Events Schedule

Close out the Edmonton Poetry Festival 2022 in great fashion with our EPF Poetry Party feat. Rayanne Haines, V. Guzman, Mad John and Tzadeka & Murder Hornettes.

Authors & Presenters

Mad John     Rayanne Haines     Tzadeka and the Murder Hornettes     V. Guzman

Venue

Latitude 53

10248 106 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0J2 Canada

Inclement Weather is a two-part event, including a workshop and reading, that highlights how poetry can spark conversation about climate change and our energy future that is sustainable and socially equitable.

This event is Part Two of Inclement Weather – the Readings. Join Edmonton poets Alexis Kienlen, Kelly Shepherd, Marco Melfi, Jennifer Bowering Delisle and Anna Marie Sewell read poetry that addresses the climate crisis, offering words of reflection, warning and hope. There will also be an open-mic portion, open to Inclement Weather – Workshop participants to share what they’ve worked on earlier.

Hosted by: Kim Mannix.

Authors & Presenters

Alexis Kienlen     Anna Marie Sewell     Jennifer Bowering Delisle     Kelly Shepherd     Kim Mannix     Marco Melfi

Venue

Latitude 53

10248 106 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0J2 Canada

Hosted by Writer in Residence for the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries, Rayane Haines. Featuring Emily Riddle and Uchechukwu Umezurike reading from their latest works.

Authors & Presenters

Emily Riddle     Rayanne Haines     Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike

Venue

Strathcona County Library

410 Festival Lane
Sherwood Park, AB T8A 5P7 Canada

Poetry Central is your chance for a lunch-time poetry meet up. Hear from Peter Midgley and Jenna Butler reading from their most recent works. Hosted by Alice Major. Event takes place in Community Rooms 1 & 2.

Authors & Presenters

Alice Major     Jenna Butler     Peter Midgley

Venue

Stanley Milner Library

7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 2V4 Canada

Join Edmonton’s Poet Laureate Titilope for an intensive masterclass.

Bring me your life rafts, a song in the storm, a word like an oasis in the desert. What keeps your heart soft and sends the blood rushing to your cheeks? Let’s build a cathedral of tenderness here, a place to name what was lost and honour what refuses to die. In this masterclass we are digging through the rubble and pulling into the light poems that keep our hearts soft. In a series of writing, reading and listening exercises, we will explore how art can offer refuge and peace in tumultuous times.

Hosted by Grayson Thate.

Authors & Presenters

Grayson Thate     Titilope Sonuga

Venue

Latitude 53

10248 106 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0J2 Canada

Join the Indigenous Poets Society showcasing Indigenous poets sharing truths, making voices heard, and coming together to build community strength. Enjoy a showcase of readings and performances by members of the Edmonton Indigenous Poets Society. Hosted by Norma Dunning.

Authors & Presenters

Indigenous Poets Society     Norma Dunning

Venue

The Aviary

9314 111 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5G 0A3 Canada

Edmonton Poet Laureate Titilope Sonuga in performance for WORD*LAB in the CO*LAB. With Sampler Cafe, a local beat making collective, for Boyle Street Arts Night. Hosted by Dwennimmen (aka Shima Robinson). Join for this Edmonton Poetry Festival Kick-Off event!

COVID-19 Safety:
CO*LAB requires masking while indoors at all times. 

Authors & Presenters

Dwennimmen     Sampler Cafe Collective     Titilope Sonuga

Venue

CO*LAB

9641 102A Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5H 0G3 Canada

Join the Edmonton Poetry Festival and New Music Edmonton for Sonic Confluence Collective: Sounds Like Words Like Sounds on Sunday, December 19, 2021 @ 3:00PM online or in person @ Co*Lab (9641 102A Ave NW).

Tickets are $20 for in-person or $15 for live stream access.

Sonic Confluence Collective: Sounds Like Words Like Sounds brings together 3 artists each from the spoken word and sound worlds who have combined their talents to create a joint performance.

The artists include:

• Maigan Van der Geissen
• Ryan James Summers aka Some Sum Cay De Dios
• Afarin Nazarijou
• Louis Bouchier
• Biboye Onanuga

This is the first-ever collaborative project between the Edmonton Poetry Festival and New Music Edmonton. Three spoken word and three sound artists are coming together to create a collective performance. The collaboration highlights the magic of mixing or mashing genres to create a unique sonic experience.

The Edmonton Poetry Festival thanks Canadian Heritage Grant for funding support towards this project. New Music Edmonton thanks our funders: The Edmonton Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts, The Alberta Foundation for the Arts, SOCAN Foundation, The City of Edmonton, and AGLC.

Venue

CO*LAB

9641 102A Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5H 0G3 Canada

In collaboration with the Edmonton Poetry Festival, LitFest presents an evening of poetry performance from two major forces of leadership and innovation in Canadian performance poetry, Nisha Patel – author of COCONUT, and Jillian Christmas – author of The Gospel of Breaking.

