For the first time ever, Vancouver residents will get a chance to view the  Griffin Poetry Prize ceremony without having to go to Toronto. Griffin Vancouver: A Celebration of Poetry will feature a live stream of the Toronto gala right into Vancouver’s W2 Media Café on Thursday.

Live readings by Vancouver poets including Evelyn Lau, Jen Currin, Matt Rader, Marita Dachsel, and Zaccheus Jackson Nyce are to follow, and will be live streamed to the Web and archived on the Griffin and W2 websites, says event organizer Sean Cranbury.

We intend for this to be an homage to what the Griffin Poetry Prize stands for – excellence in poetry from Canada to the world, he says.

The free event is open to the public and will also boast food, a cash bar, and giveaways of poetry books donated by Coach House Books, BookThug, ECW Press, Brick Books, and Nightwood Editions, among others.

Cranbury will share hosting and emcee duties with Vancouver writers and poets including Dina Del Bucchia, Chris Gilpin, and Sheryda Warrener.

Cranbury is no stranger to events like this one. Last year, he organized Vancouver’s first Giller Light Bash, featuring a CBC broadcast of the awards followed by local author readings and a dance party.

This year, he says he hopes to fill the room, which would mean more than 100 guests.

So long as the people who are in the room are having a good time and enjoying the show, and meeting friends … then we as organizers will be happy.