Upcoming Events | Vancouver Poetry House

Van Slam: Slam and Open Mic feat. Rebecca Thomas

community pizza 1191 Commercial Dr, Vancouver, BC

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 … Continued

Hullabaloo

Vancouver Film School 198 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

Hullabaloo is BC’s Youth Spoken Word Festival.  Students representing high schools from around the province share their poetry to appreciative audiences every year.  This year we are in-person and online to find out what the youth have to say.  All events will take place at the Vancouver Film School and … Continued

FREE

Breaking Bread

The York Theatre 639 Commercial Drive, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS The official opening of Verses, hosted by Verses Artistic Director, Johnny D Trinh; with a feature performance celebrating some of Spoken Word’s most honoured poets:  Joseph Tony Dandurand Louise Bernice Halfe Evelyn Lau Sheri-D Wilson With special guests El Jones, Kai Cheng Thom

$25

Famous Last Words

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

TICKETS $10 in advance and $15 at the door In Famous Last Words, five contestants or raconteurs attempt to win their way into the heart of our master of ceremonies, Sara Bynoe through games designed to test their literary, cultural, current affairs and comedic merit. With the assistance of the … Continued

$10 – $15

Mashed Poetics 58 | Riot Grrrls

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

TICKETS $10 in advance and $15 at the door A night of songs from the 90’s Riot Grrl movement performed by The Rebel Girls. Hear songs from Bikini Kill, L7, Le Tigre, The Linda Lindas and more. Plus 8 brand new poems inspired by this era of music and political … Continued

$10 – $15

Carpenters, then Cooks- Community Workshop with Truth Is and Beth Anne Ellipsis

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

TICKETS Spoken Word organizations across Turtle Island have needed to discover what survival, resilience, and community means during these unprecedented times. Truth Is and Beth Anne Harrison-Ellipsis are the leaders of Guelph Poetry Slam, and have exemplified what an organization can look like. With core values grounded in decolonization, anti-oppression, … Continued

$3

Food Fight – Poems of Resistance and Roasting the Patriarchy

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

all ages, $10 PWYC Featuring: Andre Prefontaine, Kai Cheng Thom, El Jones, Janice Lee, Missie Peters, Charlie Petch, Fernando Riguero Hosted by: Johnny Trinh   Laugh, cry, rage- come to see power house poets share poems of resistance.

$10

Oral Traditions 

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

all ages, $10 PWYC A collaboration between the Native Hip Hop Festival Society and Vancouver Poetry House.

$10

Knife Skills – Stage Tech with Charlie Petch

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

A festival favourite, great for anyone who ever uses a microphone. After the poem is finished, words rehearsed, the only thing left is to hit the stage. Come learn from one of Canada’s most beloved poet, Charlie Petch, with decades of experience working professionally in theatre and production. Learn how … Continued

$20

Mystery Box – Improvising Poetry with Missie Peters

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

Longtime creator, producer, poet, theatre maker with a passion for collaborative creation- Missie Peters leads an incredible workshop on improvising poetry. Explore new ways to create, and develop skills that will help you be absolutely present in every moment. This workshop will help poets listen, and be open to prompts, … Continued

$20

CIPS Preliminary BOUT 1

The WISE Hall 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver, British Columbia

Doors open at 6 pm Broadcast live on POETV CANADIAN INDIVIDUAL POETRY SLAM CIPS is a nationally recognized poetry slam. This year, the competition will take place online and in-person , as part of the Verses Festival of Words. 24 poets representing spoken word series and regions across Canada will … Continued

$12

Poetry Performance Psychology Masterclass with Randell Adjei 

Simon Fraser University Downtown 149 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS People don’t often remember what we say, they mostly remember how we made them feel. How do we maximize the dialogue(s) we have with our audiences?  Poetry / Spoken Word performances are one of the most powerful forms of communication. There is space between us and our audience that is … Continued

$20

Recipe for the Future: Public Panels

Simon Fraser University Woodward's 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS Featuring: Louise Bernice Halfe, Sheri-D Wilson, Charlie Petch, Truth Is, Beth Anne, Missie Peters, Randell Adjei, El Jones, Brad Morden, Moe Clark, Anto Chan Facilitated by: Kai Cheng Thom & Janice Lee Where is Spoken Word today? What is the future of Spoken Word? This is a public panel, … Continued

$3

CIPS Preliminary BOUT 2

Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre 149 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Doors open at 6 pm Broadcast live on POETV Poets will be paired up via random draw and compete head-to-head. This will be a double knockout competition. The poets competing will be the 12 poets who lost in the First Preliminary Night. The top 6 poets who survive the first … Continued

$12

Kitchen Table Talks

Simon Fraser University Woodward's 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS Louise Bernice Halfe, Skydancer & Sheri-D Wilson w/ Johnny Trinh 11AM-12:30PM PT  Some of the deepest and most interesting conversations happen around the kitchen table. Louise and Sheri-D have shared many of these tête-à-têtes – traversing writing, craft, history, the oral tradition and spiritualty – over a super strong … Continued

$3

Stage to Page Master Class

Simon Fraser University Woodward's 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS Featuring: Leo Johnson, Adrian Neblett, Jaymee Mak Hosted by: Johnny D Trinh Stage to Page produces public masterclasses/workshops led by a panel of industry professionals featuring poets, producers, theatre makers, and more. Vancouver Poetry House is partnering with Stage to Page Performance Society to bring a special public masterclass … Continued

$20

Canadian Individual Poetry Slam FINALS

Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre 149 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC

Tickets  Broadcast Live on POETV Featuring Randell Adjei The top 6 poets from Preliminary Round 1, and the top 6 poets from Second Chance Night will go head to head.  The knockout format is as follows: 6 groups of 2 performing 3 minute poems, 2 groups of 3 performing 1 … Continued

$15

Stone Soup Trinh/MacRae Brunch

312 Main Street 312 Main Street, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS Vancouver Poetry House Artistic Director, Culinary Poet, Johnny D Trinh; alongside Artistic Director Emeritus, Verses Festival Coordinator, Johnny MacRae will prepare a feast of food to close the festival. All poets and participants are welcome to share one final meal together to mark the end of an incredible festival. … Continued

$10

Slamily Meeting: Speak North Town Hall

312 Main Street 312 Main Street, Vancouver, BC

FREE Please Register in Advance Facilitated by: Janice Lee & Charlie Petch This is an open townhall- with the continually changing landscape of Spoken Word in Canada, the national community needs time and space to connect and envision the future. Come engage in the dialogue, hear updates from Speak North, … Continued

FREE

Pot Luck: Open Mic featuring Moe Clark

312 Main Street 312 Main Street, Vancouver, BC

TICKETS Hosted by: Johnny Trinh After a feast of food, big dialogues, and a week of intense performance- we close the week by returning to the roots of Spoken Word and Oral Tradition. We gather around the table, we form a circle, and share our stories, songs, and art in … Continued

$10