The end of May gave us a taste of what we hope will be a glorious summer. Moving into June, the heat makes all of us a little more open to the joy of long days, sunshine and warmth this time of the year provides. But among all this outdoor cavorting is a pile of spoken word, conducted in the heat of poetic passion, that will light up your brains and ignite your joie de vivre.

Here's where you can find spoken word in Toronto in the next 30 days.

HOT TICKETS

TORONTO POETRY SLAM FT. FERNANDO RAGUERO / JUNE 9 / 8PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL UNDERGROUND / $5
Fernando Raguero is a rare treasure in the national spoken word community. This guy almost never tours, has never featured at a show in Toronto, and yet if you ask the hardcore followers of the art form about his work, they will basically start drooling in front of you. Thirteen years in the Vancouver scene and a past member of three slam teams from that city, quite simply, this is not a show to be missed. This will be one of the most hilarious and enjoyable poetry sets you will ever see.

WHY BIRDS AND WOLVES DON'T TRADE STONES / JUNE 15 / 7:30PM / CINECYCLE / $5-$10 SLIDING SCALE
Lishai, a member of the 2012 Up From The Roots national slam championship team and UNITY Charity spoken word emissary, launches her book Why Birds and Wolves Don't Trade Stones, beautifully illustrated by David Brame. At the event, Lishai will perform with projected images from the book in the background. Depend on a lyrically powerful, visually appealing, slightly awkward, popcorn propelled evening of good times and great art.

RIGHT BESIDE YOU: AN EVENING OF OUR STORIES WITH DAVID DELISCA / JUNE 16 / 7PM / THE DRAKE HOTEL UNDERGROUND / $10 EARLY BIRD, $15ADV, $20 DOOR
David Delisca has been a member of the Toronto spoken word community for a long time. Taking his game to the next level, he is putting on a show that will feature the band Sound Energy Flux and singer Erin Reece, plus the artistic contributions of Progress, Quentin Vercetty and Trevlyn Kennedy. This will be an artistic tour de force incorporating word, music and story. Prepare to be amazed.

SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO SPOKEN WORD CIRCUIT PRESENTS JILLIAN CHRISTMAS / JUNE 19, 20 & 26
The SOSWC is a consortium of spoken word groups that stage monthly spoken word events in London, Guelph, Hamilton, Burlington, Toronto and York Region. Thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts, they will bring a high-profile artist each month to perform at the venues on the circuit. This month, two-time Vancouver poetry slam champion (and former Torontonian) Jillian Christmas tours the circuit. She features at Bill Brown's 1-2-3 Slam (June 19), Burlington Slam Project (June 20) and YorkSlam in Richmond Hill (June 26).

CANADA DAY WEEKEND SLAM FT. RITALLIN / JUNE 30 / 1PM / HARBOURFRONT CENTRE / FREE
The first of two days of poetry showcase and slam, this event pits the 2013 Toronto Poetry Slam Team -- Optimus Rhyme, Kliggy, IF, Philosofly and David Delisca -- against all comers in a "friendly" poetry slam (contact Toronto Poetry Slam for registration details). The event features Ritallin, the 2012 national indies runner-up and member of the Up From The Roots national slam championship team. The follow up event is at the same time the next day featuring British fringe mainstay Jem Rolls.

OTHER SHOWS AND EVENTS

• Roots Lounge Open Mic & Poetry Slam Scarborough/ June 2 / 7pm / Yvonne's Coffee Haus / $5
• Love Jones Sunday hosted by Jaydahmann / June 2 / 7pm / 2 Jerks Caribbean Soul Lounge / $10
• 
  Sunday Poetry / June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 / 11:30am / Ellington's Music & CafĂŠ / free
• R.I.S.E. Poetry Movement / June 3, 10, 17, 24 / 6pm / Burrows Hall Community Centre / free
• The Art Bar Poetry Series / June 4, 11, 18, 25 / 8pm / Q Space / PWYC
• Flowetic Wednesdays / June 5 / 7pm / Zemra Bar Lounge / $5
• Livewords / June 6 / 7:30pm / Black Swan Tavern / free
• Brockton Writers Series at the Dundas West Fest / June 8 / 12pm / Full of Beans Coffee House / free
• Lizzie Violet's Cabaret Noir ft. Ellie Anderson, blueVenus and Frenchie Fatale / June 9 / 7pm / Q Space / PWYC ($5 suggested)
• LyricalMyrical Chapbook Launch / June 13 / 7pm / Q Space / free
• Stay Golden VII Live Music & Spoken Word / June 15 / 7pm / The People's Church / $5
• Toronto Poetry Slam ft. Jillian Christmas / June 22 / 8pm / The Drake Hotel Underground / $5
• Acoustic Soul Tuesdays / June 11, 25 / 8pm / Passione Sports Bar / $5
• The Emerging Writers Reading Series / June 11 / 8pm / Duffy's Tavern / PWYC
• BAM! The Toronto Youth Slam / June 12 / 6pm / The Central / $5
• Toronto Wordstage / June 12 / 7:30pm / Q Space / free
• The Beautiful and the Damned hosted by DM Moore / June 13 / 7pm / Glad Day Bookshop / PWYC
• Roots Lounge Open Mic & Poetry Slam / June 16 / 8pm / Harlem Restaurant / $5
• Hot-Sauced Words / June 20 / 8pm / Black Swan Tavern / PWYC
• Plasticine Poetry hosted by Cathy Petch / June 23 / 6pm / Pauper's Pub / free
• Queen Gallery Poetry Night / June 25 / 7pm / Queen Gallery / PWYC
• Pussy Basket: An Evening of Bent Word / June 26 / 7:30pm / Videofag / PWYC ($5 suggested)

For more listings, head on over to the events calendar or check out the Cytopoetics Events spoken word blog for local info updated weekly during the month.

Have a spoken word event coming up that you'd like us to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO events calendar.