Today we’d like to introduce you to Maya Spoken.
Hi Maya, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After years of feeling silenced through experiences of hardship, and abuse, I entered a poetry slam in search of a place to share my story. I was in the 12th grade and had never shared my poetry out loud before. I finished first in the poetry slam competition and quickly began to perform poetry around my city, sharing my experiences and encouraging others to do the same. After someone told me that. My poetry helped them realize that they could overcome their own hardships; I began to invite poets and writers to perform at women’s spoken word showcases, open mics and other events. Since then, I have been able to grow in my own poetic journey, where I am now the 2023 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion, continuing to create brave spaces for poets to be loud about who they are without apology.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Creating spaces for others to share their poetry and for me to pursue the art form myself has come with many challenges. While sharing my story has helped me heal from abuse and hardship, I had a lot of moments of doubt where I questioned if I should keep going. The more I persevered, the more I understood that as people, the more we are loud about our experiences, and the more others realize they don’t need to be quiet about their own.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a spoken word artist, poet, songwriter, event organizer and creative. I write spoken word that shares my own story while making others feel seen in their own. My work has been featured on TEDx, We Day CBC, CTV, and more. I’m proud to be the 2023 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion, amongst other competition titles! What I’m most proud of is the way my words touch others. I hope to continue writing poetry and music as I encourage others to do the same.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Khaleefa ‘Apollo the Child’ Hamdan discovered me as a young poet trying to find my voice in the 12th grade. He is a community leader, youth worker, hip hop artist and OG in the spoken word world using his gifts to inspire and uplift others.
Contact Info:
- Website: mayaspoken.live
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayaspoken/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mayaspoken
Image Credits
@insxght in the first photo @poppaquest in the 3rd photo on the left
