The Lanark County Live Poets Society, commonly known as LiPS, is an informal organization of local poets living in the small towns and rural areas of Lanark County. We come from all walks of life, and range in age from teens to old-enough-to-not-want-to-say, and are proud of our rural roots and inspirations. Our purpose is to be a supportive community of rural spoken word poets, spread awareness and participation, and give all, especially youth, an opportunity and venue in which to express themselves and participate.

LiPS was born when Danielle K.L. Gregoire of Almonte, formerly with Ottawa's Capital Poetry Collective, held a slam series in 2008 to form a team to compete at the Canadian Festival Of Spoken Word and Poetry Slam competition in Calgary.

LiPS was proud to have the first ever rural team, and having the youngest member, to ever compete at the national competitions.

Poetry Slams all started in Chicago, 1986, when a man named Mark Smith endeavoured to remove the piece of paper from the poet and force them to engage with their audience. Today it is a fairly standardized competition involving five random judges selected from the audience to score the performing poets. The poems must be original material, no more than three minutes in length and are to be performed without any props. They are judged based on both the content and the performance itself. There are slams taking place in most major cities across the country.

2009 has seen increased interest and participation. This year's competitive Slam season is well under way 6 qualifying slams scheduled, and many more poets turning out to participate. We have had wonderful venue hosts in the Factory Grind in Perth, CP Cinemas in Carleton Place, the Bakery Cafe in Smiths Falls and JR's Downstairs Pub in Almonte. The Finals this year took place at Carleton Place Town Hall on June 19th, where 12 finalists competed and the 2009 National team was determined: Tammy MacKenzie from Tay Valley (Perth), Emily Kwissa from Carleton Place, Ken Kicksee from Almonte and Monica King from Innisville, with Danielle K.L. Gregoire of Almonte as the alternate. The team will be heading to the Canadian Festival of the Spoken Word in Victoria, BC, this November.

To date, LiPS has appeared in many local papers and the Humm, and on local radio Lake 88. We have also been getting involved with local Youth Centres, and have been invited to perform at a variety of events, such the Spirit of the Garden in Almonte in April; Stewart Park Music Festival in Perth, the Canal Railway and Chocolate Festival in Smiths Falls, HerbFest at the Herb Garden in July; hosting workshops at Blue Skies Music Festival in August; Sounds of Downtown in Carleton Place in September.

A 2009 CD, "Dedicated to LiPS", premiered the August long weekend at Blue Skies once again, and in Carleton Place at CP Cinema's booth at the Bridge Street Bazaar. CP Cinemas sponsored the CD, Brian Bouwmeester did the recordings, and Tammy MacKenzie again produced it. This year's CD features 30 tracks by 10 awesome poets! It will be available where-ever LiPS performs and at various stores throughout Lanark County.

Information on LiPS and where we will be performing or hosting workshops can be found on our website at www.lanarkcountylips.com, and on Facebook Groups under Entertainment & Arts - Performing Arts: LiPS at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=525726815#/group.php?gid=51468539627. Anyone interested in participating, inviting LiPS to perform or supporting the LiPS team can also contact us at lanarklips@hotmail.com.