Winnipeg Poetry Slam

Winnipeg Poetry Slam The Winnipeg Poetry Slam is a non-profit arts community-based in Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada. Our slams happen on the 3rd Wednesday of every month. You’re it.

We are affiliated with Spoken Word Canada (SpoCAN), which facilitates the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Story by story, poem by poem, you’ve been helping us build a community of wordsmiths in Winnipeg. You’ve bared your soul—sharing with your fellow poets and poetry-enthusiasts a wealth of knowledge. Every open mic is an opportunity to bridge gaps and create understanding. We’re committed to f

ostering a space where your stories, no matter how different, are shared, received, and celebrated. We will open our minds, challenge the status quo, start dialogue, and empathize with outlooks outside of our comfort zone. Our city needs game changers. Each year we’re finding new opportunities for Winnipeg spoken word poets to develop their work, network with other artists and strive for excellence. It’s no small feat, but we’re going to fight to keep poetry alive. One voice heard today can change minds tomorrow.

Youth poets! Come see what slam/spoken word poetry is all about. Featuring a showcase of current and past participants o...
04/17/2026

Youth poets! Come see what slam/spoken word poetry is all about. Featuring a showcase of current and past participants of ’s Voices for Change program and an open mic featuring YOU!Youth open mic sign up starts at 6pm for ages 14-18. Join us in the welcoming, supportive space and have your voice be heard - and learn about applying for the Voices for Change Youth Spoken Word program! Admission + food + drinks are all free with registration at the link in our bio!

Poetry Slam!!! ✨️Tuesday, April 28th, 2026at The Handsome DaughterDoors and sign up open 6pmShow starts 7pmThis slam wil...
04/08/2026

Poetry Slam!!! ✨️

Tuesday, April 28th, 2026

at The Handsome Daughter

Doors and sign up open 6pm

Show starts 7pm

This slam will be the 1st Qualifier for the 2027 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. 

12 sign up spots total, 10 advance spots at the (forthcoming) ticket link and 2 spots available in person at the door.

we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️ 

Poetry Open Mic!Tuesday, March 31, 2026at The Handsome DaughterDoors and sign up open 6pmShow starts 7pmwe can't wait to...
03/12/2026

Poetry Open Mic!
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
at The Handsome Daughter
Doors and sign up open 6pm
Show starts 7pm

we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️

We are so excited for our feature poet! Séréam!!!!

Seream est le pseudonym de Sebastien Gaillard, poète, performer, comédien, metteur en scène, parolier et auteur prolifique. Il est arrivé au Manitoba de la Haute-Savoie en France avec sa famille en 2017 et devient nouveau directeur de la Maison Gabrielle-Roy quelques mois plus t**d. Il est rédacteur en chef de La Tribune du Jelly Rodger et directeur artistique de la Maison d’édition et Compagnie théâtrale Une poignée d’loups en laisse. Seream déploie ses mots et sa vision du monde depuis plus de vingt ans. Il parie toujours sur la poésie en multipliant les collaborations avec d’autres artistes et en misant sur l’invention de nouvelles formes, orales et écrites.

Seream is the pseudonym of Sébastien Gaillard, poet, performer, actor, director, lyricist and prolific author. In 2017, he and his family came from Haute-Savoie in France to Manitoba, where he became the new director of Maison Gabrielle-Roy. He is the editor-in-chief of La Tribune du Jelly Rodger and Artistic Director of the publishing house and theatre company, Une poignée d’loups en laisse (A handful of wolves on a leash). Seream has been spreading his words and worldview for over twenty years. He is an unstoppable collaborator, engaging with other artists of various disciplines, and an in- novator of new forms, both oral and written.
*
*
*

OPEN MIC NIGHTTuesday, March 3, 2026Doors and sign up open at 6pmShow starts at 7pmFeaturing:A collaborative reading wit...
02/19/2026

OPEN MIC NIGHT
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Doors and sign up open at 6pm
Show starts at 7pm

Featuring:
A collaborative reading with Winnipeg Poet Laureate Jennifer Still

we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️

Jennifer Still composes poems with physicality in the Red River Valley, Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation. She is of Red River Métis and mixed European ancestry from a family of homesteaders, trade labourers and Railway workers. Physical labour is important to her practice as she reimagines what a page can be and how a poem can be experienced. She illuminates her pages with pinholes, typewriter cutouts, thread and carbon sheets. She is the author of 4 books of poetry and Winnipeg's 4th Poet Laureate.
*
*
*
*
*

OPEN MIC NIGHTTuesday, March 3, 2026Doors and sign up open at 6pmShow starts at 7pmFeaturing:A reading and collaborative...
02/19/2026

OPEN MIC NIGHT
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Doors and sign up open at 6pm
Show starts at 7pm

Featuring:
A reading and collaborative workshop with Winnipeg Poet Laureate Jennifer Still

we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️

Jennifer Still composes poems with physicality in the Red River Valley, Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation. She is of Red River Métis and mixed European ancestry from a family of homesteaders, trade labourers and Railway workers. Physical labour is important to her practice as she reimagines what a page can be and how a poem can be experienced. She illuminates her pages with pinholes, typewriter cutouts, thread and carbon sheets. She is the author of 4 books of poetry and Winnipeg's 4th Poet Laureate.
*
*
*
*
*

OPEN MIC NIGHTTuesday, March 3, 2026Doors and sign up open at 6pmShow starts at 7pmFeaturing:Winnipeg Poet Laureate Jenn...
02/19/2026

