If you are a lover or words and those who speak them–well, this festival is for YOU. And it also gives you a sneak peek into some of the instructors coming to WordsWorth. So sneak peek away and discover some new favourite poets and writers.
BUT WAIT it is not just instructors at the Spoken Word Festival. Past and current WordsWorth writers will be performing too!
See Bethan McBreen, Jessie Tollestrup and Caritas Longman at the Youth Slam and the Fest-O-Off
Bethan McBreen only recently discovered the world of Spoken Word Poetry at the 2012 WordsWorth Young Writers’ camp. She is never without her notebook and pen and was the winner of the November 2012 Calgary Youth Slam.
Jessie is a poet and musician who hasn’t hailed from anywhere for longer than 2 months. Piano, guitar and voice are her primary instruments, but she also dabbles in bass, drums and harmonica. Jessie has performed at the South County Fair and the 2012 People’s Poetry Festival, and is working on recording her first album, Lightly.
Caritas currently attends the University of Calgary, where she studies English and Asian languages. In her spare time, she also reads, paints, and drinks a lot of tea.
Sebastian is a young poet, playwright and Spoken Word Artist. His poetry is featured in the spoken word DVD Poets Asking For Exile, magazines such as Cicada, The Claremont Review and Ascent Aspirations. Excerpts from his play The Backseat have been featured in Alberta Theatre Projects’ Fresh Prints(2011). He has featured as a performer in the Calgary Spoken Word Festival (2012), The People’s Poetry Festival (2012), and Vancouver’s Mashed Poetics(2013). Sebastien is studying English, History and Philosophy in his first year at the University of British Columbia. He strives to do things to your brain with his tongue.
And look for the INSTRUCTORS!
Sheri-D Wilson
Sheri-D has 8 collections of poetry, her most recent; Goddess Gone Fishing for a Map of the Universe. Her collection Re:Zoom, won the 2006 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. In 2011 she edited, The Spoken Word Workbook: inspiration from poets who teach. She has 2 Spoken Word CDs and 4 award-winning VideoPoems produced for BravoFACT, and is a regular on CBC & ckua radio. Way back when, she attended Naropa, Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. She is Artistic Director of the Calgary Spoken Word Festival, since. Founder/ Director: Spoken Word Program @ Banff Centre, 2005-2011.
sheridwilson.com
Paul Zits
Paul Zits received his MA in English from the University of Calgary in 2010, completing his Creative Thesis,Massacre Street, which has since been accepted for publication by the University of Alberta Press and is set for release in the Spring of 2013. He is currently completing his second year as Writer-in-the-Schools at Queen Elizabeth High School in Calgary, where he teaches Creative Writing to students in the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program.
Sandy Pool
Sandy is a writer, editor and Creative Writing instructor, who holds a degree from the University of Toronto, as well as a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Currently, she is a holder of the prestigious Killam scholarship in poetics at the University of Calgary, where she is completing her Ph.D. Sandy has been published in various literary journals and was most recently anthologized in The Best Canadian Poems in 2011, published by Tightrope Books. Her first book Exploding Into Night, was long-listed for the 2010 re-lit award and short-listed for the 2010 Governor General’s Award for poetry.
Mary Pinkoski
A storyteller at heart, her writing has been called dynamic and visceral. Mary has presented her unique style of Spoken Word throughout North America, including at Tedx Edmonton (2012). In 2011 at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word she was voted Most Valuable Poet and was Captain of the Edmonton Poetry Slam Team, which won the National Championship. Mary was the winner of the 2008 National CBC Poetry Face-off. When not performing, Mary runs spoken word workshops for youth and adults.
marypinkoskipoetry.com
Brendan McLeod
Brendan McLeod is a writer, Spoken Word Artist, and musician. He’s a former Vancouver SLAM poetry champion, Canadian SLAM champ, and World SLAM runner-up. He’s the author of a novel, a play, and a monologue about Canadian history. His music group, The Fugitives, was part of the 2012 Peak Performance Series and have been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award. He teaches Spoken Word at Langara College, and is an active youth educator with a variety of organizations, including the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Travellin’ SLAM, and WordPlay, with which he has visited over 200 schools in the past five years.
brendanmcleod.ca
Kris Demeanor
Kris Demeanor is the inaugural Poet Laureate of the City of Calgary. He’s a songwriter and performer who writes and sings about the funny, dark, absurd, maddening and joyful. Kris has put out six CDs of original music, a couple of award winning videos, created and performed for the theatre, and toured clubs and folk festivals around Canada, Australia and Europe, both solo and with his Crack Band.
krisdemeanor.com
And here is how you get tickets (please do!)