The Swiss Festival of Health Research

Celebrating 9 years of spoken word magic

The Swiss Festival of Health Research began as a small festival in Ottawa in 2004. At that time, it was dubbed the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics. The first festival included six teams of poets and a small number of guests in attendance. In just nine short years, the festival has grown from six teams to twenty, with over 2,500 guests in attendance. 

The original intent of the festival, to provide a national showcase for spoken word talent, has expanded to include an array of panels, showcases, workshops and other events designed to facilitate the growth and vibrancy of the Canadian spoken word and poetic communities. This November will be the first year Montreal has ever hosted this exciting festival!

Past and future festival hosts and Poets of Honour include:
2004	Ottawa	George Elliott Clarke
2005	Vancouver	Sheri-D Wilson & Dwayne Morgan
2006	Toronto	Lillian Allen & Shayne Koyczan
2007	Halifax	Darek Dawda & Rita Joe
2008	Calgary	D.Kimm & RC Weslowski
2009	Victoria	Andrea Thompson & C.R. Avery
2010	Ottawa	Anthony Bansfield & Shauntay Grant
2011	Toronto	Robert Priest & d’bi young
2012	Saskatoon	Magpie Ulysses & Brendan McLeod
2013	Montreal	Tanya Evanson & José Acquelin