Students at the Rose: Spoken Word Showcase - The FOLD
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Home Festival & Events The Festival of Literary Diversity Students at the Rose: Spoken Word Showcase

Students at the Rose: Spoken Word Showcase

Session Description

In our annual spoken word showcase, three poets—Naziha Ullah and Brainer Nwabeke—take the mic and present incredible poetry. Hosted by poet Patrick de Belen, this event is geared towards high school students and will feature a Q&A with the poets!

Educators can book tickets online by heading to the Arts Adventure page and entering the code TEACH into the promo code box. Tickets can also be purchased by phone (905 874 2844 Ext. 62803 or 62804) or by email boxofficeEDU@brampton.ca.

Featured Speaker(s)

Naziha Ullah_Headshot
Naziha Ullah
Bio
Brainer Nwabeke_headshot
Brainer Nwabeke
Bio
Black and white photo of Southeast Asian man with a mustache, wearing a white shirt and black blazer, silver necklace and rings, tattoos on his hands, sitting back in a chair, gazing up.
Patrick de Belen
Bio
Naziha Ullah_Headshot

Naziha Ullah

Naziha Ullah (she/her) is an educator and emerging writer and spoken word artist based in Toronto. She holds a Master’s in Child Study and Education from the University of Toronto and works as a teacher with the Toronto District School Board. Her writing often explores language, identity, familial dynamics, among other societal topics drawing on poetry and spoken word as tools for reflection and resistance. Naziha’s work is rooted in the belief that storytelling can build relationships, challenge injustice, and honor the many ways people come to know themselves and the world.

Brainer Nwabeke_headshot

Brainer Nwabeke

Ugoma Brainer Nwabeke (she/her) is a queer, Nigerian-born, multidisciplinary artist. Brainer dedicates her creative journey to the art of instruments and the divine feels of soft poetry. Outside of instrumental arts and creative writing, Brainer often dabbles in other art forms like the photography video editing and recording arts.

Black and white photo of Southeast Asian man with a mustache, wearing a white shirt and black blazer, silver necklace and rings, tattoos on his hands, sitting back in a chair, gazing up.

Patrick de Belen

Patrick de Belen is a poet, filmmaker, educator and storyteller of many other mediums. His poetry, films and other projects often explore themes of mental illness, the Filipino-Canadian experience, liberation, grief and healing.

When he isn’t onstage, or writing, he is an educator and community builder, partnering with many institutions like addiction centres, mental health focused organizations, libraries, schools, jails and more – advocating for social change and storytelling platforms in as many spaces as possible. Follow his storytelling journey at @patrick_debelen

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Field Guide to the North American Teenager is my first novel and FOLD was my first Canadian literary festival. While American and Canadian culture overlap quite a bit, especially when it comes to bookshelves, Canadian literature is unique and I was very heartened by to be embraced by that community I consider home despite residing in the US. It was a homecoming I didn’t know I needed!

Ben Philippe, author of Field Guide to the North American Teenager

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