Join us as we host an evening of celebration, honouring the work of Indigenous writers. Four of Canada’s leading Indigenous poets gather to share their voices and stories alongside students from the Poetry Moves Indigenous Youth Poetry Program and Métis artist Amy Malbeuf. Hosted by Norma Dunning.

• Jordan Abel: A Nisga’a writer from B.C., Jordan is the most recent winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize for his book, Injun.
• Billy-Ray Belcourt: From the Driftpile Cree Nation, Billy-Ray is a 2016 Rhodes scolar and a PhD student at the University of Alberta. His first book is This Wound is a World.
• Helen Knott: Helen’s first book, In My Own Moccasins Now, will be released by U of R Press in Spring 2019. She is of Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw, and Euro descent from Prophet River First Nations and a Masters in FN Studies student at UNBC.
• Norma Dunning: An Inuit writer, scholar, researcher, and grandmother, Norma’s first book is Annie Muktuk and Other Stories.

Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) sits on Treaty 6 land. Treaty 6 was signed on August 23, 1876, and stretches from western Alberta, through Saskatchewan and into Manitoba, and includes 50 First Nations. Treaty 6 is a traditional gathering place for the Cree, Blackfoot, Metis, Nakota Sioux, Iroquois, Dene, Ojibway/Saulteaux/Anishinaabe, Inuit, and many others. Their histories, languages, and cultures continue to influence our art and cultural communities.

Venue

Allard Hall @ MacEwan University

11110 104 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2 Canada

This twelfth annual evening of well-aged poets features local poets and special guest reader Giselle Lemire. The evening includes wine and cheese (cash bar available). To be a reader, please register in advance by calling 780-468-1985 as there are limited spaces available.

Venue

SEESA Centre

9350 82 Street
Edmonton, AB T6C 2X8 Canada

In the second installment of Local Books, four more Edmonton writers talk about and share poems from their recent books.

Sharing the spotlight are:

• Richard Davies: With his chapbook, OPUS (in Six Suites).
• Rayanne Haines: With her first full-length collection, Stained with the Colours of Sunday Morning (Inana Publications, 2018).
• Laurie MacFayden: With her third collection, Walking Through Turquoise (Frontenac House, 2017).
• Sharon McCartney: With her latest book, Metanoia (Biblioasis, 2016).

Venue

CBC Centre Stage @ Edmonton City Centre

10062 102 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 2Y8 Canada

Four Edmonton writers bring their recent books to show off the local and international scope of writing in this city. Each will chat about their book and share some poems.

Sharing the spotlight are:

• Liam Coady: With his new chapbook, This Love Is Mad Reciprocal (Glass Buffalo Publishing, 2018)
• Randy Kohan: With his third collection, Hive (Ekstasis Editions, 2017)
• Angela Kublik: With her new chapbook, If I Must Leave (House of Blue Skies, 2017)
• Ella Zeltserman: With her second book, The Air Is Elastic (Turnstone Press, 2018)

Venue

CBC Centre Stage @ Edmonton City Centre

10062 102 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 2Y8 Canada

Drone & Words is a collaborative showcase featuring spoken word artists paired with the soundscapes of experimental musicians. This event marks the 4th edition of this format, created and curated by Durell Smith and Tab C.A.

Performers

• Brandon Wint is an Edmonton-based poet, spoken word artist, teacher, and national slam champion. He is a passionate lover and advocate of poetry who believes that poetry is a form of magic that brings us closer to truth.
• Durell Smith is an Edmonton based poet writing on the anxieties and frustrations of everyday life. Accepting negativity and using it for fire.
• For Liam Coady, artistry – like life itself – is about bringing forces together and making meaningful connections. A national team poetry slam champion and former finalist of the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, he has been a featured performer at festivals and showcases throughout the country. His newest work This Love Is Mad Reciprocal was recently published by Glass Buffalo and is available for purchase.
• Nisha Patel is an Indo-Canadian spoken word poetry author, artist, public speaker, and writer in Edmonton, Alberta. She is the inaugural 2018 Nook Café Artist in Residence.
• Savannah Schultz is a poet from the Canadian prairies. You can find her work in Bad Pony, Moonchild Magazine, and in her forthcoming release with spoken word and ambient drone collaboration, Limina.
• Tab C.A. is a poet, performance artist and community activator in Edmonton, Alberta. They strive to create honest, heartfelt connection and bring their audience into shared catharsis.

Venue

The Sewing Machine Factory

9562 82 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6C 0Z8 Canada

The Polyglot will host a poetry reading and roundtable on the topic of including multilingual poetic voices in the CanLit canon. Their event will feature readings by ten local polyglot poets, whose work is featured in our third ekphrastic issue, CanLit: Curating our Canons (Spring 2018), guest-edited by Luciana Erregue-Sacchi. After the readings, the poets will discuss questions such as: How can we better honour and support “non-official” multilingual voices in our community? How can we open up the literary canon to create an inclusive in-between space of dialogue in Canada? How can we “level the playing field” by creatively curating our own multilingual canons?

