Nth Digri

Ottawa, Canada
The nth digri is inspired by his Caribbean and Canadian heritage and the African griot tradition. He produced WordLife, a poetry and music compilation of emerging African-Canadian spoken word artists. His record, Tales of the North Coast, was nominated for a Canadian Urban Music Award. He produced the Ottawa poetry series, Golden Star Lounge, and led a team to Chicago for the National Poetry Slam. He also founded the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, the first national slam poetry tournament in Canada, and was recognized as the Festival's Male Poet of Honour. He has performed in the Caribbean, the United States, and across Canada, and his performances have been broadcast nationally on radio and TV. His poem Black Hockey Player was featured in the recent anthology, The Great Black North, and his newest record, south is north, is available online at bandcamp.com.  More information on the nth digri is available at nthdigri.wordpress.com.

Paulina O'Keiffe

Toronto, Canada
Spoken word artist, Toronto entrepreneur, project manager, community worker, program facilitator, youth activist (and mom of two) who has been working and performing across Toronto for the last 10 years. The founder/artistic director of Guerrilla of the Word, Paulina is influenced by her diverse ancestry and her work in multiple communities, bringing her passion to the page and the stage. Her poetry, which covers a diverse range of topics from love to revolution, appears in print in Guerillas of the Word and If I Ran the School.


Paulina has performed and hosted performances across the City of Toronto and beyond for the last 10 years; she has also been using spoken word to teach young people in a number of communities about self-education, expression and empowerment for the last eight years. Paulina’s role as an artist educator and spoken word artist has allowed her to teach, support, engage and inspire youth in a way that is outside of an education system that sometimes presents barriers to learning for young people simply because alternative methods of education are not available.

Www.guerrillaoftheword.wordpress.com

Patrick Walters

Toronto, Canada
spoken word artist and arts educator who has spent over two years professionally using poetry to place emphasis on mental wellness and overall well being - a simple message, but one of paramount importance in today's society. Through the execution of workshops and showcases, this message is passed on to the hearts and minds of his growing audience.

Www.youtube.com/patrickandpoetry

Afrakaren

Toronto, Canada
 an Afrikan-Diasporic WIDE woman/Wild woman/Listening to her ancestors/December born gifted Sage /Casting/Weaving/Dreaming/Creation/On stage/On page /she speaks/she sings/all she inner stands of spirit things/she plays in/ So many other beautiful things/Please stay tuned in.
afrakaren.bandcamp.com

Eddy DaOriginalOne

Toronto, Canada

Beat-box Poet | Art Educator | Event/Entertainment Coordinator, recognized across Canada for his spoken word poetry, performing and producing a variety of shows and events and contributing in the studio on a number spoken word recordings as engineer, arranger and producer. Eddy DaOriginalOne is an exceptional performer, entertaining audiences through his engaging writing style, unique talent as a beat-boxer, and charismatic stage presence.

www.eddydaoriginalone.com

Dwayne Morgan

Toronto, Canada

Dwayne Morgan began his career as a performer in 1993.  In 1994, he founded Up From The Roots entertainment, to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists.

Morgan is host of Poetically Speaking on the AfroGlobal Television Network. In 2014, Morgan received the Renaissance Planet Africa Award for Career Achievement, and was acknowledged by the Ontario Black History Society as a Community Trailblazer, following up on his 2013 Scarborough Walk of Fame Induction. Morgan is a member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, a 2012 National Team Poetry Slam Champion, and four-time runner up. Morgan has received both the African Canadian Achievement Award, and the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts, and is the winner of 3 Canadian Urban Music Awards (2001, 2003, 2005). In 2005 he was recognized as Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Vancouver. In 2008, Morgan’s contribution to the Arts and Canadian society were recognized on the Legacy Black History Month poster.

Morgan has published 8 books, most recently his first children’s book, Before I was Born, which followed his memoir, Everyday Excellence (2013), Her Favourite Shoes (2011), The Sensual Musings of Dwayne Morgan (2010), The Making of A Man (2005), The Man Behind The Mic (2002), Long Overdue (1999), and chapbooks, The Revolution Starts Within (1996), and Straight From The Roots (1995). In 2009, Morgan’s work was translated into French, culminating in the book, Le Making of d’un Homme. His albums include, Another Level (1997), The Evolution (2001), Soul Searching (2003), A Decade in the Making (2004), Mellow Mood: The End of the Beginning (2007), and Idle Hands (2011). In 2008, Morgan released a commemorative DVD entitled, Dwayne Morgan The First Fifteen.

Dwayne has performed for the former Governor General of Canada, The Honourable Michaelle Jean, the late leader of the NDP, Jack Layton, and has shared the stage with many of Canada’s top artists including Russell Peters, Kardinal Offishal, Jully Black, , and Nelly Furtado, while opening for international artist Alicia Keys, recording with Grammy Award winner, Drake, and participating in festivities for Super Bowl 46, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

To further explore his creativity, Dwayne collaborated with Driftwood Studios to film, Three Knocks, a ten minute film based on his domestic violence poem of the same name, which premiered in Toronto’s Reel World Film Festival. In March 2008, Dwayne hosted his first photography exhibit, The Sum of Her Parts, exploring female body image.

Dwayne’s work ethic has taken him across Canada, the United States, Jamaica, Trinidad, Turkey, Bermuda, Barbados, England, Scotland, Belgium, Budapest, Germany, France, Norway, and Holland. His emphasis on quality has driven his success, and has made him a well-respected component of Toronto’s urban music community, as well as the North American, and Global, spoken word scenes.