Events

All 5 members of the new Vancouver Slam Team will be performing at Cafe Deux Soleils this Saturday. Who are they you ask? Zaccheus Jackson, Scruffmouth, RadaR, Faust McKenzie and Al Mader aka The Minimalist Jug Band.

Also hitting the stage will be Julie Parrell, CJ Leon, The Svelte Ms. Spelt, Sean McGarragle, Barbara Adler, RC Weslowski and Ardath Whynacht from Halifax. Plus there will be a special vampiric appearance by poet turned lawyer, Matthew Glick.

Where: Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive

When: Saturday, May 17th, doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8:30pm

How much: $10

This night is a spoken word showcase that is officially a part of New Music West.

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

MAY 5th @ W.I.S.E. Hall, 1886 Adanace Street (Adanac and Victoria)
$10 - $15 sliding scale

Tickets can be bought in advance at Van Slam events (such as the Youth Slam on April 28th).

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

8 poets have survived and advanced from our grueling semi-final bouts. They are: Zaccheus Jackson, Richard Lett, Sean McGarragle, Faust McKenzie, Al Madar, RadaR, Scuffmouth, and Spillious the Ridiculous One.

The competition will consists of a round of 3 minute poems, then a 1 minute round, and then another 3 minute round. The poets with the top four cumulative scores will comprise the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team, and will represent Vancouver at festivals across Canada and the U.S.

Our feature will be Toronto’s Dwayne Morgan. Dwayne is celebrating his 15th year as a professional poet and touring with his new book.

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

Normally, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

This will be the first semi-final play-off night to determine the Vancouver Slam Poetry Team, which will represent Vancouver at next year’s National Poetry Slam and Canada Festival of Spoken Word. The 16 top scoring poets in the 2007-08 Van Slam season will have earned a berth in these play-offs. 8 of them will perform on each of the two semi-final nights.

This semi-final bout will see the following competitors throw down their poetic brilliance:

CJ, Lady Jessica, Zaccheus Jackson, Richard Lett, Faust McKenzie, Shannon Rayne, Scruffmouth, and Nora Smithhisler

The top 4 poets from each semi-final will then qualify for the Finals Nights to be held on May 5th at the WISE Hall. Finals Night regularly sells out, so be sure to buy a ticket early. Tickets will be available for sale at each semi-final night.

Our feature for this slam is The Klute from Mesa Arizona.

The Klute has been a member of 4 National Poetry Slam teams from Mesa, AZ, has performed for the president of the American Communist Party, and been introduced from the dais to a crowd of Republicans in the same breath as “the Honorable John Shadegg (Republican congressman from Arizona’s 3^rd District)”.

His poetry is politically and pop-culturally centered with a punk rock sensibility and an occasional reference to demonology thrown in for just a touch of pretension (as if the “punk rock sensibility” bit isn’t pretentious enough). He’s in Vancouver as part of his “One Foot in the Grave” tour

Preview his poetic ponderings by clicking here.

Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
$5 - $10 sliding scale

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

Normally, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

This will be the first semi-final play-off night to determine the Vancouver Slam Poetry Team, which will represent Vancouver at next year’s National Poetry Slam and Canada Festival of Spoken Word. The 16 top scoring poets in the 2007-08 Van Slam season will have earned a berth in these play-offs. 8 of them will perform on each of the two semi-final nights.

This bout will feature the following poets:

Mary Alice, Julian Bentley, Sean McGarragle, Al Mader, RadaR, The Svelte Ms. Spelte, Spillious, and Clint ‘Father Goose’ Wilson

The top 4 poets from each semi-final will then qualify for the Finals Nights to be held on May 5th at the WISE Hall. Finals Night regularly sells out, so be sure to buy a ticket early. Tickets will be available for sale at each semi-final night.

Our feature for this slam is Logan Phillips.

Notice of Annual General Meeting
Vancouver Poetry House

The 2008 Annual General Meeting of the Vancouver Poetry House Society
will be held Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 6:30-7:30pm at Cafe Deux
Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. All current and past Vancouver Poetry
House members, and people interested in becoming members are welcome.
Memberships are up for renewal at $2 for one year.

