Join us for our Pride Poetry EXTRAVAGANZA! Featuring Evelyna Ekoko-Kay AND Kathleen Driscoll!
The St. Catharines POETRY SLAM is a monthly competitive spoken word event - we slam once a month! Generously Supported by the St. Catharines Cultural Investment Program (SCCIP)!
📅 Date: Wednesday, June 25th, 2025
⏰ Time: 7 PM
📍 Venue: Mahtay Café
🎟 Entry Fee: $10
♿️ Accessibility Note: Masks Required
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POETRY FEATURES
EVELYNA EKOKO-KAY
Evelyna Ekoko-Kay is a queer, AuDHD, Black-mixed activist and writer from Hamilton, Ontario. She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Guelph. Her writing has been featured in Hamilton Arts & Letters, The Ex-Puritan, Held Magazine, Midnight Sun Magazine, Biblioasis’ Best Canadian Poetry 2023, and Book*hug’s Write Across Canada: An Anthology of Emerging Writers. Currently, she lives in Hamilton with her fiancée, Rachel, with whom she shares custody of three beautiful, terrible cats.
KATHLEEN DRISCOLL
Kathleen Driscoll is a spoken word poet and community organizer who hails from the Niagara Region. Their work explores themes of sexuality, gender, poverty, and body image. Kathleen is one of the organizers of their local slam, and has been proud to represent St. Catharines at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam and as a member of the city's team the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
Outside of arts organizing they enjoy dance, comics and yapping about all things pop culture.
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-- QUICK SUMMARY FOR NEW POETS --
More questions? Clarification? Feel free to ask!
SLAM:
No props or costumes; Each poem lasts 3:10 with point deductions for going over time; All poems must be original work; No hate speech; Poems are judged based on content and performance by 5 randomly chosen audience members.
We plan for a two round slam, but the round structure could be changed at the slam depending on how many poets we have. Poets looking to compete, be prepared with three poems. Every slam will be at least two rounds, with the possibility of a third. Don't leave the ruckus at home, bring it to the stage!
$10 cover to provide the CASH PRIZE to the victor and feature; THIS SLAM WILL PAY $50 TO THE WINNING POET!
OPEN MIC:
ANYONE AND EVERYONE, come sign up before we begin and share your talents with us! Anything from poetry, to monologues, to dance, to music. Whatever your talent is, we want to see it!
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ACCESSIBILITY
To maintain an inclusive and accessible space for all, all participants are required to wear a mask while in the slam area. Wearing a mask serves as an essential protective measure, helping to minimize the spread of any viruses and safeguard the health of our community.
The venue has both an accessible entrance and restrooms for folks to use during the event. We also have a stage ramp so all performers can access the stage.
If there are any other needs you may have as an attendee, please do not hesitate to message us!
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THE SLAM COMMUNITY:
We aim to create a space that is welcoming to everyone! We hope to bring as many different people to our stage as we can - helping new artists find their voice, established artists grow in new ways, and changing the lives of our audience one night of performance at a time!
For that we need your help!
On slam nights we are looking to feature a WIDE VARIETY of local talent in the OPEN MIC and diverse local poets in the SLAM! If you have ever, even once thought of participating, please come out and sign up!
Every show needs an AUDIENCE! So, we also of course invite poets and poetry lovers from all over to come lend us your talent and your ears and make this night as awesome as it’s ever been! Did you know you could even JUDGE?? Just ask us about it!
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St. Catharines Poetry Slam works to prioritize marginalized and oppressed voices and is being organized with the intention of being intersectional. This space is an accountable one, which means that you accept the consequences of your actions and words. St. Catharines Poetry Slam acknowledges and challenges the homophobia, transphohia, sexism, racism, classism, ablism and other forms of oppression that have been experienced, observed and voiced by members of our community. Anyone engaging in these and other oppressive behaviours and/or language should expect to hear about it and may be asked to leave the space.
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ABOUT THE VENUE:
A community oriented café & lounge designed to let you explore food, coffee and drinks in a way that truly emphasizes your individuality and sense of adventure.
Mahtay is passionate about the thriving arts community in the Niagara Region and is excited to host all arts related events. Come out and enjoy a beer, coffee, tea, or their mate tea while being a part of this SLAM event!
http://mahtay.ca/
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keep in touch with us:
organizing team:
https://www.facebook.com/stcathpoetryslam
Also check out other Arts events in St. Catharines, Literary Art events in St. Catharines.
