Coming up on May 27, 2025, I’m excited to welcome the youth poets of the 2025 Voices for Change program to the stage at The Handsome Daughter to share their poem, FIGHT FOR HOME with the Winnipeg Poetry Slam community.
Back in the fall, I stepped into my role as facilitator for the 10th time (!) to work with high school students to create a poem which would be professionally filmed, then later launched online and performed live for an audience at the Legislature as part of International Development Week. This year’s project was significant, however, as the topic of displacement carried a particular weight for the participants who each carried their own lived experience.
In a special partnership between the Manitoba Council for International Cooperation and the Resilia Community Wellness Centre (formerly Aurora Family Therapy Centre), I met Indigenous students Merek and Linnaya, as well as Ali and Tetiana, who were refugees from Syria and Ukraine, respectively. The group were a part of a youth leadership program at the wellness centre, and each certainly had something to say on belonging and security, whether within Canada, or from abroad.
Considering how Merek and Linnaya are both preparing to graduate into our society and inherit the living history of colonialism impacting all treaty relations, and how Tetiana and Ali had experience with displacement caused by violence in their home countries with literal physical and emotional scars to show for it, I definitely grew in my capacity to support others in expressing themselves. With extra guidance from MCIC’s education specialist and Resilia’s youth program facilitator, we navigated difficult subjects and emotions, and created what was clearly the realest poem to ever come of this program.
With that being the case, I’m proud of our work and must acknowledge the courage that everyone showed in stepping up to share these truths which so tragically affect the young and innocent. But also, the resilience, hope, and grace they carry towards the future.
Before you come see them in person, check out the video!
In the fall of 2024, Adam Pagtakhan of Midnight Sun Creative and I met on the street outside my apartment. As we gazed into an open cardboard box in the trunk of his car with a giddy fulfilment, we couldn’t anticipate the overwhelmingly positive response we would receive for our collaboration. Instantly dismissing the fact that our respective bank accounts had been drained to cover the cost of printing, we were too busy high-fiving and signing each others’ copies of our book to care. Real physical copies! In our hands!
That was the day that Birds of a Feather: A Graphic Poem arrived. It was a project that we initiated during the pandemic lockdown, after some time discussing a collaboration. We’ve been friends since high school; hopeless nerds, deep thinkers and feelers, who have supported each other as we’ve developed our respective crafts and then took the plunge into building careers as professional artists…with day jobs.
It started as something to do for fun, to see what would come of Adam’s visual interpretations of a poem I shared, and which he chose as having provocative imagery and a powerful message of finding empowerment through communing with others who share mental health struggles. We chose the format of a graphic narrative, a.k.a. a comic book, as something we were both familiar with, and something I’d dreamed about creating since I sketched superheroes in art class.
Adam was already a talented graphic designer, finding consistent work designing posters, logos, shirts: you name it. But his initial drafts revealed so much depth that resonated with the material, fulfilling the potential of graphic narratives to transcend mainstream comic strip forms to engage with readers on a truly meaningful level. What we were creating wasn’t quite a comic book, or a picture book with poetic text, but kind of…both, which also leaned into dreamlike cinematic imagery. Taking some literal cues from lines in the poem, he formed a visual meta-narrative of a wounded bird on a journey through dangerous terrain, encountering monsters and pitfalls as metaphors for trauma recovery. Meanwhile, in our little protagonist, he captured expressions and personality that I could instantly connect with as a reader.
When I was invited to perform at Plume Winnipeg‘s Afterwords event, I made sure to bring a few copies to sell, along with Adam himself to acknowledge his contribution from the mic. It was our unofficial launch; we’d only just started posting about it on our social media channels. And even though I hadn’t shared the poem on stage in years, the experience of having bonded with Adam through the material inspired and empowered me to give a meaningful performance. It did seem to resonate with the audience, who immediately snatched up all the copies we had, with someone telling us we should have brought more! On top of that, Adam and I were hounded for autographs, which, despite being touching and humbling, was just unheard of for a couple of self-published creators.
Since then, we’ve connected the graphic poem to readers across the country, built somewhat of an audience here at an ‘official’ launch featuring other spoken word poets and their respective chapbooks, and found support with local shops who agreed to carry it on their shelves. This included a comic book shop, which was like a surreal dream come true! Recently, I shared the poem and discussed the project with a poetry class facilitated by fellow poet, Heidi Sander, in Cambridge, Ontario.
