Spoken Word Canada
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Spoken Word Canada, sometimes referred to as SpoCan, is an organization of spoken word performers and organizers. Formed from a committee of city representatives at the 2004 Canadian Spoken Wordlympics in Ottawa, Ontario, SpoCan's mission is to "nurture, develop and advance spoken word artists, the professional spoken word community and the art of spoken word in Canada." SpoCan is also responsible for producing the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word each year during the month of October.
The organization is governed by a Board of Directors composed of the National Director, the Past National Director and two local representatives from each of the nine cities represented on the Board: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Manitoba, Windsor, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax. According to SpoCan's bylaws, new cities can be added to the SpoCan Board when "at least one arts organization and/or performance series from that city formally agrees to participate in SpoCan. The addition of representation from a new city must be ratified by a majority vote of the Board."[citation needed]
Individuals can also become members of SpoCan by registering with the National Director.
SpoCan has operated its national festival in each of the past four years -- in 2004 as the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics (in Ottawa), and in 2005, 2006 and 2007 as the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (in Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax, respectively). Future editions of CFSW are in the planning stages for 2008 in Calgary and 2009 in Victoria.
