November 4, 5, 6

This is a long distance invitation from me (filming in Portugal Cove, Nfld, in the rain and ice pellets) to you (wherever you are, hopefully warm and dry) to attend the world premiere of the Words Aloud documentary. Thursday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 pm at the Durham Art Gallery.

The Doc features performers from Words Aloud 4, held in 2007. It’s 53 minutes long. And I feel as though I relived each of those minutes over and over. In a good way. I’m still enthralled by the poets, their work, their thoughts, their presence.  You’ll see Lorna Crozier. Shane Koyczan, Robert Priest, Ivan Coyote, and a cast of thousands. No, just kidding. But the Toronto Slam Team appears, and they can conjure up a multitude.

An Original Play by Threadbare Theatre
Saturday, November 7
Victoria Jubilee Hall, Walkerton

Words Aloud 6 Spoken Word Festival, in collaboration with the South Grey Bruce Youth Literacy Council has done it again! Behold the opportunity to experience an all ages event that you will continue to carry within your imagination for years to come. The Rutabaga Rescue is an original contemporary play with its feet on the earth and its head in the sky. Led by two seasoned puppeteers, Ron Schweitzer and Joel Brubacher, joined by a talented cast of collaborators and volunteers, comprise Threadbare Theatre, the spontaneous combustion of exuberance, talent and socially conscious thought.

Shadow Box Exhibition

For Youth Literacy – October 17 - November 14, 2009

The South Grey Bruce Youth Literacy Council has invited 50 regional artists to participate in a fundraising art show to be held at the historic storefront of 157 Garafraxa Street S. in Durham. The ARTicles show is composed of 50 six inch shadowboxes which each artist has embellished with their own flair and are donating for this event. A diverse variety of media will be represented and abundant variety demonstrated within the small frames. These precious art pieces will be sold for $100 each, greatly benefiting our volunteer tutor program.

This year, we have three exciting workshops on Saturday November 7th.  And an exciting new price of $25 per workshop or a pass to all the workshops for only $70.

Barbara Adler starts off the morning with "Look Ma, No Hands!" This workshop will warm everyone up with exercises such as "The Box of Doom", "Hyperbole Death Match", and "Punching Your Internal Censor in The Nose." 

This 4 DVD set of the 5th Words Aloud Spoken Word Festival (2008) in Durham, ON. features Canada's lyric virtuoso Don McKay, pun-filled dreams relived by Cat Kidd, and rhymed erotica delivered with foot-tapping zest by George Elliott Clarke. PEN Canada writer-in-exile Sheng Xue mourns the Tiananmen Square massacre and David Batemen's verse works its amusing twists on everyday life. Jamaican born Ayanna Black also graces the stage with heartfelt poetry.

A poetry slam features Toronto's Last Call Poets (Amanda Hiebert, Valentino Assenza, Kevin  Fortnum, TBB! and guest Lara Bozabalian in competition with members of the Grey/Bruce Slam Team. And finally, after polished and funny performances by Molly Peacock & Cree poet/comedian Neal McLeod, dub poet Klyde Broox closes the festival with a standing ovation performance.

Due to a death in the family, M. NourbeSe Philip had to cancel her performance at Words Aloud 6.  We express our regrets and hope to host her at a future Words Aloud festival.  In the mean time, we're happy to announce that Jemeni will be joining us at Words Aloud 6.  Check out her bio under the artists!

Poetry and Short Story Writing Contest

To link with the upcoming performance of The Rutabaga Rescue, performed by Threadbare Theatre at the Victoria Jubilee Hall in Walkerton, Nov.7/09 for the Words Aloud 6 Spoken Word & Storytelling Festival, the South Grey Bruce Youth Literacy Council invites young people to enter a poem or a one page story about Seeds

There will be four cash prizes of $100 awarded: one each in poetry and short story categories for youth up to 12 years, and one each in poetry and short story categories for youth 13 to 18 years.

Winning writers will be invited to present their work at the performance of The Rutabaga Rescue Nov. 7/09, 1 PM, at the Victoria Jubilee Hall in Walkerton.

These works will also be posted on the Words Aloud and SGB Youth Literacy Council websites and printed in The Walkerton Herald-Times, The Post and on the The Sun Times Poetry Project Website.

Words Aloud - the spoken word festival that brings a small town to its feet.  In Durham, Ontario, Canada's best poets and storytellers electrify audiences of all ages, revealing spoken word's power to delight, inspire and transform.

Canada's best poets and storytellers electrify audiences, revealing spoken word's power to delight, inspire and transform.

This documentary takes you on a journey through the many forms of spoken word, including dub, slam and lyric poetry, performance poetry, and storytelling.  You'll learn what makes a poet, what drives them to creat, what's most difficult about the writing life, and what compels them to continue.  You'll see how a small town creates a vibrant poetic community.

 Narrated by Montreal-based spoken word artist Ian Ferrier, this documentary treats us to an insider's view of the 4 day festival, including footage of the artists performing their best work, behind the scenes interviews, and the story of Adam, an 18 year old high school student (the fifth generation brought up on his family's beef farm), who begins to find his own voice.

The film takes us on a journey through the many forms of spoken word, including dub, slam and lyric poetry, performance poetry, and story telling.  You'll learn what makes a poet, what drives them to create, what's msot difficult about the writing life, and what compels them to continue.