Toronto's Slam Scene Goes International

You've been to poetry slams before (or at least, you've read about them on blogTO), but you surely haven't seen anything like the Toronto International Poetry Slam. That is, of course, if you haven't been to the first four editions of the annual event.

Going down The Reverb this Sunday night, the 5th Annual Toronto International Poetry Slam (TIPS) brings together over twenty talented poets from across the continent, all competing for a $1000 prize and bragging rights in the spoken word community.

Some of the poets competing at this Sunday's TIPS include Memo, Tomy Bewick, Jamaal St. John, Carlos Andres Gomez, Ras Aibn, Jemeni, Illegal Poet, Danejahras, Truth Is, Boonaa, Heron Jonse, Truth Is, Ntare Ali Gault, Brother Earl, Sankofa, Patricia O'Keefe, Lady Coltrane, Big Head, Ritallin, MP, Samatar Sheik Ali, Steve Sauve, and Marina Blitshteyen. The slam will be hosted by Toronto poet-extraordinaire Dwayne Morgan.

Tickets for TIPS are available from Play De Record, A Different Booklist, and Knowledge Bookstore. Get them early, because a capacity crowd is expected.

The Toronto International Poetry Slam takes place at The Reverb, 651 Queen West, at 9pm on Sunday, September 2nd. More information is available at the Facebook event page or at UpFromTheRoots.ca. More information about spoken word events in the city can be found on blogTO's event listings.

Photos by blogTO's Roger Cullman.