Schedule Friday Night, November 3, 7:30 pm Carolyn Souaid of Montréal delivers poetry that opens rather than closes doors and rides on buses. Her Circus of Words /Cirque des mots a multilingual cabaret of performance poetry, was a sell-out. She has also collaborated in Poésie en Mouvement, a moving anthology of poetry on board Montreal city buses. She is the author of four collections of poetry, including Swimming into the Light, which was short listed for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry. Goran Simic was born in Bosnia-Herzegovina, coming to Canada as a landed immigrant in 1996 under the auspices of PEN Canada. He is a prolific author of poetry, essays, short stories and puppet plays. He is equally aware of dangers in the landscapes of human emotion and in the landscapes of war. These two landscapes become lyrically intertwined in his poems, drawing his listener into a world where qualities of fairy tale are realized with a new power and strangeness. Wayde Compton is a young B.C. author achieving recognition as an innovator in both spoken word and written media. His musical and verbal influences draw on a wide array of modalities: we hear echoes of traditional oral narratives, Caribbean, hip hop and rap music. Hendrix and Derek Walcott rub shoulders with echoes of Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot. Saturday Night, November 4, 7:30 pm Susan Stenson is a poet whose star is rising, with one book in print and two forthcoming. Her subtle and finely crafted poetry has won many awards and she is an accomplished teacher. She co-edits The Claremont Review, a literary magazine that showcases young emerging writers. We are fortunate to have her offering a writing workshop for the Festival. Take note that her high school students consistently win The League of Canadian Poets National Youth Competition. Ian Ferrier is a Montréal performance poet and musician whose work traverses textual, spoken and musical poetries. He appears on stage, CBC Radio and in poetry video and is well known throughout Canada. He is the guiding force behind Planète rebelle and Wired on Words, two Québec enterprises set on publishing and presenting performance poetry to the fullest extent. Brendan McLeod is a spoken word artist and musician based in Vancouver, a high energy performer who engages his audience with dramatic monologue, moving through the emotional spectrum, whimsical, sad, funny and moving in quick succession. Decorated as a winner at the 2004 Canadian Spoken Wordylmpics and Vancouver’s Grand SLAM champion in 2005. As a matter of continuity, at last year’s Words Aloud 2, Darek Dawda performed a piece dedicated to Brendan McLeod. Sunday Afternoon, November 5, 2 pm Gregory Scofield a resident of Calgary, is a Métis poet, writer, activist and community worker whose maternal ancestry can be traced back five generations to the Red River Settlement. His books of poetry have garnered much praise. He uses poetry and storytelling to reclaim the untold history of the Métis people and his own biological family. Michael St. George born in Jamaica, is one of Canada’s leading Dub Poets. He explores social values, raising questions about modern life delivered with a twist. Combining uplifting music with inspiring lyrics, this talented writer brings a commanding voice and a charismatic presence to our stage. Erika Ritter & Carole Warren Ladies Men is a showcase of musing and music about men and their undeniable effect on women. Erika Ritter’s mostly light-hearted and always heartfelt observations on guys of all ages intertwine with great popular tunes interpreted by jazz vocalist Carole Warren. This performance promises the world debut of an original Warren composition. The result is a freewheeling ramble along the rocky road of male-female relations. A dazzling collaboration of two major CBC Radio talents, Erika Ritter of Toronto collaborates with our local Chesley delight, Carole Warren.

	Phone Noir is an outdoor, cell phone based, spoken word performance by Paula Gardner and Geoffrey Shea. Phones will be available throughout the festival for you to try.