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WELCOME TO A NATION OF WORDS! From April 21st to April 28th Edmonton becomes a Word Nation as we invite a nation to join us! For these 8 days, poets laureate from across the country converge on Edmonton to celebrate poetry in all its formats. This year 14 poets laureate, Scotland’s makar and a nationally applauded Spoken Word artist join our local poet community to engage people from across the city as both creators and audience members. Community partners have linked with us to host events throughout the city. There will be page poetry, slam poetry, workshops, youth events, Aboriginal, African and French events. Music, theatre, and visual art wind their way through our week and we are so pleased to be a part of all these collaborations. Thank you to all our incredible sponsors who have come on board to help make this year’s festival a reality and thank you to all our incredible venues who have joined with us again this year. Thank you most of all to all of the poets and volunteers who have shared their time and talent and brought so much to the 2013 festival. This is a people’s festival, created through collaboration. And I thank you, all of you, for being a part of it. Yours in Words,
Rayanne Doucet Executive Director
Board of Directors 2012/2103 Alice Major – President Garry Garrison – Vice President Julie Robinson - Treasurer Michael Penny Jannie Edwards Glenn Robson Ellen Kartz Ken Davis Mary Pinkoski
Staff and Coordinating Team
Rayanne Doucet – Executive Director Al Rasko – Financial Consultant Michael Gravel – Web Designer Laurie MacFayden – Bus Route Coordinator Julie Robinson – Poets in Schools Coordinator Joe Gurba – Assistant Producer, Volunteer Coordinator John Leppard – Sound/Tech Guru, Blinks Coordinator Marc Nipp @ ElDesigno – Graphic Designer
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FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS A Poetry Map of Canada
A dazzling tapestry of words by laureates from across the country, stitched together by Anna Marie Sewell, choreographed by Brian Webb, and decorated by visual artist Amy Loewan.
Word Nation: A Cultural Forum
How do words make a nation? (or a city). Why have communities from Halifax to Vancouver decided to establish the poet laureate position? Can you really write good poetry to order? Does the position turn poet into political lapdog? Join 14 Poet laureates, politicians, educators, and community leaders for an animated discussion.
Blue, Tried and True: The Poetry of the Blues
Local poets take on the blues and give the lyrics a new interpretive spin, celebrating and deconstructing the themes, tones, and rhythms of an ever-popular genre.
Blinks
Unlimited Poets give 30-second readings of pulse pounding, rapid-fire poetry. Bring it On!
CR Avery at Metro
Beatbox poet, raconteur and one-man band CR Avery headlines with Special Guests Tanya Davis and Kris Demeanor at Metro Cinema.
The Play and The Poem – A Conversation with Liz Lochhead
Join us as Liz Lochhead, makar of Scotland and internationally performed playwright, shares her work and a scene or two from one of her plays is brought to life by Edmonton actors.
Slam Finals
This high-impact final Slam competition chooses the team who will go on to represent Edmonton at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word 2013
French Twist
You are invited to an evening where we savour French poetry and pastry at Duchess Bake shop. 4
Literary Cocktails
Join the University of Alberta Press as it launches three exceptional works by local authors.
The Olive
Raise your martini glass to the members of the Olive Collective. Members stage an evening of readings from their own work.
Aboriginal Stories
Local and national Aboriginal poets present a reading of their work and talk about being an Aboriginal poet in Canada.
The Great Black North
Join us to celebrate the launch of “The Great Black North - contemporary Canadian Poetry.” This is the first anthology in 30 years to focus on poetry by African Canadians.
Poetry and Music for a Spring Afternoon
An afternoon to serenade spring with poetry from laureates Evelyn Lau, Janet Marie Rogers, Marty Gervais, Fred Wah and John B Lee. Music by singer songwriter Lynett McKell.
A Canadian Poetry Party
Join us in the newly unveiled CKUA building to check out the new digs and celebrate the 2013 festival! (Open to volunteers, members, and their guests only.)
