Delta Literary Arts Society president Angela Rebrec couldn鈥檛 be more excited about the group鈥檚 upcoming Composed Festival of Poetry and Writing.

鈥淚 really just want people to come out. It鈥檚 going to be a really great time, and it鈥檚 all free!鈥� she gushed in a recent interview with the Reporter.

Happening April 18-20, the event is a re-brand and expansion of the society鈥檚 Unbound Poetry Festival, extending it from one to three days and adding programming in each of the city鈥檚 three communities to reflect a broader swath of the literary arts.

鈥淲e鈥檝e expanded it a bit past poetry reading,鈥� Rebrec said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something for children and families, [and] people who maybe aren鈥檛 necessarily into literature. We鈥檝e got a lot of performance-type events that could appeal to people who just like really good entertainment, so you don鈥檛 have to necessarily be a writer or be a heavy reader. It鈥檚 just for people to explore and see what else is out there other than picking up a book.

鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a great way for local writers to give something to the community, and for people who actually are interested in writing themselves or who love to read, it鈥檚 a good way to celebrate what they like to do. Because there鈥檚 always sporting events, there鈥檚 always other types of community events, but not often are they about art. So it鈥檚 something different that people can go and have a really great day at.鈥�

The festival kicks off Thursday evening with 鈥淲riters In Your Neighbourhood,鈥� a roundtable discussion at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre. An all-Delta panel of authors and poets 鈥� including Dora Dueck, Raoul Fernandez, Debra Purdy Kong and S.J. Kootz (Sandra Thompson) 鈥� will be reading from and discussing their work, as well as taking questions from the audience.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have hopefully a lively conversation with the authors and a host 鈥� all of them are either living in Delta now or come from Delta,鈥� Rebrec said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be talking about how living in Delta has influenced their writing, and also about their writing practices and, you know, just a conversation about their works.鈥�

Copies of the writers鈥� books will be on sale at the event, as well as , a 72-page collection of works donated by DLAS鈥檚 members, volunteers and collaborators from the previous two Unbound festivals. Copies are $10, with proceeds benefiting the society.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to make [the anthology] an annual thing as well,鈥� Rebrec said.

On Friday night, the society is hosting the first-ever Composed Short Film Festival at Harris Barn in Ladner. The two-hour screening of entries from local and international filmmakers will be hosted by Kyle Hawke and feature a short question-and-answer session with the festival鈥檚 organizers and any of the filmmakers who are able to attend.

鈥淚鈥檓 very excited about the film festival. We have entrants from all over the world 鈥� from Spain, Germany, Austria, New Zealand and all over Canada and the States 鈥� and locally. It鈥檚 [been] really, really exciting and entertaining watching all the films and making our selections. That was something new for me,鈥� Rebrec said.

鈥淭here are really amazing films [in the festival] that are not necessarily mainstream but so well done and really entertaining. I鈥檓 really, really pleased that we鈥檝e ventured out into this aspect of writing, sort of getting into the visual filmmaking aspect of literature. It鈥檚 going to be so great.鈥�

Rebrec said the films fit broadly into two categories: poetic narrative and literary narrative. Organizers will be handing out awards for the best in each, as well as for best in the festival, best by a local filmmaker (dubbed the Burns Bog Award) and an audience choice award (voting will be via a QR code on screen).

Admission is free, however general admission tickets can be reserved on . Seating nearer the front of the venue will be earmarked for those who got their tickets online, 鈥渟o it pays to get your free seating on Eventbrite for the festival,鈥� Rebrec said.

Saturday will be the main festival, with a full day of programming at the North Delta Centre for the Arts.

Beginning at 10 a.m., the event features panels discussions; book and poetry readings; workshops and one-on-one writing consultations; a haiku contest; book launches; literature-focused vendors, exhibitors, installations and interactive exhibits; food trucks and more.

New to this year, the festival will feature live performances in the venue鈥檚 lower lobby by Celeste Snowber (鈥淔ragments Can Hold a World,鈥� 12:15 to 1 p.m.) and Kagan Goh (鈥淭he Boy Who Faked Kung Fu,鈥� 1:45 to 2:40 p.m.).

Those shows will take place during the intermissions between performances of 鈥淏ohemian Caress,鈥� wherein poets Kevin Spenst and Franz Seachel will read from their work accompanied by improvised music by the Bohemian Caress Trio while painter James Picard creates brand new works inspired by the words and music he hears. Showtimes are 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 2:25 p.m.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an event for all the senses,鈥� Rebrec said.

Among the discussions and readings planned are an emerging writers panel (10:30 a.m.), a screening of the film Stolen Memories (11:30 a.m.) followed by the 鈥淏rave BIPOC Voices鈥� panel (12:30 p.m.), the 鈥淲hether the Weather鈥� panel (1:30 p.m.), and 鈥淒ueling Editors Live鈥� (2:30 p.m.), where a pair of editors from Editors BC will go over another writer鈥檚 work on screen, offering the audience a chance to see and better understand the editing process.

At 3:30 p.m., the festival will host the 鈥淧andemic Screwed Us Over Book Launch,鈥� where three authors whose books came out during the dark days of COVID-19 will get the chance to 鈥渙fficially鈥� debut their recent work.

Also planned are a series of seven free writing workshops, plus (new this year) another three just for kids, as well as the popular 鈥淏lue Pencil Edits鈥� free one-on-one writing consultations, which have 鈥渟old out鈥� in previous years. Pre-registration for all workshops and consultations is available online via .

As in previous years, closing out the festival will be the Poetry Slam competition at 6 p.m. Hosted by Tawahum Bige, the contest is open to all but limited to eight participants, and members of the audience vote to decide the winners.

Top three finishers will receive cash prizes ($100 for first, $75 for second and $50 for third), but all participants will be given a book from 鈥淭he Abandoned Library of Irene P.,鈥� a collection of about 600 hundred books from an abandoned library that the society is slowly 鈥渞e-homing.鈥�

Those interested in competing in the slam can register for free via .

More event details and information about the Delta Literary Arts Society can be found at .