![[ID: Q in black lipstick, a grey crop top, and underwear seated in their manual wheelchair, holding their knees to their chest as they look out a window; a bicycle wheel tattoo is partially visible on their shoulder blade, and a hand of fate holding a dandelion puff as the seeds disperse tattoo is on their thigh /end ID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/29425970_2040557059499602_2120453163948441600_o-e1522114254147-scaled.jpg "29425970_2040557059499602_2120453163948441600_o")
"Lame, crippling, retard/ed, gimp, moron, spaz, handicap/ped, handicapable, differently abled, diffability, special needs, deaf/blind to, hearing impaired, invalid, wheelchair bound - From slurs to euphemisms to the way we describe our experiences, ableist language is in the very roots of our speech. Language translates to beliefs, beliefs translate to actions, … Continued
![[ID: Image of a partial moon face. The bottom of the moon is reflected at the bottom of the image. The moon is set against an off white background. The words "The Witching Hour" "Verses Festival of Words" " Joelle Barron // Ellie Sawatzky // Alessandra Naccarato" and " w/ special guests, tarot readings and ask baba yaga" overlaid on the moon image in black and blue font. /end ID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/29746763_10155924694531140_605647739_o-1-2-e1522352152926.png "29746763_10155924694531140_605647739_o (1)")
Triple book launch with Joelle Barron, Ellie Sawatzky, Alessandra Naccarato & special guests. Join us for the launch of three new poetry collections that blur the line between the magic and the mundane: Highly Sensitive Femme by Alessandra Naccarato (Frog Hollow Press), Rhinocerotic by Ellie Sawatzky (Frog Hollow Press), and Ritual Lights … Continued
![[ID: Many people in audience of Sounds Like Fire 2017, smiling and laughing. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/sounds-like-fire.jpg "sounds like fire")
Rich with voices of the past, present, and future, a powerhouse lineup of literary and lyrical titans guide us on a journey through poetic language, experience, story, and song including songwriter and composer Edzi’u, storyteller, poet, and academic Joshua Whitehead, and innovative multimedia artist Janet Rogers. Doors 8:15 pm / Showcase … Continued
![[ID: A row of paper bags with Verses logo screenprinted in pink are lined up along a table. The corner of a stack of red tshirts is on the table at the left bottom edge of the photo. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Masse-Mensch-Material-360x360-1.jpg "Masse Mensch Material")
CIPS Orientation will take place on Wednesday, April 25th, from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM at Wise Hall. (Bouts will run on Thursday, April 26th and Friday, April 27th at Cafe Deux Soleils and Havana Theatre.) THIS EVENT IS FOR MEMBERS OF THE TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE AND COMPETING CIPS POETS ONLY … Continued
![[ID: Kitty Stryker sits on a round orange and yellow ottoman chair. Her feet are tucked to one side. The image is at a tilt and is washed in yellow. Kitty wears a dark plaid skirt, black stockings, Mary-Jane shoes, and a yellow v-necked button up cardigan over a flowered shirt. Her hair is orange. She wears glasses. Her mouth is pursed. Her head is tilted and her eyes are looking to one side. To her right there is an orange gumball machine. Above her on a shelf on the yellow wall behind her, there is a bag of gumballs. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/apekitty-6467.jpg "apekitty-6467")
What better place to proclaim your love for whatever turns on your nerdy nature than at the Storm Crow Tavern, the geekiest gathering place in Vancouver? Costumes are welcomed in the audience or for performers. Go on, dress up, and step up to the mic. You will be in raucous … Continued
![[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")
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
![[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 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
![[ID: A graphic with the word Talk repeated in different sizes and colours filling the space of the image. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/TalktheTalk1.jpg "TalktheTalk")
Guided by two qualified facilitators, Kitty Stryker and Rabbit Richards, this talk is likely to engage with a number of topics that challenge, advance and re-form our collective ideas of consent culture within the arts. Come prepared with questions, thoughts and a respectful voice. Active listeners will be present for … Continued
![[ID: Cedar strips woven to create a square in the middle framing the Reframing Relations logo. The logo is a purple and turquoise design. The words Reframing Relations are below the image. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Reframing-Relations-Images_Page_1-scaled.jpg "Reframing Relations Images_Page_1")
Reframing Relations brings Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists together ... to facilitate dialogue about reconciliation in Canada. Participants work together on collaborative, arts-based ‘Statements of Understanding’ to discover where their awareness of Indigenous issues is located today, where they have gaps in their knowledge, and what concrete actions can be taken … Continued
Canada’s best slam poets sling metaphors and match wits in four-minute and one-minute rounds. These Day One bouts at Havana Theatre are two of eight preliminary competitions that take place on Thursday and Friday nights here and at Cafe Deux Soleils during Verses Festival. The scores from these eight bouts determine the … Continued
Canada’s best slam poets sling metaphors and match wits in four-minute and one-minute rounds. These Day One bouts at Cafe Deux Soleils are two of eight preliminary competitions that take place on Thursday and Friday nights here and at Havana Theatre during Verses Festival. The scores from these eight bouts determine … Continued
Live at the WISE and Verses Festival of Words is proud to present The Fugitives album release Show for "The Promise of Strangers" . PLUS Introducing the Verses Festival of Words "Little Death Match" (a 17 syllable slam) During intermission we dip our toes into a tantalizing tiny pool of … Continued
![[ID: There is the back of a person with red hair standing in a circle with other people. The person wears a grey hoodie with a jean jacket over it. The jean jacket has a large black rectangular patch that says "Don't Touch Me." A person wearing an orange hoodie and brown pants stands to their left. Another person wearing a yellow shirt is to their right. A person with a pink shirt and jeans is across the circle of people. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/18209346_1323109567743026_6284841095387137108_o.jpg "18209346_1323109567743026_6284841095387137108_o")
