Writers & Readers Festival: More than just reading and writing

What’s next, ‘rithmatic? Arriving hard on the heels of the PuSh Fest is Vancouver’s annual International Writers and Readers Festival, a literary celebration that’s been going hard since 1988. And like PuSh, it’s been given a bump by the 2010 Cultural Olympiad, so they’re juicing things up with some international Spoken Word Artists in performance:

At its heart, Spoken World is a celebration of poetry, but the addition of improvised music and sensuous visual effects will transform the evening into a powerful multi-media event. The artists assembled for Spoken World have performed on worldwide stages to international acclaim. The UK’s Lemn Sissay returns to Vancouver with his unique voice and soulful take on the world following his 2005 appearance at the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Australian hip hop artist Morganics also returns to Vancouver bringing his mind-blowing, kinetic energy and American Regie Cabico makes his debut on Canada’s west coast with his politically charged words. A hit at the 2008 Festival, Vancouver-based musician, performer and poet Kinnie Starr is an artist with a message and a stirring voice to proclaim it.

The shows are on February 18 and 20 at Performance Works, and all four artists will lead a workshop on February 21 for Grades 9 – 12 students interested in theatre and spoken word at the Emily Carr University Theatre Room.

Click here for tickets or call 604.681.6330