Café Readings
New and experienced poets read at 4 venues in downtown Edmonton for a Sunday afternoon of readings. And this year we have a Youth Café!
Churchill Square activities:
Join us daily over the lunch hour for activities in Churchill Square. Have a poet create a personalized poem at the Short order Poetry Booth. Grab some chalk and join in the fun of concrete poetry. Read a poem out loud and proud at Poetry Central!
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WORD NATION VENUES
City Hall ................................................ #1 Sir Winston Churchill Square Citadel Theatre ....................................... Rice Theatre – 9828 101 A Avenue CKUA .................................................... 9804 Jasper Avenue 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 Crepe Symphony Café ............................... 10115 101 A Street CBC Centre Stage ..................................... Edmonton Centre, 10248 99 Street Duchess Bakery ....................................... 10720 124 Street Daffodil Gallery ....................................... 10412 124 Street Southeast Ed. Seniors Centre ...................... 9350 82 Street Pavillon Lacerte, Campus Saint-Jean ............ 8406 91 Street Africa Centre .......................................... 13160 127 Street Koffee Café ............................................ 6120 28 Avenue Nina Haggerty Center ............................... 9225 118 Avenue Harcourt House ....................................... 10215 112 Street The Faculty Club, U of A Campus ................. 11435 Saskatchewan Drive Sutton Place Hotel ................................... 10235 101 Street Audrey’s Books ....................................... 10702 Jasper Avenue
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HARCOURT HOUSE ARTIST RUN CENTRE
t e k r a m t r a G WORK FEATURIN
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th, 2013 5 May 2
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evening event A MULTIMEDIA RETROSPECTIVE:
PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE 8:00PM —10:00PM ANNEX BUILDING 10211—112 STREET
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS!
LLEY KT
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Hot Summer Guide.com EVERYTHING there is to do in Edmonton this summer!
IN PRINT AND ONLINE
JUNE 6 hotsummerguide.com 8
www.hivedmonton.com
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WORD NATION Sunday April 21
Monday Tuesday April 22
April 23
Wednesday Thursday April 24
April 25
MORNING 11:30 am–1:30 pm: Short Order Poems & Concrete Poetry Churchill Square
11:30 am–1:30 pm: Poetry Central Churchill Square
AFTERNOON Noon: Slam Sampler
CBC Centre Stage
2 pm: Blue, Tried and True
Noon: Aboriginal Stories CBC Centre Stage
Noon: Lunch with Liz and Fred
Artery
Sutton Hotel
4 pm: Literary Cocktails
4 pm: Launch of Great Black North
Pavillon Lacerte, Campus Saint-Jean
U of A
EVENING 6 pm: Al-Mutanabbi Street
6 pm: The Olive Reading
7:30 pm: The Play and The Poem
6:30 pm: Vintage Poetry Event
6 pm: Symbiotica
Permanent Records
Harcourt House
7 pm: Blinks Artery
8 pm: Slam
Metro Cinema
Nina Haggerty Centre
Doffodil Gallery
SEESA
7 pm: Glass Door Coffee House
Metro Cinema
7 pm: French Twist
8 pm: CR Avery
Koffee Cafe
Duchess Bakery
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EVENT CALENDAR Friday April 26
Saturday April 27
Sunday April 28
10 am: Master Class
Stanley Milner Library
10 am–Noon: Workshops / 1-4 APAAD Performances** Africa Centre
10 am: Market Fresh Poetry City Hall
Noon: African Beats CBC Centre Stage
2 pm: Word Nation: A Cultural Forum
Noon: APAAD Lunch**
Noon: Youth writing workshop
2 pm: Poetry and Music
1:30 pm–3:30 pm: Café Readings
Africa Centre
CKUA
Stanley A. Milner Library
Three Bananas, L’Espresso, Café Symphony, Normand’s,
City Hall
2:30 pm to 4:00 pm: Youth Café Reading Audrey’s Books
6 pm: Youth Slam
Concordia Theatre
7 pm: Map of Canada Gala Rice Theatre
8 pm: Canadian Poetry Party CKUA
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WORDS OF A NATION BY: George Elliott Clarke
Celebrated author and scholar George Elliott Clarke is Toronto’s fourth poet laureate. His Execution Poems won the Governor General’s Award for Poetry. His seemingly endless distinctions include a National Magazine Gold Medal for Poetry (2001), appointment to the Order of Canada (2008), and eight honorary doctorates
Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead was appointed Scots Makar – the National Poet for Scotland – in 2011, after serving as the Poet Laureate for Glasgow. A poet and playwright, her first collection of poems, Memo for Spring, won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award. Liz has worked as Writer in Residence at both Edinburgh University and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Fred Wah
Fred Wah is Canada’s current Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He was one of the founding editors of the poetry newsletter TISH in the early 1960s and instigated the writing program at David Thompson University in Nelson. Recent books of poetry include Sentenced to Light, and is a door.
