Festival 2024  Events Schedule

Peter Midgley hosts the posthumous online launch of Walking Into God by E.D. (Ted) Blodgett, Edmonton’s second poet laureate. Walking Into God is the culmination of Blodgett’s lifelong devotion to a poetry and poetics of the sacred. Friends and family will read from Walking Into God as well as excerpts from his past work.

When: April 21st at 4pm – 5pm
Where: Online via Zoom

Host: Peter Midgley

Readers: Susan McCaslin, Dr. Manijeh Mannani

Authors & Presenters

E.D. Blodgett     Peter Midgley

Venue

Online

Poetry builds bridges – it connects cultures, landscapes, islands in the stream. Join our bridge-builders as the festival currents begin to flow on Sunday, April 21.

We launch three new books into the stream. Trisia Eddy Woods’ brand-new collection A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses is a lyric journey through Alberta’s landscape, to discover how an encounter with a quiet doe or a wild stallion offers us a bridge between worlds.

In Leilei Chen’s, I Have Forsaken Heaven & Earth, But Never Forsaken You, she translates the poetry of Tsangyang Gyatso—Tibet’s unconventional sixth Dalai Lama who was well known for his love poems. Chen’s translations bridge 17th-century China and today’s China, and that country with the West.

Tim Bowling launches In the Capital City of Autumn where he bridges autumnal themes such as the loss of his mother and the demolition of his childhood home, his children growing and the inevitable passage of time.

Add in the vibrant voices of the Edmonton Spoken Word Youth Choir, an exuberant ensemble that leaps across currents.

Accessibility: CKUA is fully accessible.

Host:  Alice Major

Authors & Presenters

Alice Major     Leilei Chen     Spoken Word Youth Choir (SWYC)     Tim Bowling     Trisia Eddy

Venue

CKUA Performance Space

9804 Jasper Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 0C5 Canada

Time:
Doors at 6:30,
Performance starts 7pm – 9pm.

Run the poetry rapids at The Whitewater Blinks—an evening of fast verse that’s been a lively and popular tradition throughout the history of the poetry fest.

What’s a Blink poem? It’s Edmonton’s own poetry craft, a poem delivered in—gasp—less than 30 seconds. It’s amazing how much a poet can channel in that brief ride. And when dozens of poets step up one after another—well, it’s a rush! 

Words have the power to move. They can make us laugh, wonder, weep. All are welcome to sign up and share their own Blink poem. Or just come along to the Aviary and hear how much energy can flow in half a minute.

The rules are easy: 

–  Sign up in advance using this link.
– Prepare your 30 second poem – rhyme, rap or haiku. You can’t go over 30 seconds or the Blinks Philharmonic will drown you out.
– Show up on the night and …
– Paddle your own canoe!

Sign-up closes April 18, 2024

Accessibility: The Aviary has a small flight of stairs at the front entrance, but is wheelchair accessible from the back of the building. Please check with our host at the front door to be escorted to the entrance. Washrooms are fully accessible.

Host:  The Stroll of Poets

Authors & Presenters

The Stroll of Poets Society

Venue

The Aviary

9314 111 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5G 0A3 Canada

Time:
Doors open at 7pm
Show at 8pm

BELLOW by Dwennimmen
Featuring Damn Magpies

A spoken-word feature written by one of Canada’s greatest poetic voices Dwennimmen (aka Shima Robinson) featuring Edmonton’s six-piece sound collective Damn Magpies (Chenoa Anderson, Allison Balcetis, Ian Crutchley, Scott Smallwood, Jane Berry, Mark Segger).

Bellow is a 75-minute sonic experience with Dwennimmen’s lyrical flow integrated into a world of sound that qualifies, enhances and amplifies the meaning and tenor of each word spoken.

The Bellow Project, funded by The Edmonton Arts Council, is a deeply personal work of poetry initiated just prior to the pandemic and to date includes:

— 2021 A full-length album recorded at Edmontone Studio, downloadable and streamable on Bandcamp.com.
— 2022 A beautifully constructed book published by Edmonton’s Glass House Press
— 2023 A live performance at Arcadia Brewing.

Thanks to everyone who helped to bring these works to life. Be well.

Accessibility: The Aviary has a small flight of stairs at the front entrance, but is wheelchair accessible from the back of the building. Please check with our host at the front door to be escorted to the entrance. Washrooms are fully accessible. 

Host: Steve Pirot

Authors & Presenters

Damn Magpies     Dwennimmen     Steve Pirot

Venue

The Aviary

9314 111 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5G 0A3 Canada

University of Alberta Press welcomes you to its annual event, Literary Editions.

This poetry event will feature readings from UAlberta Press’ newest collections: That Audible Slippage by Margaret Christakos, Deviant by Patrick Grace, and Northerny by Dawn Macdonald.

