WED OCT 3 2018 / 7:30PM
Kealoha TELUS STUDIO THEATRE
CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT UBC
“I think poetry has been instrumental in guiding
me towards my path. When we write poetry, we do everything we can to be honest with ourselves, unlocking truths that weren’t so apparent in our day to day lives. When we express our desires, passions, and subtleties, we become more comfortable with them and can then work to make them real. Some call it walking your talk. I call it living your poetry.”
– Kealoha, Poetry Recess
Kealoha PRESENTED BY THE CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AS PART OF THE BEYOND WORDS SERIES
7:30pm, Opening Poets (Opening poets will perform for five minutes each. Artists listed alphabetically, performance order to be announced.)
Valeen Jules, Ivan Leonce, Anjalica Solomon, mitcholos touchie, Santiago Ureña
INTERMISSION Kealoha Please remember to turn off your phones, and note that photography and recording are not permitted. Thank you! The Beyond Words series is presented by the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and explores the power of storytelling in performance both as an agent of change and as a means of igniting conversation. Up next in the series on Sunday Feb 24, 2019 don’t miss the ceaselessly inventive artists of Manual Cinema as they pay tribute to a celebrated poet and the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize with their multidisciplinary show No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks.
ƛ̓a tə n̓a Chan Centre for the Performing Arts ʔam̓ət ʔi ʔə tə n̓a šxʷməθkʷəy̓əmaʔɬ təməxʷ
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is situated within the heart of Musqueam traditional territory
Kealoha
Kealoha is the first official poet laureate of Hawaii. As an internationally acclaimed poet and storyteller, he has performed throughout the world—from the White House to the `Iolani Palace, and from Brazil to Switzerland. He is the first poet in Hawaii’s history to perform at a governor’s inauguration, was selected as a master artist for a National Endowment for the Arts program, and received a community inspiration program grant from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation. In the seven years that Kealoha has represented Hawaii at the National Poetry Slam, he has performed on the finals stage four times, was ranked in the top ten of the nation’s best poets in 2007, and was honoured as a “National Poetry Slam Legend” in 2010. He was featured on HBO’s “Brave New Voices” series presented by Russell Simmons, and has also made appearances on NBC, PBS, the Food Network, National Public Radio, and at the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. He has performed at the Schiffbau in Zurich, Switzerland; the Bienal do Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, Brazil; the NFL Pro Bowl halftime show; and the National Storytelling Network Conference. Kealoha’s poetry has been printed by various publishers including the National Academy of Engineering, Auckland University Press, and Bamboo Ridge. He is the poetic vocalist for Henry Kapono’s “Wild Hawaiian” project, which was nominated for a Grammy, and he has served as Hawaii’s SlamMaster since 2003. Kealoha is the founder of HawaiiSlam, Youth Speaks Hawaii, and First Thursdays—the largest registered poetry slam in the world with 500+ in attendance. He graduated with honours from MIT with a degree in nuclear physics and a minor in writing, has served as a business consultant in San Francisco, and played around as a surf instructor prior to becoming a professional poet in 2002. www.kealohapoetry.com
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Valeen Jules is a former foster kid, former
homeless youth, and first-year college dropout from the Nuučaan̓uɫ uḥʔiš Kwak̓wa̱ka̱wakw nations. She is also a radio host, spoken word artist, community organizer, workshop facilitator, guest lecturer, and youth outreach worker who has been running around for BIPOC (black, Indigenous, people of colour) liberation since the womb. Valeen has been writing for over three years for the purpose of radical self-care and connecting to earth. Her first and only chapbook has been used in the curriculum of classes at Emily Carr University and several high schools, and she is being featured in an upcoming anthology storying climate justice. Valeen hopes to leave a legacy of Indigenous uprising and land reclamation for the wellness of future generations.