Janet Rogers
Janet Marie Rogers is the third Poet Laureate for the city of Victoria (2012-2015). She is a Mohawk/Tuscarora poet, spoken word and performance poet who also works in audio and video poetry. She has three published books and three poetry CDs (Firewater, Got Your Back and 6 Directions).
John B Lee
John B. Lee was appointed Poet Laureate of Brantford in Perpetuity in 2004 and Poet Laureate of Norfolk County (2011-2014). The author of over seventy published books, his work has appeared internationally in over five hundred publications.
Evelyn Lau
Evelyn Lau, the 2011-2014 Poet Laureate of Vancouver, is the author of ten books, including five volumes of poetry. Her work has received the Milton Acorn Award, a Governor-General’s nomination, and a National Magazine Award for Poetry. Her most recent book, Living Under Plastic, won the Pat Lowther Award for best book of poetry by a woman in Canada.
Bruce Meyer
Bruce Meyer is the inaugural Poet Laureate of the City of Barrie. He is author of 34 books, 13 of them poetry. He is professor of English at Georgian College and teaches for Laurentian University. Continued on page 14 >>
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WORDS OF A NATION BY: << Continued from page 12
Eric Folsom
Eric Folsom is a resident of Kingston, Ontario and currently serves as that city’s Poet Laureate. He is the author of several poetry collections, including Icon Driven .
Marty Gervais
Marty Gervais is the Poet Laureate of Windsor, Ontario and is an awardwinning journalist, photographer, poet, playwright, historian, editor and teacher. He received the Milton Acorn “People’s Poetry Award” for his book, Tearing into a Summer Day.
Don Kerr
Saskatchewan’s Poet Laureate, Don Kerr, has published ten books of poetry and as well as fiction and one teen novel. He taught English at the University of Saskatchewan for forty years, specializing in classes of drama and film.
Tanya Davis
Tanya Davis is wrapping up her term as Poet Laureate for Halifax. Poet, storyteller, musician and singer-songwriter, she is a two-time winner in the CBC National Poetry Face-off. Her short videopoem entitled “How to Be Alone” has been featured at numerous film festivals and has 1.8 million views on Youtube.
Kris Demeanor
Kris Demeanor, recently named Calgary’s first Poet Laureate, delights in exposing the underbelly of western Canadian culture- gambling, drug use, murder, religion, the suburbs.
Anna Marie Sewell
Anna Marie Sewell is Edmonton’s fourth Poet Laureate. Anna Marie is the author of Fifth World Drum. Her work is also featured in Writing the City: Poets Laureate of Edmonton 2005 – 13. Since 2009, she has served as a Creative Writing facilitator for The Learning Centre Literacy Association
CR Avery
C.R. Avery has recorded over fifteen albums, written & directed six hiphop operas, toured throughout Canada, the USA and Europe (headlining or opening for Billy Bragg, Buck 65, and Sage Francis) and garnered the attention of music peers like Tom Waits (”…he’s blowin’ my mind”). His incredible live performances have been described as Bob Dylan in the body of Iggy Pop; colliding with Little Walter, the Beastie Boys and Allen Ginsberg.
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