Vancouver Poetry House

Adventures in Poetryland
2019-04-27 10:00 - 12:30 (America/Vancouver) | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
Youth poets take up to two workshops designed to help expand their poetic horizons and learn about the breadth of spoken word from professional poets. Participants select workshops on offer by Ruby Singh, El Jones, Francis Arevalo and Ann-Bernice Thomas.
FREE FOR YOUTH AGED 13 to 18! Advanced registration required! To register, CLICK HERE! Sign up for any 2 out of 4 available workshops on this day. Registration is first come, first served, and space is limited.
10 AM / VPL Central Branch: Alice MacKay & Peter Kaye-Alma VanDusen Rooms / Free
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS:
There are four workshops available, of which each participant may select two. Select workshops in order of preference. We will do our best to ensure everyone gets into their top two choices, though placement will be on a first come first served basis. Each workshop is designed to be 45-50 minutes in length.
What are we offering? Here’s a description!
WRITING FOR JUSTICE with EL JONES
What does it mean to engage with social issues as a writer? How do we speak responsibly, with integrity, and in a way that’s accountable to communities? When does speaking about injustice cause harm and how do we bear witness to pain without re-traumatizing or making pain a spectacle? How can we build writing practices that take place in community? These are some of the difficult questions we will work through, as we think about and write about social justice.
A MUSICAL ORBIT: THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF TIME with RUBY SINGH
Ruby SIngh will take you on a live looping journey, from fundamental first steps to multi-loop compositions.
We will investigate the human voice through vocal percussion, singing and improvisation.
Exploring the basics of rhythm, harmony and melody, we will learn to craft compositions in the moment.
Bring an instrument, bring a friend and bring your curiosity.
HOME, GROWN with FRANCIS AREVALO
Every idea is a seed, so the “Home, Grown” workshop explores how we can best cultivate our creativity. Home, Grown explores specifically how music, poetry, and collaboration can not only lead to powerful and beautiful art, but also enrich and empower our lives. “Home, Grown” will involve creative writing, music production, and teamwork.
FINDING VOICE IN CONCRETE DETAIL with ANN-BERNICE THOMAS
In this workshop, you will learn how to think like a poet. How to find yourself in life’s little details, rooting your voice in the honest compassion of the everyday. You will mine yourself and practice trust in your voice, to find and tell the stories that ache to be told.

Adventures in Poetryland
2019-04-27 10:00 - 12:30 | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
Youth poets take up to two workshops designed to help expand their poetic horizons and learn about the breadth of spoken word from professional poets. Participants select workshops on offer by Ruby Singh, El Jones, Francis Arevalo and Ann-Bernice Thomas.
Full workshop descriptions below – or just REGISTER NOW!
10 AM / VPL Central Branch: Alice MacKay & Peter Kaye-Alma VanDusen Rooms / Free
What are we offering? Here’s a description!
WRITING FOR JUSTICE with EL JONES
What does it mean to engage with social issues as a writer? How do we speak responsibly, with integrity, and in a way that’s accountable to communities? When does speaking about injustice cause harm and how do we bear witness to pain without re-traumatizing or making pain a spectacle? How can we build writing practices that take place in community? These are some of the difficult questions we will work through, as we think about and write about social justice.
A MUSICAL ORBIT: THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF TIME with RUBY SINGH
Ruby SIngh will take you on a live looping journey, from fundamental first steps to multi-loop compositions.
We will investigate the human voice through vocal percussion, singing and improvisation.
Exploring the basics of rhythm, harmony and melody, we will learn to craft compositions in the moment.
Bring an instrument, bring a friend and bring your curiosity.
HOME, GROWN with FRANCIS AREVALO
Every idea is a seed, so the “Home, Grown” workshop explores how we can best cultivate our creativity. Home, Grown explores specifically how music, poetry, and collaboration can not only lead to powerful and beautiful art, but also enrich and empower our lives. “Home, Grown” will involve creative writing, music production, and teamwork.
FINDING VOICE IN CONCRETE DETAIL with ANN-BERNICE THOMAS
In this workshop, you will learn how to think like a poet. How to find yourself in life’s little details, rooting your voice in the honest compassion of the everyday. You will mine yourself and practice trust in your voice, to find and tell the stories that ache to be told.
This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.

