Victoria Park, 1425 Victoria Dr, Vancouver, Vancouver, BC
by 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 ancestors’ relationships to catholicism, and opening space for the complexities their lineages and queer histories hold, witness as Frankie holds space to celebrate the beauty of queer and trans people, who have always existed, in quiet and visible ways, even when we haven’t been given space to.
This work-in-progress performance touches on religious trauma, grief, queerphobia, transphobia, and ableism; it’s been crafted with care, and audiences will be welcome to move in and out of the space as they wish to.
Folding chairs will be available as a seating option. ASL interpreting will be provided. There is a public bathroom in the park which is open until 8pm. There will be a section of the audience where masks are required, and another where masks are optional, to provide options for people with access needs related to masking. There will be seating reserved near the front for d/Deaf, hard of hearing, and blind & low-vision audience members.
Vancouver Poetry House events take place on the ancestral territories of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh First Nations, whose lands were never sold, ceded, or relinquished,—lands that were taken. Vancouver Poetry House supports the resurgence of Indigenous culture and the work of Indigenous poets.
[Image Description: a graphic with pink and red text on a dark grey slightly speckled background. Down the left side, title reads: “hold their names close” in large pink text. A candle wick and flame extend upwards from the s on “names”, with an orange glow around it. Below smaller pink text reads “by Frankie McGee”. Along the bottom, small red text reads “June 18” and “at Victoria Park”. A red thread winds around the right side of the image against the dark background. /end ID]

Van Slam featuring Catherine Garrett
2022-06-13 19:00 - 21:30 | Next Door, 1636 venables st, Vancouver, BC, V5L2H2, Canada
Doors at 7, Show at 8
Next Door on Venables or the Van Slam zoom space

In-Person Tickets $10 or $15
We will have 5 sponsored tickets If you don’t have the means just ask, we want you there!
Online Tickets$6-10 or by donation

Catherine Garrett (they/she) is a bisexual powerhouse who puts their considerable passion to poetry and reporting, and getting other people to write their bios for her. She recently placed second at the 2021 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS). They’ve competed on three Victoria slam teams and one Vancouver slam team, and was also a CIPS finalist of 2020. They can be found drinking beer, and yelling about hockey on twitter. Her numerous publications include Moria, Room, Sky Island Journal, Iced Lolly Review, Inertia Teens, Oraotrealis, Turnpike, and Cotyledon. They will bring a lot of complicated enthusiasm on such topics as family, death, and doing what you love.

Poets in our slam can win cash & collect points toward the playoffs later in the year!
There will also be free pinball until 7:45 pm at Van Slam events!!
Sign up to slam will start at 7:15 both in person and online.

IMPORTANT – This event is BYOB.
Here’s how that works:
– You get to bring what you want to drink (pre-mixed beverages)
– When you arrive alcoholic drinks will be handed to staff who give you a ticket, which you show to get your drink(s) when you need ’em. Other drinks are yours.
– You tip the bar staff as per usual.
– You can bring whatever food you want as well, but are responsible for the garbage.

SUPER IMPORTANAT – COVID INFO: Van Slam is aware that the pandemic is not over. Therefore, while we can’t enforce the wearing of masks during our events we will emphatically encourage you to do so for your own and others safety and comfort.
Hope you can drop in, We’d love to see y’all!
Any questions or concerns email: slamcoordinator@vancouverpoetryhouse.com
