Anthony Bansfield has always been a music lover.

You'll hear music on his latest CD, Tales of the North Coast. But he recalls an experience that led him down his own unique, expressive path.

"A friend of mine came back from New York, where his brother was going to school," he says, "and he brought a record with him."

The record was the groundbreaking Rapper's Delight by The SugarHill Gang. And it set young Anthony to musing on the qualities of rhyme.

"You know, as a kid you have nursery rhymes," he explains. "Rhymes are fun and stick in your head. I always liked that. So I started to write my own little rhymes."

Bansfield would draw inspiration from the wordplay of dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, as well as Bob Marley, Lillian Allen, Clifton Joseph and Tom Waits. His first performances came at the University of Ottawa, but he would gain confidence while living first in Montreal, and later Toronto. By the time Bansfield -- now calling himself the nth digri -- returned to Ottawa, he truly had a way with words.

"Having something to say and saying it in a way that's dynamic -- that's what a performance poet tries to do," Bansfield says. "Even if you're not following the words, you enjoy the style. And that draws you into what they're saying to you."

Bansfield should know. As a founder of the Golden Star Lounge collective, he organizes a monthly spoken-word night -- complete with open mic and slam segments. Generally, the events take place on the last Friday of each month at the African Palace restaurant on Rideau St.

But this week is special.

This Sunday, urban spoken-word artists from across Canada will gather for a true poetic first at La Isla on George St. The best wordsmiths from Toronto, Montreal and Halifax will join Bansfield for a night of inspired rhythmic verse that will range from the erotic to the vitriolic to the comedic. It's been in the works for some time, and Bansfield believes it is only the beginning for a city that has shown admirable support for urban poetry events.

"I think we're going to see more of this," he enthuses. "I think we're going to see this genre come to be not so much a novelty genre, but establish itself as a recognizable and popular genre that people can come out and enjoy.

"The Junos won't give an award for it. Fine, it's not exactly music, I can understand that. The Urban Music Awards do. They have a best spoken-word recording award. (In fact, Bansfield is nominated for that very award.)

"You have an upper echelon -- the Writers Festival and such -- but we practice literature too. We're spoken word poets: We're a bit of music; we're a bit of literature. And I feel we should get recognition in both areas. In fact, I don't even demand recognition or money or anything. Just let us come and do our thing too."

Bansfield and a field of talent will be doing their thing Sunday. And he promises all who enjoy "turning over something in their heads" will take something of value away from the night. Something distinctly Canadian. And urban.

"Some people see 'urban' as a euphemism for black music," Bansfield concedes, "but I see it differently. You can say it was black music, originally, but it's evolved. And I see this the same way.

"It tends to come from and appeal to a younger generation, it's got a little movement in it, it's got something of a 'coolness' to it. It represents something energetic and dynamic, and it tends to be demographically underrepresented, as far as access to power. Which I think lends to the grassroots aspect of it."

And that sentiment figures into Bansfield's memorable spoken-word piece, Black Hockey Player.

"Canada's changing," Bansfield muses. "When you've got a guy like Anson Carter scoring the winning goal in the world junior hockey championships, or Jerome Iginla in the Olympics ... it shows the change that's happening in Canada. As another generation comes up we're seeing a lot of these big news issues -- marijuana, same-sex marriage ...

"That may be why this kind of poem is powerful to people, it brings together the perspective of somebody who's distinctly Canadian, as in played road hockey as a kid, and yet distinctly non-Canadian in the sense that they don't look what the typical person would expect Canadians to look like."

Or sound like. But that can change.

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