Agenda

Welcome and Introductions
Minutes of Vancouver Poetry House AGM 2007
Reports
Elections
New Business

We hope you’ll join us.

Sue McIntyre
President, Vancouver Poetry House
vanpohouse@yahoo.ca

p.s.

A list of directors, including the dates for their re-election, can be viewed by clicking here.

You can view the minutes from last year’s VPH AGM by clicking here.

Unrelenting public pressure demands it! There was so much fun at the last meeting people want to repeat the experience! Threats of poetic nudity are forcing our hands! So……

The next Van Slam “Family” meeting is scheduled for Tuesday March 18th at the Britannia Community Centre from 6:30-8:30 pm. It’s their meeting room in the main foyer/office space. Please come prepared. This will be the first Tuesday after Radar and Lisa’s return from WOWps. And a few weeks before Lisa is scheduled to participate at Slammasters.

One of the things up for discussion/vote is deciding who will take over running the Vancouver Poetry Slam as Local Slammaster. After 2 years of doing just that I am stepping down from the day to day duties. If you are interested in this fantastic volunteer position, please throw your hat into the ring for the vote. I am stepping down following the May Slam Finals. Your job begins with the Anarchy Slam on May 19th featuring Sweater Vest.

A full on job description will be put forward prior to the meeting so anyone interested will know what they are getting themselves into.

Primarily though it will mean the booking of features, running the slams on the “night of”, either as host or finding a host. It will mean keeping track of the slam results throughout the year, looking after the door receipts, the paying of features, promoting the slam, keeping PSI fees up to snuff, making sure all necessary poets are registered with PSI, organizing the WIN2 bouts, all slam playoffs and so on.

Fortunately most of these things are already up and running and the new person will not be taking over from scratch. They will simply be taking the wheel of an already in motion, fast moving machine. As an example most of the slams will already be booked for the duration of the summer, leaving the start of the 2008-2009 regular season in September for you to step in.

What I will still be doing is managing the Youth Slam, assisting with promotion, and I thought I would create and take on a new position, “In charge of special projects.” This would mean looking after a lot of the ancilliary things the slam has done in the past and expand on it. Things such as the UBC Slam, Word on the Street and so on.

Also up for discussion is whether or not we want to send 2 teams to the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word this October in Calgary. The motion/idea put forward right now by most people is that there should be 2 teams going. 1 team from the traditional Cafe Deux Soleils slam and 1 team from the Main Street Slam. Preliminary and informal discussions have taken place but things should be formalized. The Main Street Slam would look after their own qualifying process. The Van Slam would assist with travel funds. This would mean more than likely mean covering most of those costs.

Sheri-D and the CFSW organizing crew seem to be leaning towards having 2 Vancouver teams. At the very least we should be ready for that option.

Poet contracts will be ready for perusal by all those poets qualified for the Van Slam playoffs. That is except for the Last Chance Slam winners. All other poets will know ahead of time and have a chance to decide whether they can meet the team requirements and obligations. FYI…the NPS slam tournament is in Madison, Wisconsin this August and as mentioned the CFSW is in Calgary in October.

We will also decide on whether we send an official rep to the Individual World Poetry Slam this October in Columbus, Ohio and whether we send two teams to the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in November in Calgary.

We will also discuss having a Van Slam constitution/mandate to use an umbrella document we can use in making decisions in the future as we move forward as a group. If you have any thoughts about what ideas should be in such a document please pass them on to The Svelte Ms. Spelt ms_spelt@hotmail.com

as he is putting together a short presentation (10 minutes) as to why we should have such a thing and what he would like to see in it. If you are opposed to having such a document please come prepared with a counter argument.

The idea that we should have annual awards at the end of the regular season has recently been discussed by people who like to talk about such things. Whether you are for or against such a practive please come with an opinion one way or the other. And if you have an idea for a trophy please bring that along as well. I think we can hold a vote as to whether we think awarding trophies is a good idea. What those trophies will be can be for a different meeting. I think it’s too late to have any process in place to decide recipients for this year.

