Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Last Chance for Candidates for a New Literary Award

"The Voice Electric / La Voix électrique"

The Voice Electric award was created in 2006 by two Montreal- based organizations: Les Filles électriques and Wired on Words Productions. The award is given for high achievement by a Canadian performance poet or spoken word artist during the course of his or her career.

With a value of $2000.00, the prize will be awarded annually to French and English-language artists in alternate years. Artists from Canadian First Nations who present their work in their own language are eligible at any time. For the first two years, the Award is being sponsored by a private donor.

The Voice Electric / La Voix électrique award will recognize literature by an artist who creates and performs his or her own work on stage. It will celebrate the artist´s creative path and contributions to the development of the discipline. The Selection Committee-working under the direction of D. Kimm, Executive and Artistic Director of Les Filles électriques, and Ian Ferrier, co- founder and Director of Wired on Words-will evaluate candidates based on factors such as originality in the creative process, mastery of the genre, innovation, the use of new technologies, contributions to the community, the quality of the writing, and openness to diverse voices.

Current Status of the Prize

Our initial desire was to award this prize during the course of the 2007 Festivale Voix d´Ameriques, but this turned out to be a bit too ambitious. We feel have not reached all the candidates we´d like to see in this competition, and for this reason we are extending the deadline to the 7th of March 2007 and attempting to reach all qualified candidates across the country. The prize will be awarded on World Poetry Day, the 21st of March 2007 during a cinq-à-sept (5-7PM event) at the Casa del Popolo in Montreal.

Spoken word artists interested in applying for the inaugural award should submit a covering letter, curriculum vitae, press clippings, audio and visual clips, and letters of reference from members of the community. The letter and portfolio should be sent to the offices of Les Filles électriques, 5143 boulevard St-Laurent, Montréal, H2T 1R9. For further information: (514) 495-1515.

Les Filles électriques is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to create, distribute and archive multidisciplinary works and events in oral, written and electronic literature.

Wired on Words is a recording label specializing in the distribution of literature in performance. It also organizes the monthly Words & Music evenings at the Casa del Popolo.

For further information:
Les Filles électriques / (514) 495-1515 / d.kimm@electriques.ca

from the Words&Music label
Wired on Words
http://wiredonwords.com

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