The Summer slam season is here which means an altered format from the rest of the year. During the Summer season poets are asked to perform up to 2 minute, 1 minute and 4 minute long poems. 12 poets in the first round 6 in the second and the top 3 scoring poets in the third round…barring any ties.

Poets who make the third round earn points towards making the Vancouver Individual World Poetry Slam Playoffs and a chance to go to IWPS in the U.S. and represent Vancouver at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in April 2018.

About Our Feature:
“J Mase III is a Black/trans/queer poet based in Seattle, by way of NYC. He is the author of “If I Should Die Under the Knife, Tell my Kidney I was the Fiercest Poet Around”, as well as “And Then I Got Fired: One Transqueer’s Reflections on Grief, Unemployment, and Inappropriate Jokes about Death”.

As an educator, J Mase has worked with thousands of community members in the US, the UK, and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA youth and adults in spaces such as K-12 schools, universities, faith communities, and restricted care facilities among others.

He is the founder of awQward, the first ever trans and queer people of color specific talent agency.

His work and musings have been featured on MSNBC, NBC OUT, Essence Live, Atlanta Black Star, GO Magazine, Believe Out Loud, Everyday Feminism, Black Girl Dangerous, Upworthy, the New York Times, Buzzfeed, the Root, the Huffington Post and more.

Check him out on Facebook, Twitter, and of course: www.awQwardtalent.com! ”

Cover is $6-$10 sliding scale. Sign up to perform is 7pm. Show starts at 8 o’clock.

This event along with our daily lives in Vancouver is taking place on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

We also strive to have trans friendly gender bending events inclusive of all orientations and experiences. Please help us do that.