Please note the update to this event that it is now by donation or pay what you can. Kitty Stryker, consultant to Juggalos and Sex Educators alike, presents a talk on how to have thoughtful conversations about sexual assault when it impacts someone you love, mixed with Q&A for attendees … Continued
![[ID: Gold running shoes and jeans of a person standing at behind a mic and mic stand on stage. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/18198444_1323706294350020_7424804281473372304_n.jpg "18198444_1323706294350020_7424804281473372304_n")
Canada’s best performance poets show us their strongest two and three minute poems to decide who will advance to finals. These Day Two bouts at Havana Theatre are two of eight preliminary competitions that take place on Thursday and Friday nights here and at Cafe Deux Soleils during Verses Festival. The … Continued
![[ID: A person wearing a purple shirt holds up a scorecard with the number 8.1 on it. In the background are other audience members and the menu chalkboard at Cafe Deux Soleils. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Photo-for-CIPS-Day-2-CDS-resized.jpg "Photo for CIPS Day 2 CDS resized")
Canada’s best performance poets show us their strongest two and three minute poems to decide who will advance to finals. These Day Two bouts at Cafe Deux Soleils are two of eight preliminary competitions that take place on Thursday and Friday nights here and at Havana Theatre during Verses Festival. … Continued
![[ID: Many people in audience clapping and cheering. Two people are in the forefront of the photo. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/18121289_1323034557750527_2230345362122569032_o.jpg "18121289_1323034557750527_2230345362122569032_o")
In the guts of artists everywhere is a driving force, a question that begs for answer, churning engine of the inquisitive mind. Interrobang?! pays homage to those making their statements known, loud and clear, while asking the complicated, nuanced, and too often unasked-questions. Join us as this all star line-up … Continued
This community-driven, facilitator-mediated conversation asks artists to participate in anti-oppression dialogue around the topic of “Harm Reduction” within the Spoken Word Community and the many intersecting communities in which we engage. Active listeners will be present for community care. Come prepared with questions, suggestions and a respectful voice. This discussion … Continued
![[ID: Many people dancing and moving around a room. They are smiling. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/18155892_1323040434416606_3688364882893511007_o.jpg "18155892_1323040434416606_3688364882893511007_o")
A whirlwind of words from Chimwemwe Undi, Deirdre Lee, Andre Prefontaine, Doug Koyama, and Philip Kevin Paul who will perform feats of acrobatic wordsmithery before your very eyes. Doors 2:30 / Show 3 - 4:30 / Havana Theatre / $10 Advance / $12 At Door $10 Advance tickets for Word Circus … Continued
![[ID: Ifrah Hussein, 2018 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam champion stands at a microphone on a stand in front of a red curtain illuminated by a spotlight. Her mouth is open speaking. She is looking to her right. She is wearing blue jeans and a denim jacket with a yellow t-shirt under it. She wears a black hijab. Her hands are clasped behind her back. /endID]](https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/media/Ifrah-2017-Finals.jpg "Ifrah 2017 Finals")
The top 12 poets from preliminaries advance to this final match. Who will claim the title of 2018 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion? This closing match includes a feature presentation by the 2017 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam champion Ifrah Hussein. Poets in the Finals will be performing three-minute poems. The … Continued
![[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")
UPDATE 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
All Vancouver Poetry House members are welcome to attend board meetings. As poets you know you have a voice. You can use it to help make VPH sustainable and a vibrant reflection of our shared values. All you need to do is give one of the board members some notice … Continued
All Vancouver Poetry House members are welcome to attend board meetings. As poets you know you have a voice. You can use it to help make VPH sustainable and a vibrant reflection of our shared values. All you need to do is give one of the board members some notice … Continued
We're meeting again. At table: VPH strategic planning. Let us know if you'd like to attend. admin@vancouverpoetryhouse.com
The next board meeting is coming up on the 30th of September. So far on the agenda - money, grants and Hullabaloo. Want to come? Let one of us know. Thinking about becoming a board member? Let us know. We'll send you some info. Contact us at admin@vancouverpoetryhouse.com. Agenda VPH … Continued
The next board meeting is coming up on the 30th of September. So far on the agenda - money, grants and Hullabaloo. Want to come? Let one of us know. Thinking about becoming a board member? Let us know. We'll send you some info. Contact us at admin@vancouverpoetryhouse.com. Agenda VPH … Continued
This event is taking place on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. *Vancouver Poetry House strives to be a trans-friendly space. *We encourage a scent-reduced environment, we ask the folks planning to attend, to be aware of the scented products (lotions, hairspray, … Continued
This event is taking place on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. *Vancouver Poetry House strives to be a trans-friendly space. *We encourage a scent-reduced environment, we ask the folks planning to attend, to be aware of the scented products (lotions, hairspray, … Continued
This event is taking place on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. *Vancouver Poetry House strives to be a trans-friendly space. *We encourage a scent-reduced environment, we ask the folks planning to attend, to be aware of the scented products (lotions, hairspray, … Continued
Your chance to register to compete in the 9th Annual Canadian Individual Poetry Slam!
On Sunday, April 7 2019 VPH is holding an Extraordinary General Meeting of the membership (EGM) to discuss changes to the by-laws made, and passed by, the board of directors. The reasons we have re-written the by-laws are: To make it possible for people who earn money on VPH stages … Continued