Sudbury’s literary festival opens Friday and runs through weekend
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A premier festival, where readers, writers and lovers of words come to celebrate all that is literary — Wordstock Sudbury — runs Friday and Saturday at the Holiday Inn.
“The festival brings people together, people who normally wouldn’t come together,” said Britta Badour, a Toronto author who will be taking part in the festival and who will be the guest Slam Poet for the third annual poetry slam, taking place Saturday night.
“I’m hoping to see people who are celebrators and frequent spectators of poetry and spoken word, but I’m also hoping some new people will come out as well, people who have never been to a poetry slam or participated in a literary arts festival before.
“I think it’s really important because, through poetry, we can tell stories, personal stories about injustice, stories of humour, things that make us smile or touch our hearts.”
And for the poets, Badour added, they get to voice some attention to a topic or experience that they were able to bring to the written form.
“And then the audience learns something or is entertained,” Badour said. “And maybe there’s some reconciliation or some healing in it. That happens often, too.”
Badour will run a writing workshop during the festival.
“For me, personally, I write poetry that is close to home,” Badour said. “I write poetry that is autobiographical, things I’ve experienced, things I’ve tried to understand in my life and in the world.
“So, with the workshop, I tend to work from a backbone of helping other artists better understand what their values and what their intentions with their writing might be, asking themselves questions about what they hope for themselves in terms of creativity, in terms of their personhood, in terms of the artist or writer they want to be.”
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Need to know
Festival Pass:
Advance: $85/$40 for students/fixed income
At the door: $90/45 for students/fixed income
Includes all sessions (except Masterclasses)
Masterclasses:
Advance: $30/$15 for students/fixed income
At the door: $40/$20 for students/fixed income
3rd Annual Poetry Slam:
Cover charge will be $5 at the door
All sessions: unless otherwise indicated, $20 in advance or $25 at the door, $10 for students/fixed income
Free sessions
Poetry primer: Nov. 1, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Sulphur open mic: Nov. 1, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Little readers: Nov. 2, 10:30 a.m.. to 12 p.m.
Festival Bookstore
Follett Books will serve as the bookseller, carrying books by featured authors in the Solarium at the Holiday Inn.
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Sixth edition schedule
Nov. 1
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Poetry Primer (Solarium)
7 to 7:30 p.m.: Festival Opening (Solarium)
7:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Women with Words (Solarium)
9 to 11 p.m.: Sulphur Open Mic
Nov. 2
9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Masterclass #1: Editing Your Work (Georgian A)
Masterclass #2: Podcasting 101 (Room 251)
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Masterclass #3: The Art of Poetry Slam
10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Little Readers (Georgian B)
1 to 2 p.m.: Short and Sweet (Georgian B)
1 to 2 p.m. Retelling Through Fiction: (Georgian A)
2:15 to 3:15 p.m.: Pot Pourri Poetry (Georgian B)
2:15 to 3:15 p.m.: Writing for Young Minds (Georgian A)
3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Just the Facts Please (Georgian A)
5 to 6:30 p.m.: French Kiss (Georgian B)
7 to 8:30 p.m.: Minwaajimo: Tell a Good Story (Georgian A/B)
9 to 11:30 p.m.: Third Annual Sudbury Poetry Slam (Georgian A/B)
Nov. 3
9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: Masterclass #4: Talking Dialogue (Room 251)
Inside the Industry (Solarium)
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: In Conversation with: Kyo Maclear and Linda Kenyon (Solarium)
sud.editorial@sunmedia.ca
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