Venue

Online

In collaboration with the Edmonton Poetry Festival, LitFest is thrilled to present an evening of poetry readings with leaders in Edmonton’s poetry community, hosted by the Edmonton Poetry Festival’s artistic producer, Shima Robinson aka Dwennimmen.

For the health and safety of our community and staff, LitFest will be following City of Edmonton bylaws and Government of Alberta COVID-19 requirements for all in-person events.

Proof of vaccination, documentation of a medical exemption, or proof of a privately-paid negative PCR or rapid test within 72 hours of the event will be required for every person (aged 12+) attending in-person LitFest events.

Attendees (aged 12+) must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to attending an in-person event. Venue staff will accept electronic or paper records at entry points, which can include paper and electronic records from your clinic or pharmacy showing your name and date of vaccination. Records can also be printed or accessed through the MyHealth Records website or app.

Please be prepared to show proof of vaccination each time you come to an in-person LitFest event. No health record information will be scanned, stored, or shared. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please note: In the event that an in-person gathering is not possible, the event will be moved to an online format. Registrants will receive email notice and information at the earliest possible opportunity should this occur.

Venue

Latitude 53

10248 106 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0J2 Canada

It’s Food Matters + the annual Brunch of Writers rolled into one online potluck! Host Jennifer Cockrall-King leads the way with contributors to Beyond the Food Court Luciana Erregue and Mila Bongco-Philipzig.

Venue

Online

A one-on-one conversation with author Amanda Leduc (Disfigured: On Fairy Stories, Disability, and Making Space) and poet Brandon Wint (Divine Animal).

Venue

Online

If “the poem does not start until you start to tell the truth” then a poet’s work is to be relentless in the search for that truth both on and off the page. This workshop is an excavation into the bone, into the truth, to write poems from the depth of our personal experiences. Through a series of writing exercises and discussion, the workshop will ask, “Who am I?”, “What do I want to say?”, “Why does my story matter?” and “What is my responsibility to myself and to the audience in telling my story?”

To maintain accessibility for all audiences, a limited number of free or by-donation tickets will be available on a first-come, first-served basis through our Community Access Ticket Program. If you have any questions about this program, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at outreach@litfestalberta.org.

In collaboration with Edmonton Poetry Festival.

Venue

Online

Are you fascinated by poetry, languages, and art? Are you curious to witness Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization through creative self-expression? Then please join us for The Polyglot’s launch of our double issue—nimitêyaniy and nitêh. These issues were curated by Naomi McIlwraith and Dorothy Thunder, and feature 36 brilliant Indigenous poets and artists. This launch showcases sixteen of our contributors read their poems or talk about their art, weaving their insights on language, culture, and Indigenous identities. The Polyglot would like to acknowledge and deeply thank the Edmonton Arts Council for their support and funding of this project. A special mahsi cho to the Edmonton Poetry Festival for supporting us with this launch. The covers of the issues feature art by Lana Whiskeyjack (nimitêyaniy) and Jade Roberts (nitêh). The words of the issues correspond to tongue and heart in nêhiyawêwin (Cree).

Venue

Online

Co-curated by LitFest and Edmonton Poetry Festival, this year’s Nonfiction Slam will feature prose stories and poetry entries. 4 stories, 4 poems, one winner. All glory. Grab a beverage and join in to be part of the live audience that votes for winner!

Venue

Online

Jordan Abel is a multimedia artist with roots in exploring colonization through textual and poetic interpretation. His work encompasses multifaceted research and presents an intense, calculated and human look at the conditions of living in a colonial state. His works weave a technical mastery of elements and story, provoking us to think about how we read and what we’re reading. His new work, out soon, is again defiant of a single genre. Join us in this reading and Q and A, hosted by Matthew James Weigel.

Venue

Online

Join us in meeting Ian Keteku, spoken word poet, musician, and artist, with a look into his celebrated body of work, his new book and latest album, and an immersive Q and A about his process of writing, his history as an artist, and where he is headed next. Ian’s work is transcendent, defying the boundaries of single disciplines and genres, and asking listeners to lean in and embrace art for all it has to offer. This event is not to be missed for fans of sound, words, and music. Hosted by Edmonton Poet Laureate, Nisha Patel.

Venue

Online

Three panelists with memoirs on incredible resilience, and finding your identity amid challenges of all kinds. Panelists include Helen Knott, David A. Robertson and Christa Couture.

Venue

Online

To kick off the festival in virtual space, the contributors to Beyond the Food Court —all writers from diverse ethnic backgrounds that call Edmonton home — gather to celebrate the launch of their anthology, along with editor and publisher Luciana Erregue.

Venue

Online