Performers

• Adriana Onita is the program coordinator for the Edmonton Poetry Festival and the founder of The Polyglot, a multilingual magazine of poetry and art. She writes poetry in English, Spanish, Romanian, French, and Italian. Her passion for languages has led her to pursue a PhD in second language education.
• Award-winning poet, Ahmed “Knowmadic” Ali, is a full-time writer, actor, comedian, public speaker and youth worker who inspires with his dynamic, thought-provoking and humorous poetry. He is the seventh and current Poet Laureate of Edmonton, Alberta Canada. Ahmed is the co-founder and current artistic director of Edmonton’s only spoken word collective: Breath In Poetry.
• Anna Marie Sewell was Edmonton’s 4th Poet Laureate (2011-13). Her works include her debut collection Fifth World Drum (Frontenac Press, 2009) and For the Changing Moon (September, Thistledown Press). Her poems incorporate the traditional language of her mother’s family, Polish and the traditional languages of her father’s family, Anishinabemowin and Lnuisi.
• Luciana Erregue-Sacchi is a Canadian Argentinian art historian, art educator and poet. Her workshops, blog and poetry (Spanish, English) address the connection between visual and literary canons, immigration, nature, memory and trauma. Luciana “lives the life ekphrastic,” thinking constantly of images. She lives in Edmonton, AB.
• Medgine Mathurin is a Haitian-born poet, psalmist and spoken word artist. Her multilingual upbringing (French, Creole, English) not only prompted her to begin experimenting with the potential and magic of language, but naturally compelled her into a deep love of poetry.
• Nicole Lachat is a trilingual poet, daughter to a Peruvian mother and Swiss father. She recently completed her Master’s in Fine Arts from New York University.
• Nisha Patel is an Indo-Canadian spoken word poetry author, artist, public speaker, and writer in Edmonton, Alberta. She is the inaugural 2018 Nook Café Artist in Residence.
• Peter Midgley writes in both English and Afrikaans. His last collection, Unquiet Bones, was shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Award.
• Pierrette Requier, Edmonton’s 6th poet laureate (2015-2017), is a bilingual writer, (French English) an arts advocate and mentor. She has presented at festivals across Canada. Pierrette enjoys translating, collaborating across artistic disciplines as well as cross-generationally. She is interested in finding ways to create space for the potential and actual multilingual literary wealth of Canadians to emerge.
• Yasser Abdel-Latif is a writer and poet from Cairo, Egypt. He has lived and worked in Edmonton, Canada since 2010. His debut novel, Law of Inheritance (2002), won the Sawiris Prize in 2005 in the young writers category. His collection of short stories, Jonah in the Belly of the Whale, won the same prize in the category of prominent writers in 2013.

Venue

The Nook Cafe

10153 97 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0L4 Canada

This event is free, but requires registration: https://outlyingvoices.eventbrite.ca

Three poets with strong rural sensibilities (Thomas Trofimuk, Angela Kublik, and Leanne Myggland-Carter) will explore how the big, open spaces outside of urban areas complement and clash with more metropolitan influences and aesthetics.

Our beautiful province is experiencing growing pains as urban centres expand and traditional rural communities shift and change. We all live underneath Alberta’s big prairie sky, but are some voices getting lost? Poetry has the power to bring disparate perspectives together and perhaps this powerful aesthetic can create a space where urban and rural poets focus more on what brings us together instead of what sets us apart.

This event takes place in the art gallery of the historic Stony Plain Multicultural Heritage Centre. Space is limited, so tickets are required, even though this is a FREE event. Please grab your ticket in advance here: outlyingvoices.eventbrite.ca. Together with your entrance, each ticket entitles the bearer to a complimentary glass of wine. Age 18+.

Performers

• Leanne Myggland-Carter is a Spruce Grove writer of poetry and story (lmcwrites.com) whose published collections include _elements_, _Orange_, and _Choices_. For the past 15 years, she has been active in the Greater Edmonton Area literary scene as a writing instructor, manuscript evaluator, and Canadian Authors Association Alberta Branch Operations & Communications Manager (2014-2017).
• Thomas Trofimuk is an Edmonton writer of poetry and fiction, whose novels include The 52nd Poem, Doubting Yourself to the Bone, Waiting for Columbus, and in 2017, the critically acclaimed This is All a Lie. He’s been active in the Edmonton area poetry scene with the Raving Poets, the Stroll of Poets, the ROAR Spoken Word Festival, and his weekly poetic “sorbet” offerings.
• Angela Kublik is an Edmonton-based writer, librarian, editor and publisher whose chapbook, If I Must Leave, was published in 2017 by House of Blue Skies. With Dymphny Dronyk, she edited two best-selling poetry anthologies: Home and Away: Alberta’s Finest Poets Muse on the Meaning of Home (2009) and Writing the Land: Alberta through its Poets (2007).

