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On Saturday, October 14th, 2006 at 8:00pm, the
finals of the 3rd Annual Canadian Festival of Spoken Word was about
to begin! The four teams of finalist were ready to showcase their
unquestionable talent, wordplay, rhythm, timing, skill and artistic
flair! After competing heavily for two days prior on the 12th and
the 13th of October -- it was now time for the final show! Tension
and excitement was in the air -- but they were ready -- and so
was the audience.
The 3rd Annual Canadian Festival Of Spoken Word was brought to
you by veteran spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan and his Up From
The Roots company. The final event was taking place at the St.
Lawrence Centre for the Arts in the Jane Mallet Theatre. On a personal
note, it was great to come back to the St. Lawrence Centre after
being there two months prior, for the Miss Latina Canada 2007 pageant
as a judge.
The poets performing at the festival were gathered into teams based
on their location in Canada. The eight teams competing were from
across the country. These places included Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg,
Windsor, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, and Halifax. All of the teams
met in Toronto to compete for the national title and only four
teams came back to the finals!
The evening was jam packed with hilarious, witty, philosophical,
deep and inspirational Spoken Word Poetry! There is nothing comparable
to a live spoken word event -- where the crowd is alive, spontaneous,
and respond accordingly to what is happening on the stage! The
diverse and immense talent located within Canada is nothing short
of awe inspiring! All of the poets speaking were engaging, real,
interactive and deeply personal -- by baring their heart and soul
on stage. Some poets showed their insecurities and inner demons
while other showed their determination, will power, swagger and
cockiness.
The poets were also joined on stage by two Poets of Honour! They
included Juno award winning poet Lillian Allen of Toronto and Vancouver's
Shane Koyczan, the only Canadian poet to win the American Poetry
Slam Championship!
Overall, the entire night was a blast! Pulp Mag’s Sherene
Clark and I had an amazing time at the unique event! I highly recommend
seeing some of Canada’s spoken word artist live, if you haven’t
already!
For more information:
http://www.upfromtheroots.ca
info@upfromtheroots.ca
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