Because this Chill Out edition of the Straight looks ahead to highlights of the season, it’s a good time to mention the spoken-word celebration that the Vancouver International Writers Festival will host at Performance Works (1218 Cartwright Street, Granville Island) on February 18, in conjunction with the Cultural Olympiad. Spoken World will feature acclaimed wordsmiths Shane Koyczan, Ivan E. Coyote, Skeena Reece, and Ariana Waynes, backed up by wide-venturing percussionist Sal Ferreras and visuals from VJ Candelario Andrade, whose work has shed light on such head-turning theatre productions as My Name Is Rachel Corrie and Clark and I Somewhere in Connecticut. The event is sure to bring a whole new meaning to the idea of getting words in edgewise.