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Welcome to Word Bridges! Welcome! Welcome to the 2014 edition of The Edmonton Poetry Festival. This year we are proud to build Word Bridges. Joining us from April 20th to April 27th, some of this country’s most exciting poets play architects on our weeklong journey. I’m extremely honored to announce leading Native American poet Joy Harjo will open our festival this year. She helps us lay the foundation for a week of oral tradition, translation, and the traversing of bridges that poetry builds between art forms and cultures. Our words link us all. This year we celebrate the interconnected relationships we have with language. We connect poetry with humor at Laugh Lines, with music at Cheatin’ & Hurtin’, and with burlesque dance at The Red Gala. We build the architecture of poetry with our workshops and public lectures. We connect with all different forms of poetry, from traditional, to erotic, to slam. We bridge multiple languages with French Twist, Conduit and Creating across Cultures. Every bridge needs a strong base. Thank you to our community partners, sponsors, and venues who continue to support the artistic growth of this festival. Thank you to our committees, and volunteers who consistently give of their time and passion, and without whom the nuts and bolts wouldn’t become a structure. Thank you to our poets for being our bridge builders. And thank you, our community, for walking this bridge of words with us. Yours in Words,
Rayanne Doucet Executive Director
Board of Directors
Staff and Coordinating Team
Alice Major – President Jannie Edwards – Vice President Michael Penny Ken Davis Peter Midgley Don Perkins Jenna Butler Kasia Gawlak
Rayanne Doucet - Executive Director Al Rasko – Financial Consultant Michael Gravel – Web Designer Katrine Nielsen – Assistant Producer John Leppard – Sound/Tech Guru and Blinks Coordinator Patrick @ El Designo – Graphic Designer
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Festival Highlights Poetic Jam with Joy Harjo
Members $20.00 / Non Members $30.00 Joy Harjo, Muskogee poet, musician and scholar, brings her jazz-inflected, deeply provocative voice to Edmonton on April 20th, to open the 2014 Edmonton Poetry Festival. Famous for ground-breaking, heart-breaking work like She Had Some Horses, Joy Harjo is most recently author of the award-winning Crazy Brave, a poetic memoir.
Oral Traditions
Free event Joy Harjo is a leading voice in the discussion of the oral traditions in poetry and aboriginal storytelling. Join us for a poetry reading followed by a moderated discussion with Edmonton Arts Council Chair Christine Sokaymoh Frederick.
In The Blink Of An Eye
Free event Do not squint. Do not avert your gaze. The Edmonton Stroll of Poets proudly presents… ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’… 30 second poems, 60 plus poets. Keep your eyes open, you don’t want to miss this!
Slam Finals
$10.00 admission The Edmonton Poetry Festival teams up once again with the Breath in Poetry Collective to present the final competition that will choose the Edmonton slam team. The team will go on to represent the city at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word 2014.
Bridging the Story
Free event Tell us a Story! Inspiration can come from anywhere - Kimmy Beach, Paul Zits, Rhea Tregebov, and Marita Dachsel read works that were inspired by stories. Because everything begins and ends with story.
Creating across Cultures Free event Three poets use their poetry to explore sharing literature across the barriers of language time and history. Join Peter Midgley, Erin Moure and Paul Zits as they read from their work and discuss the challenge of opening the window to literatures from other places.
Laugh Lines
Members $5.00 / Non Members $10.00 Vancouver’s Chris Gilpin and Edmonton Poet Laureate Mary Pinkoski will make you laugh, cry, and guffaw away a Wednesday night. Joining them are 3 pun-filled local poets Michael Gravel, Ahmed Knowmadic and Alice Major.
CBC at Noon / Conduit
Free event Four multilingual Edmonton poets from four continents talk about bridging language and culture through poetry. Panel discussion and poetry reading.
Literary Cocktails
Free event Please join The University of Alberta Press at its annual celebration of their fiction books.
CBC at Noon / New Books
Free event This edition of New Books presents new works by five local authors. Join us in celebrating the poetic talents of Deborah Lawson, Michael Penny, Hendrik Slegtenhorst, Shawna Lemay, and Randy Kohan.
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Masterclasses with the Dead or Distant: why all poets should try their hand at translation. Members free event / Non Members $10.00 The CAA Alberta Branch and Edmonton’s Poetry Festival, welcome award-winning author Steven Heighton to this public lecture on Translation, followed by a brief reading and Q & A session.
The Red Gala
Members $30.00 / Non Members $40.00 The Red Gala is a night of Erotic Poetry and Burlesque. This fun and frolicking celebration, is our 2nd annual fundraiser supporting our year-round work. Join us as we present poetry for lovers from Kimmy Beach, Jeanette Lynes, Steven Heighton, and Hugh MacMillan. Burlesque dancing from Capital City Burlesque.
