The Spoken Word Workbook: Inspiration from Poets Who Teach is a play-space where the audience becomes the artist and artist becomes the audience. The title features interactive exercises from seventeen professional spoken word artists. This unique project is ground-breaking and timely as a poetry and spoken word learning tool. The artists include José Acquelin (Montréal), bill bissett (Toronto), Regie Cabico (Washington DC), George Elliott Clarke (Toronto), Ian Ferrier (Montréal), John Giorno (NYC), Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer (Saskatoon), Bob Holman (New York City), Kaie Kellough (Montréal), Shane Koyczan (Penticton), Billeh Nickerson (Vancouver), Hilary Peach (Gabriola Island), Robert Priest (Toronto), Steven Ross Smith (Banff), Anne Waldman (New York City), Sheri-D Wilson (Calgary) and d'bi young (Toronto).

The "Mama of Dada"
Poet, film-maker, educator, producer, and activist Sheri-D Wilson has 7 collections of poetry; her most recent, Autopsy of a Turvy World (2008, Frontenac House). Her last collection, Re:Zoom (2005, Frontenac House), won the 2006 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry, and was shortlisted for the CanLit award. She has 2 Spoken Word CDs (arranged by Russell Broom), and 4 award-winning VideoPoems: Airplane Paula (2001), Spinsters Hanging in Trees (2002), Surf Rave Girrly Girrl (2004), and The Panty Portal (2008), all produced for BravoFACT.

Awards Include: CBC Arts Top Ten Poets in Canada (2009), ffwd Readers' Choice - Best Poet ( 2008, 2007), Global TV's Woman of Vision Award (2006), SpoCan Award (2005), Bumbershoot Heavyweight Title for Poetry USA (2003), Gold Award at the Houston Film Festival (2003), Three ACE awards (2003), AMPIA (2003, for best short or vignette), CBC Face-off (2002)

Reading Highlights: Blue Met 2009 (Montreal), Voix d'Amériques 2008,'05 (Montreal), Bumbershoot 2003, '99, '92, '91, '89 (Seattle), Vancouver International Writers Festival 2002, '00, '95, '93, '90 (Vancouver), The World Poetry Bout 2002 (Taos, New Mexico), Poetry Africa 2001 (South Africa), WordFest 2008, 2000, '95 (Calgary, Banff), Harbourfront Reading Series 1993 (Toronto), Small Press Festival 1990 (NYC).

Other Highlights:Women and Words, 2003-2007 (instructor), First Time Eyes: Unearthing Spoken Word, 2007 essay (Canadian Theatre Review), Heart of a Poet, 2006, featured poet documentary series, Bowery Project, 2005 (Instructor), Alberta Scene, 2005 (a commemoration of Alberta's centennial), Human Rights Symposium 2005: Victoria, Sounds Like Canada, 2002 CBC Poet in Residence, Addicted: Notes From The Belly Of The Beast, 2001 essay entitled Blackout, Confessions a Jazz Play, 1991 text of play (Theatrum). Of the beat tradition, in 1989 Sheri-D studied at Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, in Boulder, Colorado.

Since founding the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival in 2003, Sheri-D has worked at quantum velocities to present the largest Spoken Word Festival in Canada. Driven by the passion to connect people, voices and ideas she organized SWAN (Spoken Word Arts Network, 2007, 2005), produced the 2008 National Slam of Canada and is the Program Director of the Spoken Word Program at Banff Centre.

calgaryspokenwordfestival.comsheridwilson.com

Sheri-D Wilson's profile page

"Sheri-D Wilson's The Spoken Word Workbook: Inspiration from Poets Who Teach collects the stories, advice and suggested skill-building exercises from some of North America's (and the world's) most successful practitioners of spoken word poetry. ...If you've ever had questions you were afraid to ask--What the hell is sound poetry? How can I become a better performer? Do I have to be political?--this is a good place for answers." --Alberta Views