It is hard to believe, but the historic 2004 Wordlympics Festival is now over. And WOW, what a festival it was. Those who were there experienced a beautiful gathering of beautiful poets, during this four day & night full-on celebration of world's best performance poetry. Those who were not there might get a gist of the Wordlympic vibe from the few comments that follow below ... Vancouver crew is very excited and already in full-swing prep work for next year. It is bound to be an amazing event ... Darek

HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS THE WORDLYMPIC CREW RECIEVED AFTER THE FESTIVAL ...

… Between the cheap drinks and the gossamer webbing of hyper-real consciousness that trailed behind poets' words to settle on the surprisingly comfortable lounge at the National Archives, audiences were worked up into the kind of ritualistic fervour you usually only see in National Geographic films. If you weren't up on your feet half the time, you weren't paying attention. For the poets who turned the Archives into summer camp, the slam wasn't just entertainment. We were also studying. By the second night, I saw metaphor coursing through everything like lifeblood ... Mike Smith (Poet from Toronto)

… I have been left with so much inspiration, my direction in poetry has become so much more defined, and now I have a festival to look forward to every year were I can meet with my new family, and it really does feel like a family. The Ottawa teams are still all so excited and are getting ready for Vancouver …Bryan Parnell (Poet from Ottawa; 2004 Wordlympics Hospitality Coordinator)

… I'm still trying to find the words to express all the things I got from my trip to Canada. One thing I learn is to be ok with writing laughter. I can tell that you guys really love what you do. Thanks for teaching me that … Will Bell (Poet from Florida; 2004 Wordlympics World Indie Champion)

… I'm so happy and proud of having been a part of this very special event! That was a perfectly organized festival that brought people together from all over the world to share their understanding and interests for their art. Thanks a lot for this. Coming from 6000 km away, it was very interesting to see how close people can feel through poetry. I'm deeply impressed and inspired to export this to Europe ... Kersten Flenter (Poet from Germany)

… Thank you for dreaming the dream and pulling it off … Fernando Raguero (Poet from Vancouver)

… Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your historic event. Although I lament the "slot one curse" and regret that poems I longed to deliver were not heard, I would not have traded it for anything. How great an experience to enjoy the presence of so many who love the joy of words without preconceived notions of what the joy of words will give to them. Thank you for your great vision and congratulations on a job well done ... Rose Smith (Poet from Ohio)

… Thank you for such an amazing, inspiring festival. I've never had so much fun with such a talented group of people. I understand you're accepting donations for the festival, and I'd like to take you up on the offer. Thanks again, and I can't wait for the next time the festival comes around ... Jessica Ruano (?)

… The Canadian Spoken Wordlympics had a deep effect on me in some special way. The talented people who participated in the festival have inspired my art and left permanent marks on me (in the most positive way possible). I hope that those of you who were also affected and are interested in continuing to stay in touch will do that. We should take the opportunity to build on what we've started ... Greg Frankson (Poet from Ottawa; 2004 Wordlympics Volunteer)

… Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou from Mike in Toronto for the Wordlympics. I eagerly wait for the day that the seeds it planted in me start breaking through the concrete, life-altering experience. Bravo ... Mike Smith (Poet from Toronto)

… At the Wordlympics, my spirit was gleaming from encountering so many friendly, unpretentious, open-hearted poets and beautiful poetry. Being put up for free and fed every night by fellow poets and volunteers sweetened my wallet as well as my belly. And breaking bread together helped to brighten and deepen our camaraderie. I loved the guerrilla readings (except for the security goons at the mall and the down-on-the-floor detainment of Leviathan) and how we brought poetry out of the auditorium into the streets and malls, where it needs to be. The showcases were great, especially the Aboriginal one. That throat singing opened up a whole new world, a whole new throat for me. I loved how, because of the poets and their love of poetry, the poems won out over the competitiveness again and again. By the end of the festival, I felt like we had ALL won, we were ALL heavyweight champions of the WORD. That's why I'm still flying from it, and I suspect I will keep on flying for some time to come … Katie Daley (Poet from Ohio)

… It was delightful and way too short. I think we all would have liked to pitch tents for months! It was such a joy to actually see what's out there on the Canadian poetry circuit; so few of us actually get to do the tours to all these great poetry places. It is really uplifting to see the evidence of so much action and gorgeousness ... Heather Hermant (Poet from Toronto)

2004 INNAUGURAL CANADIAN SPOKEN WORDLYMPICS FESTIVAL

On October 7-10, 2004, in the great city of Ottawa, the bestestest of the best Canadian and international spoken word artists will compete to take home five Flaming Mike trophies with their names on them. There will be ground-breaking team and individual (Canadian, International, and Francophone) competitions, showcases and open mikes, guerilla reading, jams, and afterparties over the four full days of this unprecedented celebration of performance poetry.

We have the support of major Canadian spoken word organizers and artists, the Ottawa International Writers' Festival, the CBC, the National Campus and Community Radio, the Ottawa Fringe Festival, the Amnesty International, and the UNESCO. We have generous funding from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Ottawa Council for the Arts.

We are a grassroots movement but provide professional quality inspiration. We have twisted tongues, rhyme tied mouth, and big hearts. We write with a torched mike, and, as you can see, sometimes our rhyming is bad. And sometimes, when there is nothing left to say, we will still say it, even if it does not rhyme at all.

Please join us for a word fest you have not seen before.


Listen to the FESTIVAL AUDIO PROMO