Category: International Events

Title: International Welsh Poetry Competition submissions deadline

Date: June 18, 2017

Description: The first Welsh Poetry Competition was set up by poet & writer Dave Lewis in 2007. Officially launched on St David’s Day @ Clwb-Y-Bont, Pontypridd, 2007 the aim is to encourage and foster the wealth of creative writing talent that is known to exist in Wales but currently languishes in the doldrums. This competition aims to inspire people to capture life in the present day and to give a voice to a new generation of poets and writers.

It is obvious, after the first nine years, that the competition is here to stay, and with entries from as far a field as Abu Dhabi, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Corfu, Denmark, England, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, New Zealand, Pakistan, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Swaziland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad & Tobago, USA and Vietnam as well as Wales of course, the Welsh Poetry Competition is a truly international competition, accessible to all (through the English language).

Learn more here.

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Title: The Montreal International Poetry Prize final entry deadline

Date: May 15, 2017

Description: The Montreal International Poetry Prize is committed to encouraging the creation of original works of poetry, to building cross-national readership and to exploring the world’s Englishes. The prize is a non-profit organization comprised of an advisory board, an editorial board, a prize judge, directors and interns. The editors and prize judge are chosen anew each year. The staff is comprised of poetry lovers with diverse backgrounds who want to get poets together from all over the world in the spirit of fun and competition, to consider the various Englishes of the world and to think of poetry in global terms.

Learn more here.

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Title: The Montreal International Poetry Prize early entry deadline

Date: March 31, 2017

Description: The Montreal International Poetry Prize is committed to encouraging the creation of original works of poetry, to building cross-national readership and to exploring the world’s Englishes. The prize is a non-profit organization comprised of an advisory board, an editorial board, a prize judge, directors and interns. The editors and prize judge are chosen anew each year. The staff is comprised of poetry lovers with diverse backgrounds who want to get poets together from all over the world in the spirit of fun and competition, to consider the various Englishes of the world and to think of poetry in global terms.

Learn more here.

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Title: Verses Festival of Words

Start Date: April 20, 2017
End Date: April 30, 2017

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Description: The mission of the Verses Festival of Words is to celebrate the transformative power of words – written, spoken or sung; to engage diverse groups in cutting-edge, live performances as both audience and participants; to present influential artists from both the oral and literary traditions, and to encourage the next generation of performers and writers. Verses embraces a wide definition of literature and orature that includes page-based poetry, spoken word, oral storytelling, and singer-songwriters.

Verses takes place annually at venues clustered around East Vancouver’s Commercial Drive. This cultural district is the heart of Vancouver’s spoken word community.

Learn more here.

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Title: Liz Howard at the On the Edge Reading Series

Date: March 23, 2017

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (unceded Coast Salish territories)
Description: 2016 Griffin Poetry Prize winner Liz Howard reads at the On the Edge Reading Series, hosted by the Emily Carr University Library.

Learn more here.

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Title: Poetry and the Creative Mind, hosted by Meryl Streep

Date: April 19, 2017

Location: New York, New York, US
Description: On April 19, the Academy of American Poets will hold its annual Poetry & the Creative Mind celebration at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, hosted by Meryl Streep. The event celebrates poetry’s important place in our culture and its impact on the lives of readers, and features leading and legendary actors, dancers, artists, musicians, and public figures on one stage sharing their favorite poems. The always inspiring evening is a benefit, which raises funds to support the educational programs of the Academy of American Poets.

Learn more here.

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Title: Versefest

Start Date: March 21, 2017
End Date: March 26, 2017

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Description: VERSe Ottawa is a fully-incorporated collective of Ottawa organizations who curate and produce reading and performance series. One of the principal strengths of VERSe is the inclusion of written- and spoken word poetry groups, as well as other leaders in the poetry community. In coming together, the members of VERSe Ottawa have created an organization that, we believe, is unique in Canada and, perhaps, North America. The group and its activities are all the more durable since, as a team, VERSe’s activities will not be dependent on any one group or executive body. VERSe membership changes from year to year as series come and go.

Six days, sixty poets, one festival. Celebrating written poetry and spoken word in English and French, VF ’17 brings you some of the most exciting poets on the planet. Featured poets include Moez Surani, Erin Moure, Gregory Scofield, Sandra Ridley, Mark Doty and many more.

Learn more here.

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Title: Royal City Literary Arts Society Write On! 2017 Contest submission deadline

Date: April 1, 2017

Location: Canada
Description: Founded in 2012 in New Westminster, BC, Royal Literary Arts Society (RCLAS) is a vibrant community of writers in the Lower Mainland and beyond. RCLAS has once again flung open the doors for aspiring writers to submit their best efforts in any of three writing genres (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) for the Society’s annual Contest. This year’s judges are Chelsea Comeau, Alvin Ens and Bryant Ross.

Learn more here.

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Title: An Evening with Al and Leonard, by The Al Purdy A-Frame Association

Date: March 20, 2017

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Description: The Al Purdy A-Frame Association celebrates the works of Leonard Cohen and Al Purdy, with readings and performances by Doug Paisley, Max Layton, Damian Rogers and Phoebe Wang.

The mandate of The Al Purdy A-Frame Association is to educate and increase the public’s understanding and appreciation of Canadian poetry and literature; to educate and increase the public’s understanding of the arts generally by offering courses, seminars, retreats and workshops relating to writing and to provide performances of an artistic nature.

Learn more here.

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Title: Marty Gervais, Roger Nash and Tree Chapbook Winner at Tree Reading Series

Date: April 25, 2017

Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Description: Running since May 9, 1980, the Tree Reading Series (Tree) is one of Canada’s longest-running literary events and an essential part of Ottawa’s vibrant literary community. Tree is a non-profit organization that supports established and emerging writers from Ottawa and across Canada by offering a supportive public venue for writers to present their own work and to benefit from exposure to the work of other writers. In providing this service, Tree hopes to inspire and sustain the development of the literary community in Ottawa and to promote Ottawa as an important community for Canadian literary arts.

The evening features readings by Marty Gervais, Roger Nash and the winner of the Tree Chapbook competition, and also includes an open mic.

Learn more here.

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