2021 Headliners

Jillian Christmas is an artist, creative facilitator, curator, consultant, and advocate in the arts community. She is the longtime spoken word curator of the Vancouver Writers Fest, and former artistic director of Verses Festival of Words. Jillian has performed and facilitated workshops across North America. She is the winner of the Writers Trust of Canada 2021 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers, and winner of the League of Canadian Poets 2021 Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award for spoken word poetry. She is the author of The Gospel of Breaking (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2020), and the forthcoming children’s book The Magic Shell  (Flamingo Rampant, 2021). She lives on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam people (Vancouver,  BC). 

Shima Aisha Robinson is an amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton) born student, community builder, poet and spoken word artist who embodies, with every literary and scholarly effort, the ancient meaning of her chosen pen name. Dwennimmen is the name of an ancient African Adinkra symbol, which means strength, humility, learning and wisdom. It is no surprise, then, that this veteran of the Alberta poetry community uses a searing intellect and dynamic precision-of-language to create poetry which ushers her readers and listeners toward greater understanding and poignant reflection.

For Shima Aisha Robinson aka Dwennimmen, poetry has long been a compass, a salve, an anchor and guiding light. She uses the potential and force of poetry to uncover the full range of her cerebral, linguistic and spiritual fortitude. This is why her every poem and performance testifies to an emerging power and wisdom, an authentic, deeply human potency which she hopes to pass on to listeners and poetry-lovers around the world.

She is the author of two books including HORN, 2016, Denseverse (self published), and Bellow, 2022, Glass House Press. She has worked, advocated, and represented our community as Artistic Producer for the Edmonton Poetry Festival Society from 2022-23 Festival Society, founder and curator of the WORD*LAB spoken word series, Learning and Outreach Manager for Fringe Theatre Adventures, and not least-of-all is also the The City Of Edmonton’s 10th Poet Laureate.

Rayanne Haines is an award-winning hybrid author and the 2022 Regional Writer in Residence for the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries. Her first full-length poetry collection Stained with the Colours of Sunday Morning (Inanna, 2018) was a finalist for the Canadian Authors Association Exporting Alberta Award. Tell the Birds Your Body is Not a Gun (Frontenac House, 2021) is a current finalist for the Alberta Literary Awards Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. Her essay This is Normal was shortlisted for the Alberta Literary Awards Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award. Rayanne is the host of the literary podcast Crow Reads and is an Edmonton Artist Trust Fund recipient. Her poetry and essays have been featured in anthologies and journals in Canada, the UK and the USA.

Timiro Mohamed is a Somali-Canadian spoken word poet, Edmonton’s former youth poet laureate, and co-author of the chapbook Water. Her practice is rooted in responsible storytelling, centers Black Femmes, and celebrates her many identities.

Nisha Patel is an award-winning queer and disabled spoken word artist. She was the City of Edmonton’s 8th Poet Laureate, and is a Canadian Individual Slam Champion. Her debut collection COCONUT is available at Glass Bookshop. You can find her at nishapatel.ca.

Jason Purcell is a writer and musician living on Treaty 6 territory in Edmonton, Alberta, where they are co-owner of Glass Bookshop. They hold a MA in English from the University of Alberta. Swollening is their first book.