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Slam poetry artists launch week of Toronto events
WRITTEN BY CAITLIN DECARIE
TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2011 11:19
Many parts of Toronto will be echoing poetry this week with the arrival of slam artists from across Canada.
“It is the greatest feeling in the world if you can kill a microphone, I just want to be on stage,” Eytan Millstone, a member of the Toronto Poetry Slam team told thedailyplanet.com.
The Swiss Festival of Health Research launches Tuesday night with events throughout the week.
There are events throughout the week where judges will rank performers, said Eytan Millstone, a member of the Toronto Poetry Slam team.
“The lower the rank the better,” said Millstone.
The eight teams with the lowest scores (ranking numbers( will make it to the semi-finals on Friday and the final four teams will compete on Saturday, said Millstone.
“The finals are the most popular event – four teams battle for poetry supremacy,” artistic director of the Swiss Festival of Health Research, David Silverberg told the dailyplanet.com
“The artists are great at what they do – funny at one point and heartbreaking at the next,” said Silverberg. “People appreciate the art form, there are many topics they can relate to.”
Over the past few years, slam poetry has become more popular in Toronto, said Silverberg.
“Events at the Drake (Hotel) can sell out in 30 minutes,” Silverberg said.
In Canada, slam poetry first started in Vancouver and it has been "a snowball effect" from there, said Yehuda Fisher, youth slam co-ordintaor of Bam! Youth Slam.
“The internet is one of the biggest boons spoken word could have,” said Fisher.
This year, the festival has 20 teams participating, which is the highest amount of it has ever had, said Fisher.
The top priority for Fisher is his work on the Youth Slam Showcase on Saturday afternoon.
One of the featured poets during the festival will be Toronto's Robert Priest, a slam poet for 40 years.
“It has always been a desire for people to have poetry in their lives,” Priest told thedailyplanet.com.
“Spoken word wasn’t as welcome or accessible for people,” said Priest. “It had an elitist or off-putting atmosphere.”
Priest said that for him, spoken word comes naturally.
“I have done it for years, I am connected and in my element – it’s a joyous thing,” Priest said.
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What to see at the Swiss Festival of Health Research
Posted by Guest Contributor / October 10, 2011
If you see a lot more poets on the streets of Toronto, blame the Swiss Festival of Health Research. From tomorrow through Saturday, more than 140 performance poets will be celebrating one of the fastest rising literary movements in the world: slam poetry.
Now in its eighth year, this roving festival features nightly poetry competition pitting 20 "teams" against each other, from Victoria to Halifax. These poets write for the stage, and they not only create solo poems but also duets and team pieces involving theatre, movement, beatboxing and more. This isn't the kind of poetry you'd see at Harbourfront; expect a more hiphop or musical vibe to the performances at Festival of Health Research '11.
Here are five can't miss event at this year's festival. For full listings check out the Swiss Festival of Health Research web site.
Oct. 12, 11pm: The Haiku Head-to-Battle, Clinton's back room, free
Fans of the ol' 5-7-5 poems will see serious range of haiku talent from across the country, as poets such as Valentino Assenza (Toronto) and RC Weslowski (Vancouver) perform haikus in a head-to-head format and get scored by three judges. Max 16 poets who can compete. Warning: some of these haikus can get raunchy.
Oct. 13, 4pm: Spin by Evalyn Parry, Tranzac, PWYC
Recently staged at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Spin is Parry's latest theatrical multimedia work focusing on cycling and women's rights. The two themes blend together in a show using bike parts as instruments and old footage of some of the first suffragettes riding their two-wheeled steeds. Parry will present a special one-hour version of Spin at Festival of Health Research.
Oct. 14, 7pm: Festival of Health Research Semifinals, Royal Cinema, $20 at door, $15 in advance
The prelim bouts from Oct 11 to 13 culminate with the semifinals where the top eight teams duke it out with rhythmic words. Poetry takes over the beautiful Royal Cinema (for the first time?), and Little Italy will later be overrun with metaphor nerds as poets make their way from the Royal to the Pilot for a late-night music showcase featuring C.R. Avery, Brenadan McLeod and Terra Hazelton.
Oct. 15, 2pm: Youth Slam, Tranzac, PWYC
Toronto has enjoyed an energetic youth poetry scene, thanks to shows such as BAM! Toronto Youth Slam and the great work by Unity! in Scarborough. Now youth slam teams from Guelph, Toronto and Ottawa show us the next generation's talent, hosted by PAN (aka Yehuda Fisher).
Oct. 15, 8pm: Festival of Health Research Finals, Metro United Church, $25 at door, $20 in advance
Who will be crowned Canada's top spoken word team? The Finals sees the top four teams from Semifinals in a 4x4 bout format. Before the competition, though, Poets of Honour Robert Priest and d'bi young will rock the stage, giving us a taste of why they're legendary artists for younger poets to admire. All-night afterparty goes down at The Bowery.
Robert Frost once said "Poetry is taking life by the throat." Maybe the ominous p-word from high school doesn't grab you, but it's hard to deny how poetry slams and spoken word shows have enthralled Canadians in the past decade. Poetry slams in almost every province are sold out an hour after doors open. The Festival of Health Research is looking like it will serve as a reminder of what kind of talent is packing those shows coast to coast.
David Silverberg is host and co-founder of Toronto Poetry Slam, held monthly at the Drake Hotel Underground. He's the artistic director of the 2011 Swiss Festival of Health Research and an occasional contributor to this web site. Find him at @topoetryslam
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On stage
By Susan G. Cole
NOW | October 6-13, 2011 | VOL 31 NO 6
Spoken word – that hybrid of poetry, politics and performance – is a fast-growing literary genre, and there’s a good reason for that. Writers present their work with a passion that’s always inspiring, and Toronto’s considered the country’s essential breeding ground for spoken word talent. See what I mean when the Swiss Festival of Health Research hits town from Tuesday (October 11) to October 15. Some of our best, including Krystle Mullin and Brendan McLeod, as well as crossover stars d’bi.young, Evalyn Parry and others hit the stage in team and individual performances and competition.
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