poetry

A breakfast restaurant, namely Flapjack’s Pancake Shack, is probably one of the last places where one would imagine a spoken word poetry event would take place. Urban Legends Poetry, however, believes that Flapjack’s is the perfect place for poetry performances, which is why they have begun a new series at Flapjack’s on Preston Street called “Poets and Pancakes”.

One of the voices that will be celebrated at the event is that of Amy Iliza, who made her spoken word debut back in Sept. 2015 at House of PainT’s OG 500 poetry slam competition, where she also met Fragiskatos. The two kept in touch after the competition, leading Fragiskatos to ask Iliza to perform at Fire and Ice when she was putting together the showcase.

Sabrina Benaim, most well-known for her poem, “Explaining My Depression to My Mother,” which has over 3,000,000 views on YouTube from her performance at the 2014 National Poetry Slam in Toronto, was the featured poet for the night. Benaim performed poems about anxiety, heartbreak, and one of her inspirations, Beyoncé.

Personal play focuses on coming to terms with the past Photo: Courtesy of Craig Conoley People often compare themselves to animals that they believe they resemble in some way. Dogs are one animal that people gravitate to for their loyalty. Others choose the fox, for its sly nature, or the lion, for its pride and …

Student teams up with award-winning artists for love-struck poetry reading Photo by Remi Yuan Remember the days before romance became mass-produced and depersonalized by clogged dating websites and TV programs like The Bachelor? In a new collaborative work, two award-winning Canadian artists try to remember. Written by Gerald Lampert Award-winner Joanne Arnott and illustrated by …

WHEN I ARRIVED at the Mercury Lounge, it looked just like it would any night of the week, except for the circle of folding chairs in front of the stage. They were set up for the spoken word poetry workshop that was about to get started with Ian Keteku, an Ottawa-based World Slam Poetry champion. …

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