Book-and-magazine people seem to like boisterous gatherings, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the reading life is typically a quiet one. Take our local installment of the Word on the Street. The 16th annual festival, which has same-day counterparts in cities across the country, is set for Sunday (September 26) at Library Square. And though we’re not talking about the sensory onslaught of a Slayer concert, we are talking about a crowded streetscape offering a slew of performances and author events, along with a range of reading-related talks, exhibits, and markets.

Vancouver poet Jen Currin, slated to read that day from her latest collection, The Inquisition Yours, says the experience is utterly different from public readings in bookstores and libraries. “Even in terms of atmospheric things, it’s loud,” Currin tells the Straight by phone. “You’re going to hear the readers in the next tent and music and people talking. So it’s a little chaotic, and as a writer I like that. People come and listen to half a poem and then walk away. It’s not personal—it’s just part of the whole feel of the day. It’s like a buffet. You’re taking in a little here, a little there. So if you’re a writer who’s really precious—you know, ”˜Oh, my goodness, my words, they better hang on to every word, and it better be completely silent’—it’s not really the festival for you.”

Local writer Jenn Farrell agrees. The author of the new short-story collection The Devil You Know—which she’ll present that afternoon in the Canada Writes tent—also feeds off the unpredictable, irreverent feel of the Word on the Street. “You have to get comfortable with not being the absolute centre of silent, focused attention,” she explains to the Straight. “You’re just one ring in the circus! I love it, though. I never know what kind of audience I’m going to get or exactly what to expect. Will only three people show up? Will there be kids around, and should I downgrade a few choice words? Am I in the right tent?”

As Farrell suggests, it’s easy to get lost or happily distracted when the program serves up everything from panel discussions for prospective writers to live musical and comedy acts. Novels, zines, comics, kids’ books, e-books, you name it—it’s here, shoulder-to-shoulder in one big outdoor jam. For the complete picture, see the Word on the Street's Web site.