We are the BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Team for 2014-2015. Our team consists of many talented poets, some of which are new to the scene and some who are seasoned champions. We are also excited to announce that we will be competing at the largest international youth poetry festival, Brave New Voices, being held in Atlanta! This is the 4th time that Toronto is being represented at Brave New Voices, and we look forward to showing the world what our city is capable of. We are also competing at YouthCanSlam - the Canadian National Youth Slam - with the intention of bringing the national championship back to Toronto. With the help of our coach Patrick De Belen, we plan on making a lot of noise this summer and to help grow the youth spoken word scene in Toronto, and even Canada as a whole! This is a dream come true for all of our poets and we would appreciate any help you can provide to help us get there!
Meet the Team:
Cassandra Myers (Captain)
Cassandra Myers has spontaneously emerged from the suburbs of the GTA as a youth spoken word artist. Her poetry is an intricate construction of her lived experience, drawing on her hard-learned lessons with heritage, sexuality, womanhood and family to create vivid imagery, getting you right in the feels. Her dedication to ever-evolving punchlines earned her the title of this year's BAM! Youth Slam Team Captain. When she is not rehearsing on subway platforms, Cassandra is taking on Toronto as a student at Ryerson University, where she takes her role on Spirit Squad to a whole other level. She loves loudly, eats constantly, and wants to be your best friend.
Matthew Robertson
Seen in the wild sporting a P-coat and headphones, Matthew Robertson is a 19 year old poet currently attending his second year of Film Studies at Ryerson University. Originally from the distant land of North Vancouver, Matthew has grown up performing at the Vancouver Poetry Slam before making his mark in Toronto. Living his life as to avid film-maker, performer, poet, and overall easy-going person; Matthew encourages that as long as you stay true to yourself, you can never go wrong. He therefore likes talking about sex, nerdism, and comic books. Go figure.
Ray Abergas
Poet, entrepreneur and student. Ray Abergas is a 20 year old poet from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Hey what the captain of the 2012-2013 BTdot team, which ended up being the first ever Canadian National Youth Slam champions. Hey so what the captain of the team as well as 2013-2014 BTdot the BAM! Toronto Youth Grand Slam champion for the 2013-2014 season. He has competed at the international youth poetry festival Largest in the world, Brave New Voices.
He combines his relentless passion of helping others, poetry and performance to mold the person he is today. Ray has has traveled around north America to perform poetry, melt faces and eat good food.
Twoey Gray
Twoey Gray is a spoken word artist and pint-sized badass of despite the fact that she's never thrown a punch and cries Whenever she gets angry. She harnesses poetry as a platform for storytelling and social justice, sharing homegrown experiences of girlhood, queer identity, politics, and adventure. She is currently attending her first year at Ryerson University, studying politics and governance with a Particular interest in the non-profit sector. She is a member of Toronto's BAM! Youth team and showcases her poetry at events across the city. In her spare time, Twoey likes to explore abandoned houses and argue about Whether mermaids are real. And yes, did her actual name IS.
Lindsey Drury
As a proud member of the BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Team, Londzo AIMS to be on uncensored storyteller and professional skeptic, making it her mission to bring all things taboo out from the shadows and in front of your face. With pieces featuring piano, guitar, and ukulele, her poetry has evolved into a truly evocative experience. Besides performing poetry & music in Toronto, Londzo is currently the Issues and Ideas section editor for Glendon's bilingual newspaper, and head blogger for Lake Country Animal Hospital. (Above all, Londzo is pleasantly surprised by her ability to write in the third person of despite how uncomfortable this makes her, and hopes you'll be wincing to the irony of seeking things alongside her someday soon.)
Brian Lanigan
Brian Lanigan spends each day trying to be a better writer poetry, spoken word performer, and life experiencer. Born and raised in Toronto, Brian is currently trying to decide what he wants to be When He grows up in Montreal. Often told he is too blunt or open with strangers, Brian Attempts to leave himself vulnerable to audiences with his stories of love, resilience, and curmudgeonous cynicism. Challenging perspective is what drives Brian to write something every day, a dedication to his craft did led him to second place in the 2014 National YouthCanSlam individual grand slam, to Philidelphia where he competed at Brave New Voices, the World's Largest international poetry festival, as well as gifted him with two incredible years with the Bam! Toronto Youth Slam Team. Constantly trying to expand his view on this very confusing world, Brian hopes to take his willingness to write and his penchant for performance as far as he can and if you Would certainly appreciate came along for the ride.
Daryl (Thunderclaw) Robinson
The Living Thunder (he calls himself is what When No one is looking) Thunderclaw Robinson is a poet, actor, singer, martial artist, rapper, bare hand percussionist, instrumentalist and to avid listener of things he wants to do but can not really well yet. Attempts to recapture nostalgic childhood memories in poetry while thus questioning the world around him. Promises you he will not lie and neither will his hips. Loves romance, laughter, anime movies, video game battle themes, and hopes to make you feel some type of way with his words.
Turner Weir (Developing Poet)
Turner Weir aka T-Trilla is a rhyme-slinging spoken word artist and an emcee at heart. Hailing from the unforgivable streets of Toronto, 12-year-old Turner Weir can usually be seen confined by the suffocating bars of our education system during the day, penning classics on the back of his Grade 7 assignments. But at night, he morphs into the confident and clever T-Trilla, telling stories and rapping with the kind of skilled wordplay and wise punchlines that make people wonder if he really is from this planet, or if there is some sort of rapper/mystical sage that possesses him on stage.
Still, he has a lot more growth ahead of him before he can change the face of Canadian Hip Hop, so he is building his arsenal by constantly releasing new work on his YouTube Channel, as well as working as the “Developing Poet” on the 2015 BAM! Toronto Youth Slam Team. He’s in grade 7 and spits better than your favorite rapper. That’s pretty much all you need to know for now.
The Breakdown
The $1500 that we hope to raise will go towards:
- Event Registration Fees
- Transportation
- Lodging
- Food, supplies, etc.
Funds collected will be divided up towards the fees (registration, lodging, travel, etc.) of the following spoken word events and festivals:
- Brave New Voices: July 14-19 (Atlanta)
- Canadian Youth Nationals - YouthCanSlam: August 25-29 (Ottawa)
- And more to be announced!
The Impact
Spoken word poetry is an artform that almost anybody can do and is accessible to everyone. You don't even need a pen and paper. All you need are your thoughts. Spoken word poetry can cover any issue: race, violence, immigration, you name it. Your voice is the most powerful tool that you can ever use. As poets, we want to show youth that you can use poetry to save yourselves from the problems that you have on a daily basis. Spoken word poetry saves lives, and some of our poets are living examples of that.
By supporting us, you're helping us show the world our voices. You're supporting a cause that is trying to change lives for the better and maybe even save a life. We are trying to raise awareness on topics that we feel aren't getting enough attention, as well as telling our stories and the stories of people who have inspired us and moved us in so many ways.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/bamyouthslam/
- Spread the word! Word of mouth is the best way to raise awareness!
- Check us out on Youtube! Like, comment, share, subscribe! Any help will be greatly appreciated!
- Share this page! We can use all the help we can get!
