Toronto-based poet, dancer and performer Cassandra (My'z) Myers and Mississauga-based writer and spoken word artist Lisa Shen are the first recipients of the Lillian Allen Prize and Lillian Allen Emerging Artist Prize for spoken word poetry. The laureates of the inaugural prizes will be celebrated at Spoken Truths: Live Reading with Toronto’s Poet Laureate Lillian Allen on October 30 at the Nia Centre for the Arts.
The Ontario Arts Council (OAC), in partnership with the League of Canadian Poets (LCP), created the Lillian Allen Prize and the Lillian Allen Emerging Artist Prize to recognize and celebrate spoken word poetry artists working in English or French, based on their bodies of work.
The two prizes are named after Canadian poet, spoken word artist, educator and activist Lillian Allen, whose distinctive approach to poetry through language, music and social consciousness continues to capture attention and make change. The OAC, in consultation with the LCP, created these prizes to honour Lillian’s legacy of community building and generosity of spirit.
Quote from Lillian Allen about the laureates
“These extraordinary voices are creating new kinds of poetries, present in the here and now, connecting to, and building community, threading untold and untellable stories, making up tales and conjuring futures. Unapologetic they are, and part of the ever-growing movement of folks, young and old alike who are asserting an artistic voice above the din of commercialism and officialdom. These are poets of the people and for the people! Filled with self-agency, they are the future because they dare.”
Quote from OAC board chair Simon Foster
“The OAC is thrilled to recognize the talent of these skilled and evocative artists in the discipline of spoken word poetry. Lillian Allen’s legacy of calling attention not only to social issues but to deeper aspects of our shared humanity through engaging and meaningful poetics is well represented by the two laureates.”
About the laureates
Cassandra (My’z) Myers
- Cassandra (My’z) Myers (they/she/he) is an award-winning poet, performer, dancer, illustrator, and counselor from Tkaronto (Toronto), Ontario.
- The artist identifies as queer, non-binary, South-Asian Italian, crip, mad, survivor of sexual violence, and describes their work as cinematic and juicy with a critical anti-oppressive eye.
- Cassandra’s work has won national literary and spoken word titles, including the National Magazine GOLD Award in Poetry and Champion of the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word.
- Their work has been received internationally at the Ada Lovelace Festival in Berlin and elsewhere. Their poetry has been published in ARC Poetry Magazine, Canthius, the Tahoma Literary Review, and more.
Quotes from the prize jurors
The jurors who selected Cassandra (My’z) Myers for the prize cited the artist’s “rare ability to put the unnamable into words. The way they build whole worlds on stage is arresting and leaves a lasting impression on their audience long after the performance is over.” The jurors also remarked that Myers “pushes the boundaries of spoken word in a way that both intrigues and challenges.”
Quote from Cassandra (My’z) Myers
“Spoken word floats my disabled life, which for many years now, has fished me out of waiting rooms and shut curtain apartments. This award, like my work, is a licked finger to a turning page, that at this moment where I've never wished to be more hidden from the world, being seen is task enough. My body and its grief-mystery find the arena of intimacy in my notations, haptic choreography, and other psych-ward licking experimentations that spoken word continues to be generous enough in its form to osmosis me through. Thank you for the nudge, the wink, the eyelash kiss of this recognition.”
Watch Cassandra (My’z) Myers’ poem “They're Pushing Their Pearls from Their Clams and I Can't Stop Wishing”
Lisa Shen
- Lisa Shen (she) is a writer and spoken word artist, and the 2023-2025 Youth Poet Laureate of the City of Mississauga.
- She placed second at the 2023 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam, was shortlisted for the 2023 League of Canadian Poets Spoken Word Award and won the 2022 Buddies Queer Emerging Artist Award.
- Lisa has toured across North America, from California to New York, and her work has appeared on CBC Radio, TEDx, and Rattle.
- Her debut chapbook A Story Ending in Redwoods is forthcoming with Anstruther Press this fall.
Quotes from the prize jurors
The jurors who selected Lisa Shen for the emerging artist prize described her as “witty, insightful” and “an emerging poet to watch and to witness”. They remarked on her great literary and performance skills, her background in community engagement, and her bewitching stage presence, along with her “incisive, sensitive” work.
Quote from Lisa Shen
“I am extremely honoured to have been selected as the winner of the Lillian Allen Emerging Artist Prize. For me, spoken word is about self-discovery, growth, and community. I am continuously rediscovering my relationship with it, and the kind of work I want to create. Thank you so much to all those who worked to create this prize and promote spoken word to the next generation of artists.”
Watch Lisa Shen’s poem “A Girl’s Favourite Colour”
About the Lillian Allen Prizes
- Two prizes of $2,000 are awarded on an annual basis: one to a poet who has been working professionally for more than five years, and one to an emerging poet who has been working professionally for fewer than five years.
- The prize recognizes poets from Ontario and Canada on a rotating basis. Year one recognizes poets based in Ontario, and year two recognizes poets based anywhere in Canada.
- The nomination process is managed by the League of Canadian Poets. Visit the information page for more details.