by Sonya Weir

Sean McGarragle, artistic director for the West Coast Poetry Festival, tells a great joke about poetry, acknowledging friend and colleague Graham Olds with the little gem. As operator of the Vancouver Poetry Slam, Olds has an in-depth knowledge of the world of performing poets, and has wryly noted: “Poetry is the lowest paid artistic expression; mimes get paid more and they have nothing to say.” While it’s a great joke, unfortunately, too many poets would agree.
Sixteen months ago, while taking Prof. Derksen’s English lit class at Simon Fraser University, it occurred to McGarragle that Canada didn’t really have a “single, poetic event that was worthy of the talent that our country fosters.” The 29-year-old McGarragle had the “nebulous little idea” to bring together what he calls the two different genres of poetry at work in Canada. According to McGarragle, the animosity between the two groups was pretty intense. In one camp were the well-known, textually-based poets, often the recipients of a Governor General’s Award, and in the other, the lively, unorthodox, spoken word artists, who used metaphor and literary devices to tell their stories.
The problem lay in the spoken word artists not being taken seriously by the textually-based poets. On the other side, the conception existed that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. McGarragle approached fellow classmate Michael Campbell with his idea for a poetry festival, and the two collaborated to make it a reality. Ultimately, Campbell assumed the role of production manager, McGarragle became the artistic director, and even Prof. Derksen took to the stage for the inaugural event.
McGarragle shares that he was really surprised at the speed that the funding came through for the first event last year. He was also thrilled with the public’s response, noting an “awesome” average attendance of 110 to 130 people per day. He anticipates an even larger attendance this year. In promotional writing about the festival, McGarragle has said: “The West Coast Poetry Festival is the single largest poetry event in Canadian history, but its roots can be traced back to a single thing. The genre of poetry itself, which has given us plenty and asked nothing save an open ear, is the motivating force behind the festival’s walk to fruition.”
The festival celebrates some of the finest voices in the Canadian poetic tradition with a diverse range of genres and cultures. The 2005 festival combines spoken word and traditional poetry, exposing the festival-goer to a wide variety of innovative artists. Forty-six poets are featured this year, including George Elliot Clarke, Shane Koyczan, Susan Musgrave, Roy Miki and many more. In keeping with the spirit of generosity and diversity found in great literature, all events are free to the public.
McGarragle is passionate about the medium of spoken word, citing Ivan Coyote as the best storyteller he has ever had the occasion to hear, and he also feels that Vancouver is a “pillar of the spoken word community in Canada.” McGarragle sees himself being involved with running festivals for the next eight years or so. After that, he is astute enough to realize that the next generation will undoubtedly be more in touch with the pulse of spoken word than he will be. Much to his credit, McGarragle is pretty much in touch with the contemporary and classic poetry scenes, and I was impressed when he pulled a quote by Robert Frost: “Using free verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” I say, “Let the games begin.”
The West Coast Poetry Festival is sponsored by the Vancouver Public Library, the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Canada Council for the Arts, ESU, SFSS and the Dominion Hotel.

West Coast poetry in motion

The Canada Council dispatches a jet moving writers across the country. Troupes of performance poets, who share cars to tour festivals, mark Vancouver in their itineraries from July 7 to 10. A beat-up jalopy adorned with plastic toys waits for the ferry over from Vancouver Island. From all over, as the heat of summer rolls in, so too does some of our greatest poetic talent. For four days at three venues, the second annual West Coast Poetry Festival showcases an eclectic sampling of the many ways words and sounds can blow your mind. Whether straight from the page or live on stage, this festival has everything - more than 40 poets from Canada and the US, all entirely free. For more information on the single largest poetry event in our young nation’s history, go to www.wcpf.ca or call 604-782-1666.