Ivan Leonce Ivan is a black queer activist, artist, and educator. Born and raised in one of his ancestral homelands—iere, land of the hummingbirds, kalinago territory—Ivan moved to unceded Coast Salish territory in 2012 seeking a change from colonially imposed anti-queer laws in the Caribbean. A part-time organizer and full-time friend, Ivan’s poetry is a medley of home, heart, and hurt always pulling him closer to his ancestors.
mitcholos touchie mitcholos aka Łapḥsp̓at̓ unakʔi Łim̓aqsti, is a nuučan̓uɫ poet living on stolen Coast Salish territory, of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ first nations. As a guest for three years and running, they believe ʔuusaḥiniš tiič č̓aʔak, they believe hishukish tsawaak, and they believe in iisaak. And thusly, stand in solidarity with Tsleil-Watuth first nations against the Kinder Morgan pipeline. mitcholos was a poet of honour ‘Rising Voice’ at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2017, and is now a Vancouver Poetry Slam team representative for 2018-19. 5
Anjalica Salomon If Anjalica was a song she would be stuck in your head. If Anjalica was a book she would be open. If she was an organ she would be a beating heart, pinned to a sleeve. Anjalica is the author of Looking Within the Labyrinth, a self-published poetry chapbook that explores the nature of separation and the labyrinth of one’s own resilience. This year she was a member of the UBC Slam competitive team and had the opportunity to travel across the country to compete in several national festivals. She is an organizer of the UBC Slam poetry scene and was the editor of this year’s collective chapbook The Year We Became. Anjalica is also proud to be half of the musical poetic duo, Velveteen Queens. When Anjalica is not writing poetry, she is hidden in her room making collages with re-appropriated vintage magazines. If you want more of her poetry and art, you can follow her on Instagram @anjalica_.
Santiago Ureña Santiago Patricio Ureña Cristo is a mixed-race, trans, latin-american person who likes collecting ties and staying up late listening to podcasts. They play bass guitar in the local teen-pop dad-rock heartthrob band Wind-Up Birds and they do poetry things sometimes. They were born in Mexico City and are a permanent Canadian resident living on the unceded, ancestral, and traditional territory of the Kwikwetlem, Qayqayt and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
Exploring the role of the arts and artists in society. chancentre.com/connects
As part of the Chan Centre Connects series, Kealoha gave a slam poetry workshop on October 2 with the five local poets that opened today’s performance. In addition to this, during his stay in Vancouver Kealoha participated in a discussion with the second-year UBC First Nations and Indigenous Studies class “Representation and Indigenous Cultural Politics” taught by David Gaertner, and was a guest of the UBC Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at their scholars lunch.
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The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC Joyce Hinton Co-Managing Director Cameron McGill Co-Managing Director Carl Armstrong Events & Customer Service Manager Wendy Atkinson Programming & Rentals Manager Lloyd Balser Head Audio Technician Kara Gibbs Marketing & Communications Manager David Humphrey Production Manager Flora Lew Finance Manager Glenda Makela Financial & Programming Clerk Trevor Mangion Ticket Operations Manager Chloe Martin-Cabanne Operations Clerk Veronica Maynard Administration & Finance Clerk Caitlin McKee (on leave) Artistic Presenting Manager Derek Meehan Head Stage Technician Claire Mohun Marketing & Communications Coordinator Janice Lew Rentals & Programming Assistant James Perrella Assistant Head Audio/Stage Technician Andrew Riter Assistant Technical Director & Head Lighting Technician Nadia Roberts Events & Front of House Coordinator Lyndsey Roberts Ticket Office Supervisor Jennifer Sorko Acting Artistic Presenting Manager Members of Cupe 2950 Front of House, Stage, and Ticketing Staff Valentina Acevedo Montilla Programming Assistant, Undergraduate Student Luisa Henz Artistic Presentations Assistant, Work Learn Student Taryn Plater Marketing & Communications Assistant, Work Learn Student Administration Office
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Graphic Design by Copilot Design Media Relations by Murray Paterson Marketing Group The Chan Centre would like to thank our 2018/2019 series sponsors: The Chan Endowment Fund and the UBC Faculty of Arts
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