The Performance Series

Pop Up Poetry Slam

Hayah Imam and Dilki Jagoda, Desiree Mckenzie , Shelly Grace and Martin Gomes

4:00pm

Sunday, September 24, 2023

30 mins

An impromptu performance of slam poetry to celebrate the power of the spoken word. Hayah Imam and Dilki Jagoda the winners of Poetry Slam 2022 will be joined by Desiree Mackenzi and Shelley (Grace) Campbell for an inspiring and thought-provoking performance. The event will be hosted by Martin Gomes.

Performance

Poetry

How to attend

This FREE event is open to the public.

Performance

Poetry

Featured Authors

Hayah Imam and Dilki Jagoda

Hayah Imam and Dilki Jagoda are local Toronto poets, who write about their intersectional experiences being South Asian women in North America. Hayah and Dilki discovered spoken word in high school where they curated and performed pieces about their experiences and thoughts about the world. The art form quickly became a form of self expression for the two and granted them a voice in a space they immediately felt connected to. Recently, Hayah and Dilki performed in their first slam poetry contest at the Toronto International Festival of Authors and received first place for their piece entitled ‘What time is it Mister Wolf?’. Their work has appeared in open-mic showcases for Stay Woke and Toronto Poetry Slam.

Desiree Mckenzie

Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning poet, arts educator, national poetry slam champion and voice actor from Toronto. Her poetry and voice have been featured in works for CBC’s Poetic License series, When Sisters Speak, Clearco Financial, Button Poetry, Kids Help Phone and Home Depot. She facilitates a range of community poetry programming for organizations like JAYU, VIBE Arts, Unity Charity, Poetry in Voice, and Shakespeare in Action. Her debut spoken word EP, Wet Hair, is now available on streaming platforms. In December 2022, she opened for Rupi Kaur on her world tour stop at Massey Hall.

Read more about Desiree Mckenzie

Shelly Grace

Shelly Grace is a Toronto-based spoken word poet, photographer and arts educator. She uses her art for community building and healing and focuses on the experiences of women and the Black community. In 2022 she was named Toronto’s Breakthrough Artist by Toronto Arts Foundation, and JAYU's Emerging Artist of the Year. In 2019 she won the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word while on the Up From The Roots slam team, becoming a National Spoken Word Champion. She is currently on the Toronto Poetry Slam team. She is also actively involved with VIBE Arts on their emerging artist roster, where she works as an art educator and performer. She is an artist and organizer with IBLV Tv, founded by celebrated Toronto artist Jermaine Henry. She has competed internationally as well, representing Canada in three American competitions. Shelly is focused on the power of storytelling and has been working to have visual art be a part of her method. Shelly continues to be unapologetically Black, loud, giving, and a force.