OPEN MIC NIGHT
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Doors and sign up open at 6pm
Show starts at 7pm

Featuring:
Winnipeg Poet Laureate Jennifer Still

we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️

Jennifer Still composes poems with physicality in the Red River Valley, Treaty 1 territory, the heart of the Métis Nation. She is of Red River Métis and mixed European ancestry from a family of homesteaders, trade labourers and Railway workers. Physical labour is important to her practice as she reimagines what a page can be and how a poem can be experienced. She illuminates her pages with pinholes, typewriter cutouts, thread and carbon sheets. She is the author of 4 books of poetry and Winnipeg's 4th Poet Laureate.
*
*
*
*
*

Open Mic!Tuesday, January 27 Doors and sign up open 6pmShow starts 7pmWe are so excited to be featuring our 2026 CIPS re...
01/12/2026

Open Mic!
Tuesday, January 27
Doors and sign up open 6pm
Show starts 7pm

We are so excited to be featuring our 2026 CIPS representative and Grand Slam Winner: !!!

Michelle is a spoken word poet and multidisciplinary creative currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her work moves between poetry, performance and sound as she explores themes of home, identity and becoming. Through embodied storytelling and musicality, she invites audiences into moments of tenderness, tension and quiet transformation. She is an emerging artist currently preparing for national spoken word finals this April.

We can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️
*
*
*
*
*
*

What better way to end 2025 than with an Open Mic Poetry Bash!?!? ✨️🎊🎉🥳It's a Poetry Party, so dress up in your fanciest...
12/11/2025

What better way to end 2025 than with an Open Mic Poetry Bash!?!? ✨️🎊🎉🥳
It's a Poetry Party, so dress up in your fanciest outfit and get ready to slam!!!!!

December 30, 2025

Doors and sign up open 6pm
Show starts 7pm

We can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

WOW. what a way to end the season. CONGRATULATIONS to for taking first place, be sure to follow along as she represents...
11/26/2025

WOW. what a way to end the season.
CONGRATULATIONS to for taking first place, be sure to follow along as she represents us at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in Vancouver, 2026!!!!! 🐷🦋✨️
Thank you as always to last years winner, for the stunning feature.
A massive congratulations to each and every poet who graced our stage last night, and at every slam this season. It takes such bravery to get up on that stage and share a part of yourself, and we are eternally grateful for everyone who did. 💖
Thank you, as always, to for being our home.
And finally, thank you to everyone who sat in our audience this season. Thank you for your snaps, claps, and support.
As always, we have lots of cool poetry stuff cooking!!!! So stay tuned, and keep writing.

We can't wait to see you again!!!
- The Winnipeg Poetry Slam team 🐷🦋✨️
*
*
*
*
*

This is it. The GRAND SLAM FINALE. 🐷🦋✨️Tuesday, November 25th, . Doors open 6pm, show begins at 7pm. This is the show we...
11/07/2025

This is it. The GRAND SLAM FINALE. 🐷🦋✨️
Tuesday, November 25th, . Doors open 6pm, show begins at 7pm.
This is the show we've all been waiting for. The show to decide who will represent Winnipeg at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in Vancouver in 2026!!!!
Our amazing poets have been showing up and slamming all year for a chance at the title. So come cheer, support, snap, and cry with us as our poets compete to see who will HOIST THE PIG!!! 🐷🦋🐖✨️
we can't wait to see you there ✨️
All competing poets have been notified of their participation.
✨️
We are INCREDIBLY excited to feature last years winner, BWriteword!
Chimezie Bright Osunwoke (BWriteword) is a Nigerian permanent resident of Canada. He's a poet and coauthor of “naming our bodies (anthology of poetry, 2019).

He's winner of Winnipeg Poetry Slam (WPS) - CIPS qualifier 2024, Poets in Nigeria (PIN) Yaba poetry slam Lagos Nigeria (2018), 1st runner up at AskIfa spoken word battle - 7.0 and 8.0 editions, he emerged top 5 at AfricanFilmCapital spoken word contest (Dec. 2018), 1st runner up at PIN performance poetry slam of Festival Poetry Calabar (2018). He is very passionate about self expression and story telling through poetry.

He's currently based in Winnipeg Manitoba and represented Winnipeg, MB at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) in Vancouver (April 2025).
*

What a SPOOKY night!!!! 🐖👻🧛‍♂️🦇 Thank you to everyone who came out to our spooky open mic last night! It was full of fri...
10/29/2025

What a SPOOKY night!!!! 🐖👻🧛‍♂️🦇
Thank you to everyone who came out to our spooky open mic last night!
It was full of frightful poems and dreadful haikus, lots of laughs and plenty of snaps!!!
We had demons and teenaged bigfoots and Vulcans and even a sexy raccoon! AND our very own Milton performed his first poem!!!

Stay tuned for our next event....it's gonna be a big one.

🐷🦋✨️
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

SPOOKY OPEN MIC 🎃 October 28thDoors and sign up open 6pmShow starts 7pm👻 ✨️ Bring your spookiest poetry and your best co...
10/05/2025

SPOOKY OPEN MIC 🎃
October 28th
Doors and sign up open 6pm
Show starts 7pm
👻 ✨️
Bring your spookiest poetry and your best costume for a frightful night to remember!!!
we can't wait to see you there 🐷🦋✨️
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Address

2037 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg, MB
R3J 0K6

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Winnipeg Poetry Slam posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Winnipeg Poetry Slam:

Shortcuts

Share

Category