We will also be hearing a report from Lisa Slater and RadaR about their WOWPs experience.

Sean also would like to make a report on SPOCAN (the board that currently looks after the CFSW) and on Canada Council Grants.

If you have any other suggestions for agenda items please pass them along. But remember this is a 2 hour meeting MAX.

This meeting is open to anyone who thinks they should be there and who believes they have a vested interest in the Van Slam. Please feel free to forward to those who you think should be there. Thanks a lot and I hope to see you there.

Randy Jacobs/RC Weslowski

Vancouver Poetry Slam Co Slammaster.

604 215 9230 if you have any questions.

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

The Slam on Monday, March 10th is run in conjunction with the Sistahood festival. It is an invitational slam comprised of the brightest and best female poets that Vancouver has to offer. This slam often sells out, so if you want a seat you should get there early. We also have two great features:

Amanda Heibert & Krystle Mullin

This is an invitational slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors are at 8pm
Open Mix at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
$10 at the door

All ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

A new aspect of the Vancouver Poetry Slam, the “Alt Slam” is a themed poetry slam that takes place on the 2nd Monday of every month starting in January 2008. These slams do not count towards qualification in this year’s Poetry Team play-offs. But they will be a lot of fun!

Don’t fear the Taxman!

Announcing the most important learning opportunity of 2008:

Tax Fundamentals for Artists and Artisans

Presented by Marianna Scott from Quantum Accounting

Sunday, February 24

1pm - 4pm (Registration starts at 12:30pm)

Kaslo Gardens Co-operative (Activities Room)

2765 Co-operative Way (between Kaslo and Slocan Streets on Grandview Highway)

Visit their website for a map: http://kaslogardenshousingcoop.ca/

Cost: $15

This workshop will be ideal for self-employed artists and craftspeople with little or no experience preparing taxes. If you dread tax season, and put off thinking about your taxes until the last minute, then this workshop is for you.

The workshop will cover the fundamentals of taxation for individuals, with an emphasis on the self-employed. It will cover which expenses are deductible, what kind of record keeping is required and how to get and stay organized.

Marianna Scott has been in accounting since 1987. She has been preparing personal taxes for the self-employed since 1996, with a focus on the arts and culture industry for the past four years. Marianna has completed a course of study to become a Certified Financial Planner. She expects to receive her CFP designation in 2008.

For more information or to pre-register for this important event, contact Steven R. Duncan at 604-788-8340 or email srduncan@shaw.ca. Space is limited. continue

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone (read more about the rules)
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

June 16th will feature the debut of the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team.

They’ll have had a month to prepare. Come join in the celebration to see the fine folks who will be representing you in Madison, Wisconsin and in Calgary, Alberta at NPS and the CFSW, respectively

There is also an Open Slam with Cash and Prizes
Doors and Sign Up at 8pm
Open Mic at 8:45
Slam Starts at 9pm
Still only $5 at the door

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!

The Vancouver Poetry Slam
Canada’s Longest Running Poetry Slam Continues!

@ Cafe deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive (Commercial & 4th Ave.)

The 1st, 3rd, and 5th Monday of every month is the Van Slam, a regular poetry slam open to everyone.
The 2nd Monday of every month is the Alt Slam, a themed poetry night
The 4th Monday of every month is the Youth Slam, for competitors between the ages of 13-22 (but for audiences of all ages!)

On March 24th is the Youth Slam, featuring Ryler Dustin.

Check out Ryler’s MySpace Page

To compete, you must be between 13-22.

To check it out & support the Youth Slam, you can be any age.

Doors and Sign Up at 7:15pm. Show starts at 8pm.

Still only $5 at the door

The Youth Poetry Slam is a relatively new event that will be held on the 4th Monday of every month at Café Deux Soleils. The first Vancouver Youth Slam was held last year at the Vancouver East Cultural Center.

All poets, all ages, & all styles are welcome in the spirit of fair play and good times!