Hullabaloo Poetry Slam Round 1!
2019-04-26 18:00 - 22:00 | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
Every team in Hullabaloo will perform in one bout this evening, either the first or second slate of prelims. All teams and audience members are encouraged to attend the entire evening. The poems will be judged by five random members of the audience who are not directly affiliated with any of the poets or schools. They will give each poem a score between 0 and 10. We will drop the high and low scores, and each poem will receive a total score out of 30. Each bout has four rounds (three rounds of solo poems and a mandatory group piece round) so the highest possible team score is 120.
VPL Central Branch: Alice MacKay & Peter Kaye-Alma VanDusen Rooms
FIRST BOUTS:
Doors at 6:00 PM
Start at 6:30 PM
SECOND BOUTS:
Doors at 8:00 PM
Start at 8:30 PM
FREE
The Vancouver Poetry House respectfully recognizes that our series events take place on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. We recognize that colonial violence led to the creation of Vancouver, and how that allows our organization to exist. We aim to always be cognizant of who is represented on our stages, and to do what we can to reach out to communities who are underrepresented thereupon.
ACCESSIBILITY:
The VPL Central Branch has elevators to reach the downstairs rooms where the Hullabaloo events are being held. There are wheelchair accessible bathrooms. For more details, refer to their list of facilities (http://www.vpl.ca/location/central-library).
This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces. H

Hullabaloo Poetry Slam Round 1!
2019-04-26 18:00 - 22:00 | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
All Hullabaloo teams in Hullabaloo perform a mix of individual and group performances in poetry slam competitions! Poetry presented with gusto and the enthusiastic support of all attending teams!
Early Bouts: 6 PM
Late Bouts: 8 PM
VPL Central Branch: Alice MacKay & Peter Kaye-Alma VanDusen Rooms / Free

This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.

All Star Slam
2019-04-26 11:45 - 14:30 | Annual General Meeting on May 25th
The All Star Slam is an all-out battle of poetic verve and wit, pitting El Jones, Francis Arevalo and Ann-Bernice Thomas against each other in a fun-filled showcase of slam at its finest! This showcase demonstrates the power and possibilities of spoken word poetry at its highest level. Hosted by Johnny Trinh.
Doors: 11:45 AM / Show: 12:30 PM
RIO Theatre / Sold Out

Rio Theatre Accessibility information
Please read the Radical Accessibility Mapping Projects Rio Theatre overview.
This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.

All Star Slam #1 & #2
2019-04-26 09:30 - 13:30 | Annual General Meeting on May 25th
The All Star Slam is an all-out battle of poetic verve and wit, pitting El Jones, Francis Arevalo and Ann-Bernice Thomas against each other in a fun-filled showcase of slam at its finest! This showcase demonstrates the power and possibilities of spoken word poetry at its highest level. Hosted by Johnny Trinh.
#1 Doors 8:45 AM / Start: 9:30 AM
#2 Doors: 11:45 AM / Show: 12:30 PM
RIO Theatre / $4 Rush tickets at door / #2 Sold Out

Rio Theatre Accessibility information
Please read the Radical Accessibility Mapping Projects Rio Theatre overview.
This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.

Spoken Word Jamboree
2019-04-25 18:00 - 20:00 | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
The Spoken Word Jamboree leads off Hullabaloo and Verses! Hullabaloo teams present short poems to introduce themselves! Feature performance by Halifax’s 5th Poet Laureate, spoken word poet El Jones.
6PM-8PM / VPL Central Branch / Alice MacKay Room / Free

HULLABALOO
A one of a kind youth poetry event that kicks off Verses Festival of Words!
Hullabaloo is BC’s Youth Spoken Word Festival. Teams of youth poets aged 13 to 18 from across British Columbia come together to compete in slams, participate in workshops, witness world-class feature artists, and connect with peers!

This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.

