and the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award goes to…

Andrea Thompson

Andrea Thompson is a poet, novelist, educator and editor at Brick Books. Her spoken word album One was nominated for a Canadian Urban Music Award, her album Soulorations helped earn her a Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for Excellence, and she is the recipient of the 2021 Leon E. & Ann M. Pavlick Prize for Poetry. Her collection A Selected History of Soul Speak is out with Frontenac House as a part of their Quartet series in the fall of 2021.

Jury’s Comments: “Andrea Thompson is a Canadian icon of Spoken word and her submissions reflect her long and praiseworthy career. The work is well-written and professionally produced with top notch recordings—as Andrea presents a strong-woman voice filled with spirit and fierce power, intelligence and musicality. Andrea Thompson explores and pushes boundaries—as artist practitioner, activist, educator and historian. The gifts she brings to Spoken Word on all levels is insurmountable, memorable and extremely valuable!”

Thank you to the 2019 Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Jurors: Sheri-D Wilson, Kevan Anthony Cameron and Dwayne Morgan.

Listen to “Wound Turned to Light” by Andrea Thompson.

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The Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award is an annual literary prize crafted specifically to highlight the unique strengths and values of spoken word poetry. The Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award honours an established Canadian poet with a history of achievement and performance in spoken word.