Workshop with Steven Heighton
$40 for CAA and Poetry Fest Members / $70 for Non-Members Signup and payment through CAA The CAA Alberta Branch and Edmonton’s Poetry Festival welcome award-winning and highly accomplished poet and author, Steven Heighton, to this workshop covering Writing as Re-enaction in the morning followed by Homophonic Translation in the afternoon (includes lunch).
yegwords Presents: Dead Poets Society
Free event Edmonton’s creative writing collective #yegwords invites you to a gathering of the venerable Dead Poets Society. Join us for an afternoon of beautiful words and refreshments as we create a bridge between this world and the next. A bridge of words. A bridge of love. Open Mic.
Cheatin’ & Hurtin’: Songs and Poetry for the Lovelorn and Worn
Free admission If you’ve ever been jilted, sidelined, heart-squeezed, forsaken or just plain misunderstood, you know that singing about heartache is just plain good medicine. Join poets and singers for an afternoon of light-hearted crying in our beer – guaranteed 100% to make you smile and lift your spirits.
The Poetry Party
Members $10.00 / Guests $15.00 / Volunteers free! Join us as we wave goodbye to another year of poetry with three local powerhouse wordsmiths, Mary Pinkoski, Tim Bowling and Iman Marsel. Event is open to volunteers, members and their guests only.
Café Readings!
Free events Please join us for a Sunday afternoon of new and experienced poets at 3 venues in the heart of downtown.
Weeklong
Churchill Square activities Join us daily over the lunch hour for activities in Churchill Square. Have a poet create a personalized poem at our short Order Poetry Booth. Grab some chalk and fill the square with your words. Or read a poem out loud at our open mic!
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Festival Venues City Hall ..................................................................................#1 Sir Winston Churchill Square The Art Gallery of Alberta......................................................#2 Sir Winston Churchill Square Muttart Hall, Alberta College Conservatory of Music...........................................................10050 MacDonald Drive Metro Cinema .........................................................................8712 109 Street Stanley Milner Library ...........................................................#7 Sir Winston Churchill Square Artery ......................................................................................9535 Jasper Avenue Three Bananas Café ..............................................................9918 102 Avenue L’Espresso Café ..................................................................... #3 Sir Winston Churchill Square CBC Centre Stage ................................................................... 9918 102 Avenue La Cité Francophone, 8627 rue Bicyclette Café - 004 ............................................................... Marie-Anne-Gaboury (91 Street NW) Ortona Armoury ....................................................................... 9722 102 Street SEESA SENIORS CENTER ..................................................... 9350 82 Street U of A, Humanities Building Room L1..................................111 street, Saskatchewan Drive Koffee Café .............................................................................. 6120 28 Avenue Harcourt House ....................................................................... 10215 112 Street The Faculty Club, U of A Campus ......................................... 11435 Saskatchewan Drive Audrey’s Books ..........................................................................10702 Jasper Avenue Callys Teas ..............................................................................10151 82 Ave Permanent Records ................................................................ 8126 Gateway Boulevard.
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Word Bridges Sunday April 20
Monday April 21
Tuesday
Wednesday Thursday
10:00 am:
10:00 am: Poem as Story @ City Hall free event
April 22
April 23
April 24
Morning Poetry in Praxis
@ City Hall free event
11:30 am to 1:30 pm: Short Order Poems & Concrete Poetry / Poetry Central on Churchill Square @ Churchill Square free event
Afternoon Noon: Slam Sampler @ CBC Centre Stage
free event
2:00 pm: Oral Traditions
@ U of A free event
2:00 pm:
Noon: Conduit @ CBC Centre Stage free event
4:00 pm: Literary Cocktails @ U of A free event
Re-Verse poetry Workshop @ Stanley Milner Library
ticketed
Evening 5:00 pm:
Lives Penned @ Callys Teas free event
5:00 pm:
Olive Reading Series @ Permanent Records 7 pm: Blinks free event Artery
7:00 pm: Poetic Jam with Joy Harjo @ Muttart Hall ticketed
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7:00 pm: In The Blink Of An Eye @ Artery free event
8:00 pm: Slam Final
@ Stanley Milner Library Theatre ticketed
5:00 pm:
Creating across Cultures
7:00 pm:
@ Harcourt House free event
Glass Door Coffee House @ Koffee Café free event
7:00 pm:
7:00 pm:
8:00 pm:
8:00 pm:
Vintage Poetry @ SEESA ticketed Laugh Lines @ Artery ticketed
Words and Purport - Glass Buffalo @ Audrey’s Books / free event French Twist - RAFA @ Bicyclette café free event
Event Calendar Friday April 25
Saturday April 26
Sunday April 27
10:00 am - 4:00 pm: CAA workshop with Steven Heighton @ Harcourt House ticketed
10:00 am: Fresh Produce Poetry @ City Hall free event
Noon: New Books @ CBC Centre Stage free event
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm: Café Readings @ Three Bananas, L’Espresso Cafe, Audrey’s Books free events 3:00 pm yegwords Presents: Dead Poets Society @ Ortona Armoury free event
5:00 pm: Masterclasses with the Dead or Distant - public lecture
@ Harcourt House ticketed 8:00 pm: Red Gala @ Art Gallery ticketed
5:00 pm: Cheatin and Hurtin @ Artery ticketed
8:00 pm: Poetry Party @Artery ticketed
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Word Bridges Built By: Joy Harjo Joy Harjo is an award winning Muskogee poet, musician and scholar. She has written 7 books of poetry and has released 4 original music CDs. Joy Harjo is most recently author of the award-winning Crazy Brave, a poetic memoir. She is the recipient of the New Mexico Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Native Writers Circle of the Americas; and the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America.