As I shared in the afterword, the way Adam’s art responded to mine and connected us as emotional beings inspired me to see the book as more than just that. It was the reason I chose to include a list of mental health resources (based in Canada), so the book could be used as a tool to connect and heal those who struggle with their own illnesses and existential crises. So far, with the way we’ve connected with readers, we’ve proven to ourselves that we did make something special and meaningful. We’ve also proven that though people may struggle alone, we’re much stronger together. Especially when we create community through art!
To grab your own copy in Winnipeg, visit 204 Comics or House of Local where you can also get a copy shipped from their digital store at the link.
Well, it’s been a heck of a long time since I’ve been active on my website. Back in 2019 – was it really 5 years ago??? – I took a big step away from writing poetry and being active in Winnipeg’s literary community to work towards personal and financial stability. I needed to make some shifts in career goals and find ways to balance my time and energy to make working a ‘day job’ fit alongside a creative lifestyle.
Then the pandemic happened!
Which was terrible for many reasons.
But it also offered me a blessing in time and space to work on, and finish, quite an ambitious mature YA novel project. In 2021, I was fortunate to be accepted in The Sage Hill Writing Experience‘s Summer Fiction Program where I received overwhelming encouragement from the group facilitator and amazing award-winning writer, Yasuko Thanh. Since then, I’ve completed a couple revisions of the manuscript based on input from some active readers, and have sent a few submissions out to publishing houses in Canada. Fingers crossed as I wait for their replies, and I hope to share more info about the project sometime soon!
Connected at a distance: organizers, faculty, and participants of the 2021 Sage Hill Program!
As you’d probably guess, with it being based in live events, the spoken word/poetry slam community all but shut down during the pandemic. Still, there were a few pockets of activity, such as with The Winnipeg Fringe Festival’s Winter Series co-production, SLAMDEMIC! Live streamed via YouTube, viewers participated as judges to choose the competition winner. The ‘Fringe brought us back that summer for another slam competition during their Play On Digital Festival, too! I took part in both events as co-producer and performer, pulling out some new material that I managed to put to paper at the time.
Another program that adapted to a digital format was Manitoba Council for International Cooperation’s (MCIC) Voices for Change youth spoken word project. Having facilitated the creative aspect of the program many times before, MCIC reached out to me to return during a lengthy period of isolation. It was a welcome opportunity to connect with youth poets and mentor them through developing new work that speaks to global sustainability issues they care about – especially those that touch close to home here in Winnipeg on Treaty One Territory.
I’m happy to be invited back for what is my TENTH round of facilitating this project with MCIC. Each year is a new adventure in creativity, resulting in empowering art that is shared on video and live on stage at the Winnipeg Legislature during International Development Week in April. Applications are open now for youth to take part. Check out the embedded link above for info on how to apply, and all the fantastic pieces that youth have produced in the past decade-plus!
I’m excited to say that I’ve started to come out of my shell and write poetry again! This is largely due to the fact that my pal and former mentee, Kortnee Stevens, and I have partnered up to re-establish the Winnipeg Poetry Slam to reinvigorate spoken word in the community. Since running the first few open mics at the Good Will Social Club (RIP!) in October 2023, we’ve relocated to The Handsome Daughter where the poets – and audiences – have begun to show up in droves! Thanks in part to our savvy Social Media Coordinator Jules Stevenson, another former mentee, sign-up sheets have been filling up in minutes, and it’s been standing-room only! We’re seeing so many new faces and hearing such incredible work that Plume Winnipeg (formerly Thin Air: The Winnipeg International Writers Festival) took notice and asked us to take part in their festival for TWO separate events!
We’ve been so inspired by how the community has grown in the past year that we’ve applied for funding from the Manitoba Arts Council. We hope expand our programming towards showcasing amazing feature poets and to running workshops for participants to develop their craft both on page and stage. Stay tuned for what we’re cooking up – and in the meantime, find us at The Handsome Daughter on the last Tuesday of each month!