Venue

Multicultural Heritage Centre

5411 51 Street NW
Stony Plain, AB T7Z 1X7 Canada

Terse verse comes in many styles. From limericks and clerihews to haiku and tanka, these little treasures can express words of encouragement or simple salutations. They’re fun to write and pack big-time punch! In this workshop we’ll introduce several styles of terse verse; you can choose to write them all or just the forms you like best. There will be fancy papers and pens available if you’d like to turn your terse verse into purse verse and pocket poem treasures to pack in your lunch as a midday snack or slip in a friend’s pocket to discover later.

We’ll kick off the event with music featuring Luke Tracey Newmann & Poets House Band. The day closes with a BYOP open mic and musical finale. Enjoy with your day of poetry, a variety of teas, coffee, cold drinks and snacks.

Performers

• Jade O’Riley has been teaching poetry forms and styles at Edmonton City Arts Centre since 2007. In 2016 Jade founded Edmonton Poets House where she holds poetry readings for her students, and has open poetry library reading hours for the public. Over the years, Jade has published 10 chapbooks featuring the poets in her classes.

Venue

Edmonton Poets House

9016 153 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5R 1P4 Canada

Wind down festival week with our traditional chorus of local voices. You’ve got all the choice in the world as our café readings mark the festival’s last day. Dozens of poets will share brief readings of their work in cafes around downtown. It’s for young and old, newbies and pros – just sign up as a member of the Edmonton Poetry Festival and then come and share the company of Edmonton’s poetry community.

Café Readings en français au Edmonton Poetry Festival 2017 : inscrivez-vous!

Cette année, le Edmonton Poetry Festival récidive avec le superbe concept des Café Readings pour clôturer le festival. Micro Espresso est le nom donné à la plage horaire francophone de ces Café Readings! Il aura lieu le dimanche 23 avril 2017, de 14h30 à 15h30, au Massawa Café. C’est l’occasion pour vous d’essayer de nouveaux textes et de venir vous amuser! Il s’agit d’une courte prestation d’environ 2 minutes, soit d’un poème ou d’un texte. Il est important d’arriver avant 14h30 au Massawa Café.

Une très belle occasion pour ceux et celles qui ont la passion des mots de partager ceux-ci avec le public!

Il est important de vous inscrire à l’avance, par courriel, auprès de Véronique Duquet au RAFA, à l’adresse suivante: veronique@lerafa.ca.

Faites-le maintenant! La date limite pour soumettre votre nom est le 20 avril 2017. Au plaisir de vous entendre le 23 avril prochain!

Venues:
Three Bananas Café – 9918 102 Ave NW
L’Espresso Café – 3 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW
Audreys Books – 10702 Jasper Ave NW
Massawa Café and Bistro – 10153 97 St NW

Venue

Multiple Venues (See Description for Details)

Prepare yourself for a night of rousing music and poetry inspired by the songs of the late Leonard Cohen. Local singer-songwriters will perform covers of their personal favorites by the Bard of the Boudoir, as poets Kaz Mega, Dwennimmen, Morgan Smith, Nanise, Alison Clarke, Lady Vanessa, Tab CA, and Mary Pinkoski compose original poems inspired by Rock’n Roll’s Lord Byron. Take a perch on the electrical wire and get wooed by the sultry undertones of the Prophet of Pathos. Hosted by Edmonton’s Liam Coady.

This event is open to members of The Edmonton Poetry Festival and their guests. Memberships are available at the door.

Venue

Studio 96

10909 96 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5H 2K4 Canada

Though LGBTQ people have won many rights in recent years, there is always more work to do, and they must be constantly vigilant about any adversity. Only last year, the deadliest mass shooting by a single shooter in US history occurred at the Pulse night club in Orlando, where 49 people were killed and 53 wounded. With clouds on the horizon in our current political climate, how can queer people use poetry to respond to current events while continuing to celebrate the beauty, diversity, and resilience of the LGBTQ community? Ben Ladouceur, whose debut collection Otter won the Gerald Lampert Award, and Gregory Scofield, author of Witness, I Am and winner of the Latner Writers’ Trust Poetry Prize, headline this collaboration of strong and resistant queer voices, including Marina Reid Hale and David Oberholtzer.

This event is open to members of The Edmonton Poetry Festival, The Writers Guild of Alberta and their guests. Memberships are available at the door.

Presented in partnership with The Writers Guild of Alberta.