Steven Heighton Steven Heighton’s most recent books are the Trillium Award finalist The Dead Are More Visible, Workbook and the poetry collection Perfect Frame. Heighton has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award and Britain’s W.H. Smith Award.
Hugh McMillan Hugh McMillan is a poet from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. His new collection All the Creatures in the Wood is due in March 2014. His Postcards from the Hedge won the Callum Macdonald Memorial Prize in 2009 and After the Storm was a winner in the Smith / Doorstep Poetry Prize in 2004. Devorgilla Bridge was shortlisted in 2010 for the Michael Marks award.
Mary Pinkoski Mary Pinkoski is Edmonton’s current Poet Laureate. In 2013 she placed third at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship, making her the current top-ranked female slam poet in Canada. When not performing across North America, Mary leads workshops for youth and adults. She is currently creating a full-length spoken word show called Land in the Veins.
Kimmy Beach Kimmy Beach is an award winning poet from Red Deer Alberta. Her fifth collection, The Last Temptation of Bond (The University of Alberta Press, 2013), has been garnering rave reviews across the country and was featured on CBC Radio One’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers.
Marita Dachsel Marita Dachsel is currently lives in Victoria and is the author of Glossolalia (Anvil Press, 2013), Eliza Roxcy Snow (rednettle press, 2009), and All Things Said & Done (Caitlin Press, 2007). Her poetry has been shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry and the ReLit Prize.
Sandy Pool Sandy Pool is currently the holder of the prestigious Killam scholarship in poetics at the University of Calgary, where she is completing her Phd. Her first book, Exploding Into Night (Guernica Editions) was short-listed for the 2010 Governor General’s Award for poetry. Undark: An Oratorio (Nightwood Editions 2013) was recently short-listed for an Alberta Book Award for Poetry and the Trillium Book Award for Poetry.
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Word Bridges Built By: << Continued from page 12
Chris Gilpin Chris Gilpin is the Executive Director for Vancouver Poetry House. He is the winner of the 2011 Vancouver Individual Poetry Slam Champion. Chris has toured as a spoken word poet throughout Canada, and the northwestern United States, and performed in schools all over Vancouver’s Lower Mainland.
Ahmed Knowmadic Local award winning poet Ahmed ‘Knowmadic’ Ali is a Somali-born Canadian. In 2011, Ahmed became the first Somali spoken word champion at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. In 2012, he was given the RISE award for community involvement in arts and culture and in 2013, the Artist in Residence at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute. In 2014, ACGC recognized Ahmed as one of Alberta’s Top 30 under 30.
Jeanette Lynes Jeanette Lynes is the author of six collections of poetry, most recently Archive of the Undressed (Wolsak and Wynn, 2012) which was short-listed for two Saskatchewan Book Awards. Her first novel, The Factory Voice (Coteau, 2009) was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and a ReLit Award.
Paul Zits Paul Zits is a Calgary poet whose work has been widely published in various literary journals, including the Canadian Literature and Arc Poetry Magazine. His debut poetry collection, Massacre Street, recounts the story of the conflict between the Cree, Métis, settlers and military officials during the Frog Lake Massacre of April 2, 1885.
Iman Mersal Egyptian poet Iman Mersal is the author of five books of poetry in Arabic, published between 1990-2013. She has served as an editor of the cultural and literary reviews Bint al-Ard and Adab wa Naqd in Egypt, for several years, before leaving to North America. She is currently an associate professor of Arabic literature at the University of Alberta. She was an EUME Fellow at the Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin, 2012-13.
Tim Bowling Edmonton`s Tim Bowling is the author of twelve books of poetry, four novels and two works of non-fiction. He has received two Governor General’s Award nominations, two Writers Trust of Canada nominations, a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, five Alberta Book Awards, two Alberta Readers Choice Awards nominations, and a Canadian Authors Association Award.
Rhea Tregebov Rhea Tregebov’s seventh collection of poetry, All Souls’, was released in 2012. Her poetry has received the Pat Lowther Award and the Malahat Review Long Poem prize among others. Tregebov has also published five children’s picture books and edited numerous anthologies.
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