Spoken Word Saturday is a showcase of the amazing Spoken Word Poetry talent that can be found from coast to coast. Today, Spoken Word Saturday celebrates LCP Spoken Word Award-winner Ian Keteku.

The Message by Ian Keteku

Ian Keteku is a master of spoken word. …With impeccable comedic timing and understated affect, Keteku’s performances are a triumph of wordplace and musicality, driven by wisom and humanity—alive as a heartbeat.

Andrea Thompson, LCP Spoken Word Award juror

On Thursday, February 29, join the League on Zoom to celebrate Black History Month with Ian Keteku and Halifax Youth Poets Laureate Asiah Sparks and Damini Awoyiga! The evening will include a performances and an open mic segment. Open mic signup will be first come, first served, and take place at the start of the event. While we encourage all poetry-lovers to join us for this event, the open mic is reserved for Black poets.

Ian Keteku is an award-winning poet and multimedia artist. He is a national slam champion, and the 2010 World Poetry Slam Champion. In 2016, Keteku was awarded the Poet of Honour at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Keteku’s art extends beyond poetry, as a writer and director, where he produces thought-provoking films and empowers people of all ages to embrace the power of their own voices. He has written and directed projects for TVO, CBC, PBS, Crave and Sesame Street. Keteku’s work is strongly influenced by journeys throughout Africa. His work follows in the lineage of ancient African storytellers by paying homage to the past and revisiting themes and lessons from previous generations. He has released two spoken word albums Lessons From Planet Earth (2011) and Love and Lumumba (2015). His debut collection of poetry Black Abacus was published in 2019 by Write Bloody North. Keteku teaches art-activism and creative writing at OCAD University in Toronto.

Brickyard is an audio/visual hub where Brick Books is proud to showcase excellence in Canadian spoken word and orature. Over the past few years, Brickyard has featured some of the most captivating writing, poetry, storytelling, dub poetry, jazz poetry, sound poetry, performance poetry, slam poetry, and acapella rap this country has to offer.

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