Venue

Latitude 53

10248 106 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0J2 Canada

Prairie skies, the rocky rim of the Atlantic, the flatline of the Fraser River Delta, city skylines and the long view of the past – this is poetry that lets you see the skyline from somewhere new. Four prominent poets bring their particular viewpoints from across the country:

• Performance poet and slam champion Rebecca Thomas is Halifax’s poet laureate. She brings her M’ikmaq heritage and a vital young voice to the lookout point.
• Tim Bowling’s new book, The Duende of Tetherball, links his early experiences growing up in the rich landscapes of B.C.’s Lower Mainland with the challenges and pleasures of getting older.
• Edmonton’s poet laureate, Pierrette Requier, takes the long view of growing up Francophone in Alberta’s Peace River country and the interplay of languages that shape her life and writing.
• Local poet Laurie MacFayden’s poetry is described as fearless, charismatic and funny. After 30 years in journalism she is now a full time poet and visual artist.

Venue

The Almanac

10351 823 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 1Z9 Canada

Cutlines map a landscape, cutting precise lines to survey prairie and forest. The poets you’ll meet in Cutlines lay down their precise lines to map the complicated landscapes of the human heart:

• Nora Gould’s second poetry collection, Selah, explores her home landscape of east-central Alberta and the difficult territory of losing a family member to dementia.
• Richard Harrison brings On Not Losing My Father’s Ashes in the Flood, his new book charting what can be carried away, and weaving together the floods that ravaged Alberta in 2013 with the loss of his father.
• In Belly Full of Rocks, Tyler B. Perry cuts paths through the surreal forests of story to find the real in the fantastic.

Venue

The Almanac

10351 823 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 1Z9 Canada

UPDATE APRIL 20, 2017: The slam finals are SOLD OUT. NO TICKETS will be available at the door.

Prepare yourself for yet another night filled with high energy and poetic wizardry. This slam marks the Breath in Poetry’s 7th year of competitions that determine which poets will represent Edmonton at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Peterborough. The night will see the top 12 poets of the season, performing for one of 5 spots on the Edmonton Slam Team. This event sells out fast! Make sure to get your tickets in advance!

This event is open to members of the Breath in Poetry Collective, The Edmonton Poetry Festival, and their guests. Memberships are available at the door.

Note: The bar accepts CASH ONLY.

Presented by The Breath in Poetry Collective.

Venue

Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre

8426 Gateway Blvd NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 4B4 Canada

Our popular event, Wine and Wild Women Wordsmiths is back! And this year the muse is strong! Like poetry, there is a sea of wine styles and types to choose from. Just like Women, the anthocyanins in wine have great heart-health benefits. It’s Friday night and we invite you to enjoy distilled words, quality grapes, and the company of women who make a habit of pushing boundaries!

Admission includes hors d’oeuvres, plus a sample of four wines to match our distinct female poets. Thank you to our friends at UnWined for sponsoring our wine samples tonight.

Hosted by Gurvinder Bhatia and Rayanne Doucet (Festival Director).

• Nasra Adem – #YEG Youth Poet Laureate, Kick Ass Activist, Black Arts Matters curator.
• Liz Howard – 2016 Griffin Award winner, neurocognitive aging researcher.
• Pierrette Requier – Poet Laureate of Edmonton, bilingual poet, playwright, performer, producer, mentor and arts activist.
• Lillian Allen – Internationally renowned legend of Dub Poetry, Juno Award winning artist, community activist, teacher

• Gurvinder Bhatia left a career practising law to pursue his passion for wine and food.  He is the wine editor for Quench (Canada’s most widely distributed wine and food publication), wine columnist for the Edmonton Journal and Global TV Edmonton, an international wine judge and he was the wine columnist for CBC Radio Edmonton for 11 years.  Gurvinder is the head wine buyer and Director of Wine, Business Development & Education for the UnWined wine boutique.  Gurvinder was also the owner of Vinomania wine boutique (opened in 1995) for over 20 years, named one of the 20 best wine stores in Canada.Gurvinder is the founder and director of Northern Lands, our country’s largest all-Canadian wine and culinary festival.  He is certified by VinItaly International as an Italian Wine Expert, one of six people in the world to have attained this designation. In addition to possessing a law degree (JD) from Washington University in St. Louis, Gurvinder also earned his Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) with honours from Bradley University in Illinois.  In 2015, Gurvinder was named by Alberta Venture Magazine as one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People.

  Gurvinder leads intimate insider’s wine tours; organizes food, wine & music related events; and is frequently asked to speak on numerous wine and food related topics locally, nationally and internationally.  He is often asked to speak on wine and food in the context of people, place, culture and history.  Gurvinder is actively involved in the community and donates his time and resources to numerous charitable causes including currently sitting as a Board member of the Edmonton Community Foundation and on the Advisory Boards of the Alberta Social Enterprise Venture Fund and the Shift Lab initiative to end racism.

Venue

Yellowhead Brewery

10229 105 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 1E3 Canada