Calgary International Spoken Word Festival

Spoken Word Festival, Calgary International

March-April

The Calgary Spoken Word Society was created in 2003 by poet Sheri-D Wilson to promote spoken word poetry locally, provincially, nationally, and internationally, through performance and education. The Society sponsored the first annual Calgary International Spoken Word Festival in 2004. A rousing success, it consisted of four events featuring artists from across Canada. Each year since the event has expanded, with more artists and more events. Today, the festival includes more than a dozen events featuring a wide range of voices and viewpoints.
In addition, the Spoken Word Society has created other events throughout the year to promote spoken word poetry. In 2005, it launched the monthly Calgary Poetry Slam, which gives up-and-coming poets the opportunity to perform. Also in 2005, the Society created the Word Travels program, which places poets in Calgary area high schools. This program presents an innovative approach to literacy, using the accessibility of Spoken Word to introduce students to the world of literature, speak to students in their own language, and give them the voice to speak in their own. A recent innovation of the Spoken Word Society is the Poetry Postcard Project, in which local poets were invited to share their work on a series of 9 x 4 inch postcards as a way of marking summer and travel.

CONTACTS:
Calgary International Spoken Word Festival
403-686-4292
www.calgaryspokenwordfestival.com