This hybrid event is co-hosted by the Edmonton Poetry Festival. Attend the listening party in Henderson Hall (1-17 Rutherford Library South, University of Alberta campus) or online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent out the day before the event and again one hour before the start.

University of Alberta
Rutherford Library South
Room 1-17

Accessibility: Henderson Hall is wheelchair accessible.

Authors & Presenters

Dawn Macdonald     Margaret Christakos     Patrick Grace     rob mclennan

Venue

Rutherford Library South

University of Alberta, 11208 89 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T6G 2J8 Canada

The Olive Reading Series is back and partnering again with the Edmonton Poetry Festival for a night with two stellar Canadian poets: Catherine Owen and Sharon Thesen (hosted by Thea Bowering) as well as a very special open stage with the Writers’ Guild of Alberta’s Horizon Writers Circle (hosted by Mila Philipzig).

The Olive Reading Series is the longest running, off-campus, out-of-bookstore, poetry series in Edmonton, now nested at Rooster Kitchen, Whyte Ave on the second Wednesday of every month from September to April. A collectively-run non-profit, it has been in existence for nearly two decades, providing an important haunt, memorable evenings, and collectable chapbooks for writing students, open stage performers, local and touring writers–both emerging and well-established–and for you, their audiences!

Accessibility: The Rooster is not fully accessible as the entrance includes steps.

Host: Thea Bowering

Thank you to the League of Canadian Poets for supporting this event.

Authors & Presenters

Catherine Owen     Horizon Writers Circle     Sharon Thesen     Thea Bowering

Venue

Rooster Kitchen & Bar

10732 82 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T6E 6P4 Canada

In this webinar, Olivia Spring (publisher of SICK magazine) and Kyla Jamieson (organizer of the Rest Days reading series) will discuss accessibility in the literary arts and offer examples of alternatives to standard publishing and reading formats. Olivia and Kyla will focus on sharing personal experiences and practical methods for nurturing a culture of accessibility through collaboration and communication. Following their presentation, there will be time for a Q&A. All levels of knowledge regarding access and disability are welcome as we flow towards more inclusive futures together.

This hour-long webinar will include captioning, a 5 to 10-minute intermission, and documents of reading texts and presentation notes are available.

We welcome accessibility requests. If you have any questions or requests related to this event, please reach out to info@edmontonpoetryfestival.com.

When: April 25th at 1pm – 2:30pm
Where: Online via Zoom

Authors & Presenters

Kyla Jamieson     Olivia Spring

Venue

Online

A blended program of spoken word performances, poetry readings and literary prize presentations, featuring

• Winners of the Centre For Literatures In Canada (CLC) Poetry Contest
• The Spoken Word Youth Choir and
• Poets from SOUL SPEAK

YouthWrite’s Spoken Word Youth Choir is a professional spoken word troupe: part Greek chorus, part improvisers, part poets and hip hop artists.

Soul Speak, a monthly word based event at Grindstone Theatre that focuses on self expression through words, presents a selection of its poets including, Yusi, Jude Lorenzen, Artista, Psi Lo, and Joy Love.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the CLC Poetry Contest rewards the best poem in English or French from a student attending the University of Alberta, MacEwan University, NAIT, Athabasca University, or participating French-language high schools.

Accessibility: OEX 2 is fully accessible.

Venue

Foundry Room

12017 102 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 0R8T5K 0R8 Canada

Sue Sinclair, in this writing workshop, shows it’s possible to approach poetry less as an outpouring of the self and more as a pouring of the world through the self and onto the page. We can think of the world as being filled with languages of various kinds—the aural languages of wind and rain and traffic, and the non-verbal languages of smell, shape or posture. What is a flower saying with its scent? What are the eyes on a butterfly’s wings saying? What is a winding road saying about the land it winds through? What does a straight highway say about the land?

We can think of poetry as the act of translating the world around us. The poet’s task, then, is to be receptive to its various languages and to become a fluent translator, while respecting the limits on our fluency. In this workshop we will read poems that explore the idea of poetry as translation-of-world, and we will ourselves play with the possibilities and limits of this approach. Poets both new and experienced are welcome.

When: April 26th, 2024 at 12pm – 1:30pm
Where: Online via Zoom 

*Maximum 15 participants

Authors & Presenters

sue sinclair

Venue

Online

The Edmonton Poetry Festival is stoked to present a Deaf Poetry Jam on Friday April 26 at 6pm! In partnership with The Invisible Practice, a roster of Deaf artists will perform Deaf, ASL, and Visual Vernacular forms of poetry at the sparkling new space The Foundry Room!

Curated by 
Connor Yuzwenko-Martin 

Accessibility: OEX 2 is fully accessible.

Authors & Presenters

Caroline Hébert     Chrissy Steele     Jolanta Lapiak     Manuel Pascua     Thurga Kanagasekarampillai

Venue

Foundry Room

12017 102 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 0R8T5K 0R8 Canada

French Twist Presented in Partnership with RAFA French Twist returns to the Edmonton Poetry Festival!

