Amanda Earl on Canadian Festival of Spoken Word
i have to say that i find the idea of judging creative work doesn’t appeal to me, not like this, not where random people are picked from the audience and the scores are so arbitrary. but why not? right now i’m waiting and interested to know the results of the Mann Booker prize. i watched the Olympics this year and rooted for specific athletes. i’m not sure why, but i did find myself squirming in my seat about the judging and the pressure from the audience. no judge gave lower than an 8 and when they gave out any eights they were booed.
CBC gave some coverage. It relates:
“The evolution of poetry in our scene has been incredible. The calibre, the different things we talk about,” she said.
Teammate Inez Dekker said spoken-word poets get lots of ideas from Canada-wide festivals.
“It’s a gathering of people who like words, who love poetry,” Dekker said. “It’s a gathering of people appreciating what’s going on.”
It’s also a gathering with rivalry: The two Ottawa teams in this week’s championship will be looking to keep the national title in the capital, after an Ottawa team won last year’s event in Victoria.
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Events happen downtown at various venues on Cooper, Dalhousie, York and Albert Streets until the 16th. Admission is $10-$20 getting more expensive at the door and for the final level. The event program is here. You can follow the play-by-play on twitter