“We have a reputation for being a bit wild,” says Sheri-D Wilson. She’s talking about spoken word artists and she doesn’t sound the least bit apologetic.

“When you write poetry, you have to leave your head behind,” she continues. “spoken word is about giving voice. It is poetry in the language of the people. It’s passionate… and it is not going to bore you.”

It is an early April evening. Twenty participants in The Banff Centre’s inaugural Spoken Word program are gathered in the TransCanada PipeLines Pavilion. Wilson, program director, and faculty member Bob Holman are leading a discussion on the definition of spoken word.

Spoken word lies somewhere between written poetry and theatre and includes artists working in oral art forms, such as hip hop and folk poetry. Performances often incorporate rhythm, sound, and music.

For Montreal poet and program participant Luna Allison, the time spent working out a definition of spoken word was one of the most valuable elements of the program. “What one person calls spoken word, another person calls jazz poetry. It is a vast practice, crossing many genres. What we came to as a baseline definition is that spoken word is poetry written and performed by the person who created it.”

Wilson says it is essential that artists working in the genre have an opportunity to come together to discuss their work. “We’re starting to create a language that allows us to define our art, and that’s important. During this year’s program I felt a true sense of collectivity, a sense that we were creating a new art form as a community.”

Organized in tandem with the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, the two-week program provided participants with time to write, one-on-one editorial feedback, classes on topics ranging from the history of spoken word to the business of being an artist, and the opportunity to perform.

Presented in The Club, the Centre’s informal, licensed underground venue, the range of performances was remarkable — from high-energy, declarative work to lyrical, reflective verse, to poems set to music or accompanied by synthesized sound and video. The meaning and impact of each piece was as much tied to the performance as to the words.

Toronto poet David Bateman says the program led him to think about spoken word in new ways. “The program revealed to me how complex and varied spoken word can be, ranging from solo oral performances presented without any technological support to complex pieces using music and sound, supported by other artists.” Bateman, who is working on his third collection of poetry and has taught courses in theatre and cultural studies at the University of Calgary, Emily Carr Institute, and Trent University, says The Banff Centre provides the ideal environment for a spoken word program.

“The multi-disciplinary nature of Banff gave us the opportunity to meet audio engineers and musicians, to attend art exhibitions and concerts. That mix was important.”

Luna Allison concurs. “I am still digesting the experience. For me Banff was life-changing. Coming together with other artists was a revelation. The ability to record, the proximity of all that talent — it was incredibly inspirational.”

“One of the most valuable things,” she says, “is the mix of solitude and collectivity. I had time to work out my next project — I literally mapped it out on the walls of my room — and time to get out there and be inspired by other people. usually you only get one or the other.”

Bateman completed a first draft of his next work in Banff. “I’m working on a darkly comic piece entitled What’s It Like? based on my experience being HIV positive, and the well-meaning, yet somewhat inane, questions people frequently ask. I was able to complete a first draft during the residency and I used some of the workshops to test this material on an audience.”

Allison notes that the Spoken Word program is the first of its kind in North America, and that it comes at an important point in the history of the form. “We are getting to a point where spoken word is getting more public recognition and there is more of an accepted place for it in the literary world. We need this time to develop an understanding of our art and to move it forward. There was this amazing spirit during the program — a kind of vitality that created connections and sparked new ideas.”

Those words are a balm to Wilson, the founder and the driving force behind both the Banff program and the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival. The self-proclaimed “Mama of Dada” and award-winning author of seven books of poetry, Wilson is passionate about her craft and about the program.

“We are still inventing ourselves,” she says. “That’s why this program is so cutting edge, so forward thinking. This year we had participants and faculty from across North America, including francophone faculty [Montreal multidisciplinary artist D. Kimm]. In the future my hope is that the program will become even more international, even more inclusive.”

“That’s the thing about spoken word,” she says, her voice becoming almost evangelical. “It includes all voices, all cultures. Spoken word poets are the keepers of the history of our time.”