Famous Last Words UBC

Famous Last Words is a spoken word comedy show that involves poets participating in six rounds of a faux competition where they ‘compete' in a series of poetry related events that are in turn, 'judged' by our host (with input from Uni the Unicorn and our audience).

These games include poems written in unusual forms (haiku, sonnet, limericks, etc.) or on silly themes (love poems directed to someone in the room) or with funny addendums (poems must be written from the perspective of a puppet and must be read with said puppet). There are 25 potential games that can occur during any episode of Famous Last Words thus no two shows are exactly the same.

Recurring characters at every show like Uni or the Dr. Dru or the Professor add silliness to the show and we hand out free chocolate to everyone that attends. We also tend to loan our unicorn bubble guns and give our free sticker/pins to members of the audience. It’s been called a kids show for adults or spoken word that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This show in particular will feature Johnny MacRae, Ever Roberts, Neko Smart, Jenny Garcha, Aaron Hunter, host Sean McGarragle and of course, Uni the Unicorn.

Johnny MacRae (he/him) is a spoken word poet living on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. A winner of regional and national slam titles, he has toured widely as a featured performer at poetry series and arts festivals, both solo and with collaborative acts such as 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac, Travelin’ Word Circus and The Dambassadors. In 2013, he was named Poet of Honour for the Victoria Spoken Word Festival, and in 2017, received the Zaccheus Jackson Nyce Memorial Award.

Ever Roberts is in her third year at UBC, studying applied animal biology. She manages the outreach of UBC Slam Poetry and is passionate about creating poetry spaces for the student community and leading her team. Poetry has felt to be an innate way for her to process and encapsulate the stories that she lives through. Poems to her are a safe-keeping place to stash mementos of nature, literature, science, and her lore.

Aaron Hunter is a poet, performer and visual artist He is an indigenous, transgender man, who explores his identity through art. He is the Artistic Director of Tri Cities Poetry, an arts organization that runs poetry open mics and other performing arts themed events. He has published 2 books one being a collection of local poets called "Brave Voices" (May 2025) and a collection of his poetry titled the "Archives" (December 2024). You can find more information about Aaron and Tri Cities Poetry at tricitiespoetry.ca

Neko Smart is a recent graduate of UBC’s BFA Creative Writing program. As 2020 Victoria City Youth Poet Laureate, they emphasized the importance of cultivating open dialogue about mental health in order to reduce stigma and increase safety, particularly for youth. They carry this value with them in all their artistic and leadership endeavours: as a member of the organizing committee for the 2020/2021 Victorious Voices youth arts festival, as a member of the Wordplay poetry workshop facilitation roster, and as former slam coordinator for the UBC Slam Poetry Club. They were a finalist in the 2023 and 2024 Canadian Individual Poetry Slams.

Jenny Garcha humbly learnt to accept the generosity of Penticton’s diverse immigrant community. These people who were from all the different corners of the globe. Who were here in Canada, trying to make a name for themselves and provide for their families, just like her mother. Her childhood was multicultural; different languages, tongues and mouths speaking, often hollering over one another as if she had landed in the middle of the tower of Babel. This loving community that surrounded Jenny in her early years, is the positive influence she has with her through every adventure she partakes in. She carries her Canadian family with her everywhere.

Sean McGarragle is the host and founder of Death Rides a Unicorn. He has performed and read poems and stories across Canada, the US and even a little bit in Europe. He loves presenting interesting artists to curious audiences and chocolate and laughter to everyone.

Uni the Unicorn is a grown up sparkle, a dancing child of the moon and Michael Flatly and the epitome of the joy we hope we can bring to every Death Rides a Unicorn show. In times of direct stress and deress we beieve it is critical to give me joy, laughter and where possible, a little bit of decadence. Uni is all of that wrapped in a hug that smells like home cooking.

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