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Now forget about this website. This is old news.
Author Archives: calgaryyouthslam
Can You Hear Me Now? 2016-17 Season Starts!
Can You Hear Me Now? 2017 is starting off RIGHT AWAY!! Our first open mic will let you get your feet wet as we hold off on the slam part until November. Come on down to the beautiful Rose Room in the gorgeous sand stone building that is the Alexandra Centre on October 4, 2016 from 6:00-8:00 PM (922 9th Avenue SE, Calgary, AB). Head on up the stairs from the parking lot and down the hall . Come and join your fellow poets in this all ages celebration of language, where you will have five minutes to speak your verse – or whatever it is you want to read. Let’s get this party started! See you there.
Introducing Alberta’s 2016 High School Slam Champions:
Congratulations to Bellerose Composite High School (St. Albert) for taking home the Can You Hear Me Now? trophy, and earning the title of Alberta’s 2016 High School Poetry Slam Champions!
Runner-ups:
2nd Place: St. Anne (Calgary)
3rd Place: St. Francis (Calgary)
4th Place: Bert Church (Airdrie)
2 Days and Counting
Just two days left until Can You Hear Me Now? 2016 kicks off.
The poets are madly writing and memorizing their poems (still?!?). The coaches are nervously planning their trips, calmly reassuring their poets, and desperately emailing their questions. The judges are expertly honing their judgments by scoring everything they see, from meals to driving skills. (“I give the pancakes an 8.4, but Mr. McSleepy gets a 6.9 because of his lack of commitment and a 0.5 point deduction for taking longer than 3 minutes to change lanes,” one judge was heard saying on the way to work this morning.)
All because in just 40 hours, more than 100 Alberta poets will converge on Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd. SW, Calgary) in an epic battle of words, wit, woefulness, whimsy, and theatricality* to determine the greatest poetry slam team of this generation!**
Bring a non-perishable food item (a donation for the Calgary Food Bank) to gain entry for the weekend, with everything starting at 3 pm on Friday, May 13. The full schedule can be found on the Attend page, so stop by, say “Hi,” and experience some spectacular poetry!
*Of course “theatricality” breaks both the rhythm and the alliteration of the other words, but this is a blog post, not poetry – what did you expect? If you’re a sucker for rhythm and alliteration, you better attend the slam this weekend!
**This comment is merely for hyperbolic effect and is not an actual description of any award or prize actually being awarded or prized at CYHMN? 2016.
Sheri-D and Erin Dingle to MC Slam Finals!
Local spoken-word poetry legend Sheri-D Wilson and Canadian individual slam finalist Erin Dingle will be hosting the Final Stage at CYHMN? 2016 on Saturday, May 14 from 3 pm to 5 pm at Ernest Manning High School (20 Springborough Blvd. SW, Calgary, Alberta).
In addition, the Calgary slam team will be starting the finals with a team performance. After, the best 4 teams of poets in the province of Alberta will compete to be named Can You Hear Me Now? Poetry Slam Champions for 2016.
This all happens in less than 5 days! Check out the schedule to see when you can witness the poetic spectacle of CYHMN? Remember that admission costs 1 non-perishable food item (in support of the Calgary Food Bank).
If you’d like to volunteer to help out at the slam (time keeper, score keeper, judge), please contact Richard Wagner (rgwagner@cbe.ab.ca) as soon as possible.
Slam Schedule Posted!
If you’re planning to join nearly 150 poets at the largest poetry slam in the province on May 13 and 14, you should know who you’re going to watch, and when.
The schedule for the weekend has been posted, and you can find it here: Attend
Once again this year, we are supporting the Calgary Food Bank with donations of non-perishable food items or money at the door. If you are planning to attend, please make a donation to this worthy charity. One food item will earn you a stamp that will let you attend every bout for the whole weekend – it’s a great deal!
Team pages for each participating team are now available for editing, as well. Post pictures, poems, or links to videos on your team page to share your work with others.
Ultimate Monthly Slam!
This is it – the final monthly slam before provincial finals on May 13 and 14 (at EM High).
On Tuesday, April 5 at Loft 112 (#112, 535 8 Ave SE, Calgary, Alberta), with doors opening at 6:30 pm (don’t arrive too much before that unless you want to pick up a coffee at Hears My Soul or hang out in the beautiful spring air), poets from Southern Alberta will gather for one last open mic and poetry slam to hone their skills for the provincial slam next month.
We will even have a special performance by local Calgary poet, Miranda Krogstad (who has featured at Expressions, Shelf Life Books, U of C, and many other local poetry readings)!
Come out and share your writing with an all-ages crowd of poetry connoisseurs and performers, whether during the open mic or head-to-head with other poets during the slam.
As always, we want to thank our sponsor, ATB Financial, for their financial, personal, and professional support!
See you there!
Penultimate Monthly Poetry Slam!
Congratulations to Jared Sexfang on winning the February slam! Congratulations and thank yous, as well, to all the participants in the slam and the open mic!
Tomorrow night is the second-to-last monthly slam before provincials in May (May 13 and 14). We’ll start the night with open mic and then proceed to slamming some poems!
Doors open at 6:30 pm (you will not be allowed in until 6:30 pm, so if you arrive early go get a coffee from Hear’s My Soul Cafe). Those doors that I am speaking of are found at Loft 112 (#112 – 535 8 Ave SE).
As always, thanks to our sponsor, ATB Financial, for making these monthly meetings possible!
See you tomorrow night!
Tonight!
The third month of open mic and the second month of slam – tonight at Loft 112 (#112 – 535 8 Ave SE, Calgary) starting at 6:30 pm.
Sign up to either open mic or slam at the door, and demonstrate your poetic prowess, your word wizardry, and your verbal vehemence to legions of adoring fans!
See you there!
Thanks to ATB Financial, as always, for their generous sponsorship of all of our events!
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