Nothing cheers me up better than a poem about video games, so after a relatively horrible day at work, I'm extremely glad the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word was around to brighten my mood.

I'll save you my whole sob story, but in short, yesterday was the kind of day when everything went wrong for me. The kind of day when even a gentle snowfall can't make you smile. So as I walked up Bathurst Street last night, half expecting to be walking the wrong way, there was a noticeable scowl on my face. That disappeared when I walked into the Trane Studio and saw the place absolutely packed for the first night of slam competition.

I got to the venue fifteen minutes early, and there were already no seats left. Standing room was already at a premium. In fact, by the time the slams started, the Trane Studio was — as Dave Silverberg so eloquently put it — "tip-toe room only." Hundreds of people had gathered to see the best that Canadian spoken word had to offer, and the poets surely didn't disappoint.

The highlight of the night for me was surely Winnipeg's Skip Stone boldly declaring that he was "my Donkey-f**king-Kong" as he waxed lyrical about that unfathomable allure of the Nintendo controller, but in general, every poet left a lasting impact. And this was just a preliminary slam. I strongly suggest you get to Trane Studio at least half an hour early tonight if you want to grab some seats, but don't worry, you'll be standing with excitement for most of the night anyways.

The daytime events are definitely worth checking out today too (I'm thinking I might drop my new poem at the open mic this afternoon), in particular the Youth Scream which will be featuring young poets from across the province hosted by Adele Barclay. Check out the website for more information about today's events.