The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild is delighted to announce that Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye will be the 11th Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan from August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2026.
Dash Reimer is the 5th Youth Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan with a term of August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025.
The Saskatchewan Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate celebrates Saskatchewan—its people, spirit, land—through the literary arts, and act as an ambassador and champion of poetry and writing. The Poets’ commitment to writing, passion for poetry, and community engagement through their positions will raise awareness of the power of poetry and engage all residents, including youth, in the written and spoken word.
Peace Akintade-Oluwagbeye (she/her) is an African-Canadian Interdisciplinary Poet, Public Speaker, Chorus-Poem Playwright, and Thespian residing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Organically from Yorubaland Nigeria, Peace explores the intersectionality of the artist community from an explorer's perspective, dipping her honey-stained fingers into poetry, dance, performance art, critical research, and the theatre world.
Peace has been involved in the poetry community in various ways, including co-coordinating Write Out Loud, a Saskatoon-based youth poetry community and facilitating classroom poetry workshops in classrooms across the province with a number of different community organizations.
Her work knits together folklore, current events, and vivid imagery to create bridges. She is the author of "Earth Skin", a poetry collection retelling the joys and woes of human connection. In 2021, her play "Madness with Rocks" was chosen for the 21 Black Future Project with Obsidian Theatre and CBC Gem. Her play "Painted Elephant" was shortlisted for the IBPOC 2021 Persephone Theatre Commission and debuted with the Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal. Recipient of the 2022 RBC SaskArts Emerging Artist Award and the 2023 Platinum Jubilee Queen's Medal. 2020-2021 Saskatchewan Youth Poet Laurate, 2022 and 2023 READSaskatoon Poet Laurate, Poet-in-Residence with the Remai Modern Gallery for their Here and Now: Live Arts Initiative, and currently finishing her Artist-in-residency with BamSaskatoon, which includes a 46-hour performance art of continuous writing.
Her goal is to introduce the power of traditional African (Yoruba) oral literature, storytelling, and performance art to the growing public of Saskatchewan and beyond, and to make Poetry and Spoken Word accessible to youths by integrating the creativity and resourcefulness of poetry language to music, dance, plays, on stages with thousands, or inside the classroom.
The selection jury noted that “Peace is an incredibly accomplished poet whose work is inspiring to all Saskatchewan writers. Her passion for poetry and social engagement are exciting and we can’t wait to see what she will do as Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan.”
To learn more about Peace and to hear her perform, watch her introductory video here: https://youtu.be/Gc3eK9-CRe0
Dash Reimer is an artist and educator based out of Treaty 6 territory in Saskatoon. He works within the worlds of poetry and hip-hop and has over a decade of experience performing on stages across Turtle Island, North Africa, South Africa and Turkey. Having grown up in Mongolia, Libya and Saskatoon, his life has been a collage of experiences and his art reflects that. While Dash is fixed within the worlds of poetry and hip hop, he works within many disciplines such as punk, jazz, improv comedy, script writing, digital art, folk and more.
Former Saskatoon Slam Champion (2014) and National Youth Poetry Slam Champion (2012), Dash has been involved as both a performer and facilitator in the Saskatoon spoken word scene for over a decade and has been a resident artist/musician for a number of camps and high schools. He has received multiple grants from SK Arts to create, produce and perform his spoken word and has self-published two chapbooks of his poetry. He has also co-created a hip-hop program based for young men on the topic of gender-based violence through Chokecherry Studio’s Young Men’s Program.
The jury noted that “Dash is a talented spoken word performer whose work emanates love. He has a strong track record of engaging youth in spoken word and poetry through his workshops and teachings and has been deeply invested in the literary community. He will excel as Youth Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan.”
To learn more about Dash and to hear his poetry, watch his introductory video here: https://youtu.be/m5Q9fnKHzeU
Commencing in 2000, the Saskatchewan Poet Laureate Program was the first provincial program of its kind in Canada. The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild redesigned the program in 2019 to continue the tradition of honouring Saskatchewan poets and the poetry community while adding the Youth Poet Laureate position and exciting new community engagement opportunities. The Poets Laureate are under the patronage of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, His Honour the Honourable Russ Mirasty.
The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild thanks outgoing Poet Laureate dee Hobsbawn-Smith and Youth Poet Laureate Lauren Klassen for all of their hard work engaging varied audiences of writers, poetry lovers and Saskatchewan residents in poetry in 2023-24.
For additional Poet Laureate program information or to request a reading or talk with our Poet Laureate, visit: https://skwriter.com/programs-and-services/poet-laureate-program
Media interviews and inquiries can be forwarded to the SWG’s Program Director Yolanda Hansen at 306-791-7743 or programs@skwriter.com.
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