14. The Poet’s Block Party
A powerful presentation of spoken word poetry. [CC]
Session Description
Four poets present works that challenge culture, celebrates community and showcases the wonder of words in this annual must-see event. Spoken Word artists Des Mackenzie, Jamaal Rogers, D’Scribe, and Shyy perform with a block-party intermission featuring DJ Roshanie.
Saturday, May 2nd : 10:00pm – 11:30pm EST
This event has already taken place. Thank you to all who attended! Find other events to attend and view the full schedule of events here.
Featured Speaker(s)
D’Scribe
D’Scribe the poet is an indigenous spoken word artist currently residing in Niagara. He has competed, cried, lost and won on many slam stages around Turtle Island. Currently working on his appearance in the play “Over to you” hitting the meridian center in Niagara falls in mid December as well as a video series that will be released early February 2020. D’Scribe is loud, angry and unapologetic on stage. Offstage, though he is a giant teddy bear.
D’Scribe will appear in The Spoken Word Showcase and The Poet’s Gallery.
Desiree Mckenzie
A proud Brampton kid at heart, Des has touched many stages around the GTA. She is the co-director of the Toronto BAM! Youth Slam and 2019 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word National Champion. Poetry turns her stories of relationships, growing up and struggles with self-love as an Indo-Caribbean (queen) into tales of perseverance. She has a passion for spreading poetry through her community hoping that others find strength through stanza, by way of the soul.
Desiree will appear in The Spoken Word Showcase and The Poet’s Gallery.
Jamaal Jackson Rogers
Jamaal Jackson Rogers is an award winning poet, arts educator, creative entrepreneur, and performance artist. As a poet, he was selected to be Ottawa’s first English Poet Laureate after 27 years in which the position had gone unfilled, while his career in arts education has earned him 2016’s Ontario Arts Educator Award. His defining moments are when he makes intimate connections with his participants during workshop exchanges and performance sets.
Jamaal will appear in the Spoken Word Showcase and The Poet’s Gallery.
Sincerely Shyy
Shiann Croft is an educator, spoken word artistscreenwriter and change agent to art and culture in the GTA.The Brampton based poetess has a powerful relationship with storytelling that is ancestral and thought-provoking. Using words such as storyteller, cultural custodial and prophet of the times to describe herself, Shiann is also a brilliant educator that uses creative writing as a tool to center the experiences of black folx.
Shyy will appear in The Poet’s Gallery.
DJ Roshanie
Roshanie is a Brampton-based DJ that is known for her nostalgic and global song selections. She has shared stages with international acts and some of Canada’s most promising emerging artists. Beyond the DJ booth, Roshanie is a resident host on ISO Radio, a community radio station broadcasting live from Central Toronto. She is also the founder of feminist educational initiative, Solidarity in Sound, which works toward gender equity in music.
