Name: Famous Last Words Verse
Start: 2026-04-28T18:30:00-07:00
Location: Chill X Studio

On Tuesday April 28th we are very excited to again present Famous Last Words at the Verses Festival of Words.
For those of you who have never been to a Famous Last Words show before , Famous Last Words is a spoken word comedy show that involves poets participating in six rounds of a faux competition where they ‘compete' in a series of poetry related events that are in turn, 'judged' by our host (with input from Uni the Unicorn and our audience).
These games include poems written in unusual forms (haiku, sonnet, limericks, etc.) or on silly themes (love poems directed to someone in the room) or with funny addendums (poems must be written from the perspective of a puppet and must be read with said puppet). There are 25 potential games that can occur during any episode of Famous Last Words thus no two shows are exactly the same.
We have recurring characters at every show like Uni or the Dr. Dru or the Professor that add further silliness to the show and we hand out free chocolate to everyone that attends. We also tend to loan our unicorn bubble guns and give out free sticker/pins to members of the audience. It’s been called a kids show for adults or spoken word that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
For this episode we are super excited to have Apollo the Child in from Ottawa, Marie Metaphor over from Victoria, Skylar Kay in from Calgary joining our host Sean McGarragle, and poets RC Weslowski, Dina Del Bucchia and of course, Uni the Unicorn. We are going to have so much fun, it should be illegal.
Dina Del Bucchia is the author of five collections of poetry, Coping with Emotions and Otters (Talonbooks, 2013), Blind Items (Insomniac Press, 2014), Rom Com (Talonbooks, 2015), written with Daniel Zomparelli, It’s a Big Deal! (Talonbooks, 2019) and You're Gonna Love This (Talonbooks, 2024). She also hosts Can’t Lit, a podcast on Canadian literature and culture, with Jen Sookfong Lee. Her short story, "Under the 'I'," was a finalist for the Writers' Trust RBC Bronwen Wallace Award in 2012. Her first collection of short stories, Don’t Tell Me What to Do, was published in fall 2017 with Arsenal Pulp Press. She is the Artistic Director of the Real Vancouver Writers' Series and is on the editorial board of the independent press fine press. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, where she currently is a sessional instructor.
Khaleefa “Apollo the Child” Hamdan is a spoken word poet, hip hop artist, and former radio host dedicated to youth empowerment through the arts. A former co-director of the Urban Legends Poetry Collective, he created the Youth Speak program with the Ottawa Public Library, offering free after-school writing opportunities. His work includes the cinepoem My Hero Drives a Cab (featured on Button Poetry) and participation in the CBC documentary In Their Words. Apollo has performed on nine national stages and, as one half of the hip hop-funk duo Funky Colours, continues to mentor emerging artists and inspire positive change through creative expression.
Marie Metaphor Specht is a multidisciplinary artist, poet, and performer living on the unceded territories of the Lək̓ʷəŋən- and SENĆOTEN-speaking peoples. A long-time member of the Canadian spoken word scene, Marie is the 2018 Slam Poetry Champion and the 6th Poet Laureate Emerit of Victoria, BC. In addition to her independent practice, she has collaborated with filmmakers, lighting engineers, dancers, and musicians to create immersive and interactive works. Marie has been featured at literary festivals, arts events and poetry slams across the country and has been published in notable magazines and anthologies. Marie’s full-length poetry collection, Soft Shelters is out now with Write Bloody North Publishing (2023).
RC Weslowski is an award winning poet and broadcaster/podcaster, workshop leader, clown and bon vivant. He has performed his poetry across Turtle Island and parts of Europe since 1998. This is his 25th year performing his work for the public. His first collection of poetry “My Soft Response to the Wars” is available now from Write Bloody North Publishing.�www.writebloodynorth.ca
Sean McGarragle is a recovering poet/storyteller/academic specializing in poetry, spoken word and Shakespeare. He founded Death Rides a Unicorn, The Vancouver International Poetry Festival (now entitled Verses), the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, The Vancouver Story Slam (along with Johnny Frem), and he lives in the Republic of East Vancouver. He loves dogs and cats more than most people.
Skylar Kay is an Alberta-based poet and grad school dropout. Her debut collection of haibun, Transcribing Moonlight was well-received, earning a shortlist nod for the LCP Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for Poetry, and won the BPAA Robert Kroetsch Award for Poetry. Her second collection of poetry, There’s Magic Here Too, released in October 2025. She has spent years working in the literary field as slush reader, publicist, and most recently as a freelance editor. She is the recipient of a Lieutenant Governor Emerging Artist award, and mother of a cactus.
Uni the Unicorn is the antithesis of Death. Uni is joy and love, buoyant and distracting. Most of the time, Uni shares chocolate and bubbles. The role of Uni is played by the wonderful and talented person who prefers to remain formally unnamed and unrecognized for all their work. They love you more than they can explain.
Famous Last Words Verses
Tuesday April 28th
Chill X Studios
2270 Manitoba St.
Vancouver, BC
Doors 6:30 PM
Show 7:00 PM
The tickets for this show are only $10 in advance and $15 at the door (while no one will be turned away for a lack of funds).
https://www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/event/famous-last-words-verses-2026-edition/