Photo Credit: Anthony Mark Schellenberg
Producing slam events has reinvigorated something in me since my pre-pandemic falling out with Winnipeg’s poetry community. I’ve a sense of purpose and a place where it’s realized in a variety of ways. I’m happy to be working with two former mentees who I get to see thriving on stage and in their efforts as community leaders. I’m honored that even more former students and mentees have come out to be a part of what we’re building, and are crushing it as the next generation of spoken word poets making names for themselves in the arts community. At Plume Winnipeg’s Afterwords event where she invited me to be a featured reader, my own former mentor and festival director Charlene Diehl said to me in an embrace, “I’m happy you’ve found your way back.” It was humbling because not only did she touch on that profound absence, but the substantial being in and of that moment and every moment -writing at my computer, rehearsing in my apartment, performing on stage, sitting in meetings with my team at the coffee shop, watching the slam from the crowd – all of it, which tells me this is what I’m supposed to be doing, like I’m fulfilling some kind of destiny.
Photo Credit: Anthony Mark Schellenberg
Which is why it brings me so much hope and joy to share the release of my graphic poem project with my old friend, artist and graphic designer Adam Pagtakhan a.k.a. Midnight Sun Creative. Birds of a Feather is one of my most treasured poems, from which Adam drew inspiration to illustrate a heartfelt narrative of trauma and recovery. Producing and releasing this graphic poem was a deeply meaningful act in collaborating as friends and creative people, and in sharing a message of support for those struggling with mental health. Already a talented graphic designer, Adam leveled-up his artistic ability with the images he portrayed with emotion, detail, and brilliant colour – you have to see it for yourself! The project was unofficially launched at the previously mentioned Plume Winnipeg Afterwords event, where copies at the book table sold out in minutes! Since then, the response has been heartwarming as we’ve sent copies to friends across the country. We look forward to sharing it with the costumed crowds at Winnipeg Comic Con (Oct 25-27), and an official launch event featuring a showcase of poets as well as an open mic (details coming soon!).
If you’d like to grab Birds of a Feather: A Graphic Poem, hit Adam up at his Midnight Sun table at Comic Con, or reach out to me via my Contact Page or message me on Instagram. You can also find copies for sale at 204 Comics in St. Vital!
Yup, I think it’s official: I’m back. Feels good to be here, guys. Feels real good.
I’m excited to announce that a project I’ve been working on, called SLAM! will be hitting the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival this summer! Gathering up a troupe of 8 amazing poets and one fantastic host, we’ll be showing the theatre crowd what slam poetry is all about in a full-on tournament!
Stay tuned to the SLAM! production website as we’ll be featuring bios and links for each troupe member and posting scores and rankings as the tournament progresses to the grand final!
In the meantime, meet the troupe in person and preview the show at either (or both!) of our fundraisers coming up at the Handsome Daughter, the home of the Winnipeg Poetry Slam!
The 2017/2018 school year is still a ways off, but the new Manitoba Arts Council’s Artists in the Schools Directory is out now! I’m going in for my second year of residencies, working with middle and senior years classes in developing creative communication skills and confident self-expression through spoken word and slam poetry.
The last of my residencies in my first year is about to wrap up, and I’ve already logged quite a few hours building confidence in students’ abilities to construct thought-provoking pieces that touch on personal narrative, cultural awareness, and social justice issues along the way. Also, chapbooks, puppet shows, and classroom open mics!
Visit the Artists in the Schools page to see how the program works, and find me in the downloadable directory (.pdf). Also feel free to navigate over to my For Teachers page to have a look at some lesson plan ideas.
And finally, don’t hesitate to contact me to ask any questions or discuss residency options. I’m all over social media too, @stevelockewpg.
January was a heck of a month! I traveled to Saskatoon to feature in one of my favourite communities (Tonight it’s Poetry!), and had it covered with a travel grant from the Manitoba Arts Council. Later that week, I came in first at the slam here in town, and followed that up with an Artists in the Schools residency at Montrose School, teaching spoken word and public speaking to grade 5/6’s.
Thank you so much to the community organizers, arts admins, teachers and friends who offer me these opportunities to share my work and otherwise live the dream! Please visit the links to learn more about community events and professional opportunities.
This month in town, I’ll be hosting the WPS February slam on the 15th with my birthday-brother Matt Moskal, and visiting H.G. Izatt school with a new lesson plan that incorporates spoken word with chapbooking and puppeteering. The wacky odyssey continues!
Steve Locke 