Spoken Word Jamboree
2019-04-25 18:00 - 20:00 | What’s Happening at Vancouver Poetry House
Spoken Word Jamboree kicks off not only Hullabaloo, but also Verses Festival of Words! All participating teams will be invited to perform a one-minute intro poem to tell us more about themselves and their school, and Halifax’s El Jones will rock the house as the night’s feature.
The Jamboree provides all participating poets a chance to meet each other outside of a competition setting – and you a chance to glimpse the spirit of loving camaraderie that makes Hullabaloo one of the year’s best events! The event doubles as orientation for the teams, so there will be some information presented specific to them. However, this is a public event: you don’t need to be on a participating team to attend! So don’t be shy – come on down and help us start this festival right!
6PM-8PM / VPL Central Branch / Alice MacKay Room / Free
The Vancouver Poetry House respectfully recognizes that our series events take place on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. We recognize that colonial violence led to the creation of Vancouver, and how that allows our organization to exist. We aim to always be cognizant of who is represented on our stages, and to do what we can to reach out to communities who are underrepresented thereupon.
ARTIST BIO: EL JONES
El Jones is a poet, educator, journalist and advocate. She was the fifth Poet Laureate of Halifax, and currently holds the 15th Nancy’s Chair in Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University. El is a co-founder of the Black Power Hour, a radio show developed collectively with prisoners. Her advocacy and work fights anti-Black racism in Canada, walking in the path of our great-grandmothers who resisted relentlessly.
ACCESSIBILITY:
The VPL Central Branch has elevators to reach the downstairs rooms where the Hullabaloo events are being held. There are wheelchair accessible bathrooms. For more details, refer to their list of facilities (http://www.vpl.ca/location/central-library).
This event is a scent-reduced space. To assist us in our goal of increased access, please be aware of our attempt to reduce the impact of personal scented products (perfumes, scented oils, etc) in our festival spaces.
HULLABALOO
A one of a kind youth poetry event that kicks off Verses Festival of Words!
Hullabaloo is BC’s Youth Spoken Word Festival. Teams of youth poets aged 13 to 18 from across British Columbia come together to compete in slams, participate in workshops, witness world-class feature artists, and connect with peers!

Verses Festival Pass
2019-04-25 - 2019-05-04
Access to 30+ Events of Spoken, Storytelling and Music, April 25 – May 4
Join us for the 2019 Verses Festival of Words, Canada’s largest alternative literary festival. Verses brings you 10 days of spoken featuring Vivek Shraya, Regie Cabico, Christie Lee Charles, Ian Keteku & more!!
A festival pass gives you full access to all Verses Festival of Words events.
Buying a festival pass is a great way to save money if you’re seeing 3 or more shows.
After April 1st, it’s $75.
Show up to festival events early to claim your seats. If you arrive late, and the event has already reached capacity, you are not guaranteed entrance. With a festival pass, you will receive free registration to one workshop. Please contact hello@vancouverpoetryhouse.com to let us know which workshop you would like to attend.
purchase tickets

Verses 2019
2019-04-25 - 2019-05-04
Yes It Is

Extraordinary General Meeting | Sunday April 7, 2pm | 111 W Hastings, Fifth floor board room
2019-04-07 14:00 - 16:00, 2019-03-15 08:00 - 17:00
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 to take part in the larger decision-making by being on the board of directors
To make it easier for the organization to keep up with the community’s needs

In order to finalize these changes, we need people, you, to come out and vote!
There is also one small change made to the VPH constitution. It was made to bring it into line with point 1 above.
The agenda, new by-laws and constitution are available as a single pdf here. As always, the current by-laws are on the VPH website here.
In the new by-laws there are many mentions of the new VPH policy manual. All the materials made reference to in the new by-laws are already included, but as with these kinds of documents, the policy manual is in progress. At the meeting we will make all the relevant sections available, and the whole will always be available to membership if these by-laws are ratified.
If you have any questions in advance of the meeting, or would like more information, please contact the board at admin@vancouverpoetryhouse.com. Also contact us if you would rather read the new by-laws on the Drive. We’ll send you a link.
Please note: under our current by-laws, you must be a member to vote, but you may purchase or renew your membership at the outset of the meeting.
The meeting will take place in the 5th floor, W-Room which the City has allowed us to use free-of-charge for the purposes of this EGM. The boardroom is located on the 5th floor of the same building where VPH has its offices: 111 W Hastings Street.
The meeting will start at 2PM and is scheduled to last until 4PM.
Note: the first hour is business. The second hour is socializing, poetry and cake. Meet the new staff! Schmooze with your board of directors 🙂
Ask about what’s on for Verses this year!

