Sheri-D Wilson

Biography

CURRICULUM VITAE

Sheri-D Wilson:
Poet, performer, film-maker, educator, producer and activist

Sheri-D Wilson has seven collections of poetry; her most recent, Autopsy of a Turvy World (2008, Frontenac House), was launched in April at the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival. Her last collection, Re:Zoom (2005, Frontenac House), won the 2006 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry, and was shortlisted for the CanLit award. She has two Spoken Word CDs (arranged by Russell Broom), and four award-winning VideoPoems: Airplane Paula (2001), Spinsters Hanging in Trees (2002), Surf Rave Girrly Girrl (2004), and The Panty Portal (2008), all produced for BravoFACT.

Other Awards Include:
Global TV's Woman of Vision Award (2006), SpoCan Award (2005), Bumbershoot Heavyweight Title for Poetry USA (2003), Gold Award at the Houston Film Festival (2003), Three ACE awards (2003), AMPIA (2003, for best short or vignette), CBC Face-off (2002)

Reading Highlights:
Voix d'Amériques 2008,‘05 (Montreal), Bumbershoot 2003, ‘99, ‘92, ‘91, ‘89 (Seattle), Vancouver International Writers Festival 2002, ‘00, ‘95, ‘93, ‘90 (Vancouver), The World Poetry Bout 2002 (Taos, New Mexico), Poetry Africa 2001 (South Africa), Shakespeare and Co. 2001 (Paris), WordFest 2000, ‘95 (Calgary, Banff), Harbourfront Reading Series 1993 (Toronto), Small Press Festival 1990 (New York City).

Other Highlights:
Women and Words, 2003-2008 (instructor), Vagina Monologues, 2007: Calgary, First Time Eyes: Unearthing Spoken Word, 2007 essay (Canadian Theatre Review), Heart of a Poet, 2006, featured poet documentary series, Bowery Project, 2005 (Instructor), Alberta Scene, 2005 (a commemoration of Alberta's centennial), Human Rights Symposium 2005: Victoria, Sounds Like Canada, 2002 CBC Poet in Residence, Addicted: Notes From The Belly Of The Beast, 2001 essay entitled Blackout, Confessions a Jazz Play, 1991 text of play (Theatrum). Of the beat tradition, in 1989 Sheri-D studied at Naropa University's Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, in Boulder, Colorado.

Since founding the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival in 2003, Sheri-D has worked at quantum velocities to present one of the most respected Spoken Word Festivals in Canada. Driven by the passion to connect people, voices and ideas she founded/organized SWAN (Spoken Word Arts Network, 2007, 2005) and is the Program Director of the 2008 Spoken Word Program at Banff Centre.