The 9th edition brings la poésie en français into the heart of the city. Curated by Pierrette Requier, Edmonton’s sixth poet laureate, she will be featuring a diversity of francophone and francophile writers and performers, immersing audiences in a unique bilingual experience. 

French Twist est de retour! Cet événement se déroulera au cœur de la ville capitale pendant Festival de la poésie D’edmonton 2024, en collaboration avec le Regroupement artistique francophone de l’Alberta. Pierrette Requier animera la soirée dans les deux langues officielles, créant un pont linguistique et culturel, pour en faire une vitrine par excellence des diverse voix artistiques francophones, qu’ils/elles soient dramaturges, musiciens, ou poètes.

Foundry Room OEX 2
12017 – 102 Avenue

Accessibility: OEX 2 is fully accessible.

Host: Pierrette Requier

Authors & Presenters

Dan Ndala (2Moods)     Josée Thibeault     Malaïka Ogandaga     Mireille Lavoie     Pierrette Requier     Sarah-Jeanne Bélec     Sophie Gareau-Brennan

Venue

Foundry Room

12017 102 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB T5K 0R8T5K 0R8 Canada

Rita Bouvier leads this writing workshop that will provide a safe, structured environment for participants to exercise the power of language and the creativity of their individual and collective imaginations, to draft new poetry and to share their works-in-progress (optional).

Accessibility: CO*LAB is accessible.

Authors & Presenters

Rita Bouvier

Venue

CO*LAB

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

Celebrate National Poetry Month with an afternoon of poetry, hosted by Katie Bickell our 2024 Writer in Residence and featuring two local poets,  Matthew James Weigel and Matthew Stepanic. There will also be an open mic session for those interested in sharing their own work.

Co-presented with the Edmonton Poetry Festival.

Accessibility: Strathcona County Library is accessible

Host: Katie Bicell

Authors & Presenters

Katie Bicell     Matthew James Weigel     Matthew Stepanic

Venue

Strathcona County Library

410 Festival Lane
Sherwood Park, AB T8A 5P7 Canada

Our literary community, like a river well fed by rainfall, snowmelt and groundwater, is deep with an eclectic publishing landscape. Join our spotlight on local publishers featuring Bolo Tie Collective, Funicular Magazine, and University of Alberta Press. This two part event includes featured readings from each of the presses followed by a Q&A with the editors. Come listen, ask a question or buy back issues and books!

Light snacks will be provided and drinks for purchase. Refreshments will be provided.

Accessibility: CO*LAB is accessible.

Authors & Presenters

Bolo Tie Collective     Funicular Magazine     Jason Lee Norman     Kat Cameron     Michelle Lobkowicz     University of Alberta Press

Venue

CO*LAB

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

Challenging the Currents

How can we resist today’s colonial currents – entrenched in our history, politics or day to day discourse – that rushes and rages on? Anna Marie Sewell hosts Challenging the Currents featuring Emily Riddle, Marilyn Dumont and Rita Bouvier who share their powerful poetry that scrutinizes our painful past and problematic present while pointing a way forward.

Accessibility: CO*LAB is accessible.

Authors & Presenters

Anna Marie Sewell     Emily Riddle     Marilyn Dumont     Rita Bouvier

Venue

CO*LAB

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

A chime sounds, and a voice enters the quiet circle of listeners.

Poems in a quiet pool invites participants to bring poems (by you or someone else) to share. Seated in a circle, each participant reads, in turn, one poem – no introduction or commentary, just the poem. There is a moment of quiet attention while listeners absorb the words. Then the next reader speaks.

Poems can range across any subject, form or focus. The guiding spirit is shared listening, as each individual voice speaks into the room’s quiet pool. In all the applause and celebration after a week of festival events, this will be a time to take a deep breath and remember one of poetry’s essentials: the quiet space where words are first brought together. We’ll gather on the second floor of the Ociciwan contemporary art centre – a Plains Cree word meaning “the current comes from here.” That name references the North Saskatchewan River that has brought many people over time to the region.

Sign up here by April 24.
Maximum number of participants is 25.

Accessibility: The Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre is wheelchair accessible.

Hosts: Jannie Edwards & Alice Major

Authors & Presenters

Alice Major     Jannie Edwards

Venue

Ociciwan Contemporary Art Centre

10124 96 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5H 2G5T5H 2G5 Canada

Join us at Audreys Books as the festival winds down with our annual open stage. It’s time for local and emerging poets and spoken word artists to share their work! Sign up to read or perform your poetry or come and enjoy the final waves of verse. Poets will have 5 mins. All are welcome!

Sign Up here by noon on April 27th.

Accessibility: Audreys is wheelchair accessible.

Host: Emma Elder

Authors & Presenters

Emma Elder

Venue

Audreys Books

10702 Jasper Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB T5J 3J5 Canada