Friends Need to Know
2019-03-30 08:00 - 2019-04-15 17:00
Outsider Arts poster as pdf
artist call PDF instructions

Festival Passes Now On Sale!
2019-03-23 08:00 - 2019-03-30 17:00
Early Bird Special – all events only $60 at Brown Paper Tickets

Meet the Verses 2019 Staff
2019-03-23 08:00 - 2019-03-25 23:00
Here they are https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/about/verses-staff-2019/

CIPS STORM POETS REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!!
2019-02-16 12:00 - 2019-04-06 23:59
Come join us for the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam from May 1st to May 4th!
Registration is open to Canadians and permanent residents. To register as a Storm Poet, go HERE!
Upon registration, email Johnny MacRae (artisticdirector@vancouverpoetryhouse.com) the following information:
Name:
Pronouns:
Email:
Phone:
City/Region:
Province:
What’s involved in CIPS?
Poets competing in CIPS are engaged in a solo poetry slam competition. Competitors perform in two slams on two different nights, with different time limits in each round. In the first slam, they perform 4-minute and then 1-minute poems. In the second slam, they perform 2-minute and then 3-minute poems. The top-ranked poets after preliminaries compete in CIPS Finals: a three-round slam of 3-minute poems that whittles the top 12 down to the top 4, until we determine the 2019 CIPS Champion!!!
Storm Poets registration costs $75. Aside from securing you a spot in the competition, registration nets you a Verse Festival Pass as well as FREE entry into ONE workshop of your choice.

VanSlam Featuring Ann-Bernice Thomas
2018-10-29 19:00 | DMP-300×190
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, laundry soaps, etc.) that they are bringing to Slam and how having a scent-reduced space allows people with related health conditions and sensitivities to attend.
*We have a wheelchair ramp in place for access to the stage.
*There are three single-stall, gender-neutral washrooms.
*The washrooms are not wheelchair accessible and do not have grab bars.
The format for the evening will be as follows:
The slam will consist of 12 competitors. There will be 2 rounds. All rounds are cumulative (your points from each round will be added together to determine your rank in the slam); all rounds will also be cut from below (those with the highest scores will move on). The order of the rounds will be:
Open mic – one poem with a max of 5 minutes
Our Feature
Break – 7-10 minutes
First round – 3-minute poem
1-minute dance party
Second round – 3-minute poem

Doors at 7, show at 8. Get there early to get seats–before 7 PM! $6-$10 sliding scale at the door, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Please be kind to our volunteers. It’s cash-only at the door, and they have to enforce capacity rules due to fire codes. You cannot save seats for people in line. Let the door volunteers know if you are leaving.

VanSlam featuring Savannah
2018-10-15 19:00 - 22:30 | DMP-300×190

Vanslam Featuring Lip Balm
2018-10-08 07:00 - 22:30 | DMP-300×190

Board Meeting
2018-09-30 12:00 - 15:00 | Office, 111 W. Hastings Street, Unit 210, Vancouver, BC
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 Board Meeting September 30, 2018

VPH Board Meeting
2018-09-16 12:00 - 15:00 | Office, 111 W. Hastings Street, Unit 210, Vancouver, BC
We’re meeting again. At table: VPH strategic planning.
Let us know if you’d like to attend.
admin@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

VPH Board Meeting
2018-09-02 12:00 - 15:00 | Office, 111 W. Hastings Street, Unit 210, Vancouver, BC
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 (a couple of days would be good) of your intent to be in attendance. Because the VPH office is in a locked building, one of us will meet you at the Woodward’s building entrance and let you in. You can find the board members here. You can reach us at hello@vph.com.
For those of you with tendencies toward claustrophobia, be aware that the board room is quite small. Also know that as a member you have a voice, but not a vote. For that you need to become a board member. We’d welcome that too! It’s a great way to learn about the administrative thread in the life of professional poets.
