Not Your Grandma's Poetry: VSWF Spotlight: On the Fringe with RC Weslowski

RC with his cruel phone book.

RC Weslowski is a featured poet at this year’s Victoria Spoken Word Festival. An award-winning spoken word artist from Vancouver, Weslowski is known for being on the bleeding edge of spoken word. This year he’s bringing his second solo show ‘The Cruelest Phone Book in the World’ to the festival.

This is your second solo show. Why do you think spoken word works so well in this format?

While my shows that I've written for Fringe are not what I would call "pure" spoken word since I incorporate clown and some acting as well as the words, I think theatre works well for spoken word because of the long form format. It allows the poet/performer to flesh out their ideas a little more and in my case create a dramatic arc and story that is filled with poetic elements but is not entirely poetry either.

You’re known as a surrealist, a dadaist, and just plain weird. How would you describe yourself as an artist?

I would describe myself as an explorer.

I am trying to find the best way to connect with audiences in the moment. I like to experiment and do the things that excite me and hopefully by extension excite the audience too.

You were the Poet of Honour at the first Victoria Spoken Word Festival. What makes this festival unique, for you?

What I like about the Victoria Spoken Word Festival is that I think it embraces experimentation. It doesn't assume that spoken word has to be just one thing, it can have many variations and I really like that.

A friend of mine mentioned to me just the other day that their friend said to them almost in frustration after seeing so many poets not take any risks "you guys are doing a fringe art form, you can do whatever you want!" And I think the VSWF is full of that kind of energy.

Watch RC perform “If Language was a Virus”

RC Weslowski headlines at Storytime For Adults as part of the Victoria Spoken Word Festival.