WHAT: Wise Women: Magic Words, a four-day celebration of poetry, story, film and song
WHERE: Festival Hall, 1215 10 Ave SE, Calgary, AB
WHEN: September 17–20, 2026
WHO: Feat. Anne Waldman, Louise Bernice Halfe – Sky Dancer, Susan Musgrave, Sheri-D Wilson, Clara A.B. Joseph, Micheline Maylor, Michèle Stanners, Skylar Kay, Shone Thistle, Ashley J.J. White, The Wandering V’s, Sandi Somers, Alystyre Julian & Johnny Trinh
The Calgary Spoken Word Society, together with Stroll of Poets, presented Wise Women: Magic Words at Festival Hall. The festival filled four days with the voices of remarkable women. It opened with Evening of Awe and continued with the launch of Louise Bernice Halfe’s WÂHTAMAWIK: Tell Them and Anne Waldman’s talk Dharma Gaze, hosted by Sheri-D Wilson. Night of Light – Dancing followed, and the festival closed with the Two Film Screening, hosted by Johnny Trinh.
The weekend ended with the premiere of Sheri-D Wilson’s The Barcelona Bakery of No-Return, directed by Sandi Somers, alongside Alystyre Julian’s Outrider: Anne Waldman. The Society thanks every artist and audience member, and its partners and sponsors: AGLC, the City of Calgary, the University of Calgary Distinguished Writers Program, the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and Shelf Life Books.
Thank you, friends, for gathering with us. The magic words live on.
Event details: Wise Women: Magic Words