Lisa Shen notes that to take part in the spoken word scene, the big cities are the place to be, but her sold-out Burlington Public Library Lyrics and Poetry Festival event suggests that Burlington is ready for more.
Shen says that Burlington used to have a slam poetry scene, which she describes as a subsection of spoken word poetry that takes place in a competitive context and has a more targeted social justice angle, but it stopped pre-COVID. And of course, COVID impacted spoken word and slam, as these art forms are meant to be performed on stage and the pandemic put a hard stop on the live arts for a few years.
Now that live performances are again possible, Shen is moving forward full force; this full-time writer/performer is travelling for upcoming slam competitions, performing and teaching at the Burlington Public Library (BPL) event on April 13, and, with some Mississauga poet-peers and sponsorship from the Mississauga Arts Council, starting a new spoken word scene in Mississauga. This new hub, called Sauga Poetry, will launch on May 21 at Studio 89, and the plan right now is to host regular open mic nights and seasonal poetry slams.
Not bad for someone who graduated from university less than a year ago.
Shen has always loved reading and writing, with her “nose always glued in a book as a kid,” but it was science that brought her to McMaster University for her undergraduate degree. Specifically, molecular biology and genetics.
Though it was not the arts that she studied at university, it was during her time at McMaster that Shen discovered and fell in love with spoken word poetry. She attended a poetry slam and “had so many feelings” as a result; she loved it so much that two weeks later, it was Shen’s turn in front of the microphone.
After her competing in her first slam competition hosted by the Hamilton You Poets (formerly the Hamilton Youth Poets), the pandemic shut everything down, but Shen persevered. She won the 2021 Mississauga Poetry Slam, the 2022 Ink Movement Slam, the 2023 Women of the World Countdown Slam, a Buddies in Bad Times Queer Emerging Artist award, and appeared as a TEDx speaker at McMaster in 2022.
The spoken word community seems to be a particularly close-knit group, where learning is “very one-on-one” and mentorship-based. Shen observes that with traditional poetry, or “page poetry,” there is “more of an institution built up around [it], but with spoken word, teachers are the older, more experienced spoken word poets in your community.”
Another aspect of being a spoken word artist that Shen loves is the ability connect with people; after hearing her perform a piece that speaks of Shen’s experience with an eating disorder and the recovery process, people have afterwards shared “really vulnerable parts of their lives, [and] that they identified” with her work. Shen says that though she doesn’t necessarily feel qualified to help other people, to have people say that they see themselves in her work “is the special part of this practice.”
Shen says that she relates to what poet Olivia Gatwood says in the forward of her book, Life of the Party: Poems: “The purpose of art is to feel less alone in the dark.” Shen’s approach to her work lies in exploration of her own experiences and passions, resulting in an authentic and honest voice; that, coupled with artistry, is exactly why people are hearing their own experiences and feelings when Shen performs, and allowing them, too, to feel less alone in the dark.
Shen’s work is deeply personal: “I feel like when I write, it’s me figuring out how I feel about my inner self, how I feel about the world.” She writes about her experience of the world and the things that she cares about most, which includes topics like feminism and gender-based violence, because, as Shen notes, “every woman [or] femme has dealt with sexism when moving through the world,” and that fact, coupled with her own personal negative experiences, “inspired me to interrogate gender-based violence.” She also writes about other aspects of her own identity, from experiences that come with disability to being Chinese-Canadian in our current world.
The last few years, Shen says, have been “wild,” and she has grown in her work much over the last year. She has learned that when she gets a flash of inspiration, which could be from “the movie The Notebook or a documentary, or getting made about something,” it’s important to get as much written out as possible, even if she is busy doing other things. After the freewriting is done, Shen then “takes a moment to sit with the poem,” considering whether she is conflating issues, and what it is that she wants to say with that piece.
Then there is the performance aspect of spoken word (though Shen says that about one-third of what she writes is page poetry, she is primarily a spoken word artist), which is both natural and rehearsed. Shen is currently experimenting with prescheduled movements and more acting (facial expressions, for example), but, she also feels that in some ways, “it is what it is — you can’t force it, you need to feel comfortable on the stage.”
This experimentation in performance style, and a refinement of her writing process are her big goals for 2023, part of the next stage of her growth. And this year is already busy; she was in Baltimore recently for the Women of the World Poetry slam, is headed to the Redwood Poetry Festival in California at the end of this month, and possibly also the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam in Vancouver.
Shen is clearly enjoying her work: “It’s honestly been a wild ride; can’t believe this is my life!”
And, as noted earlier, other people are also enjoying her work, and if you were one of the lucky people to get a spot in the BPL event at the Alton branch, expect to hear Shen perform a poetry set, followed by the workshop portion of the event. Shen will lead you through her process of freewriting, how to expand on an image, edit and refine what you are trying to say, and then work will be shared with the group.
Shen recommends checking out another BPL Lyrics and Poetry offering as well: Desiree Mckenzie is one of the festival finale performers on Sunday, April 23 at 1:30 p.m. Mckenzie is “an amazing artist, [and] just opened for Rupi Kaur,” Shen enthuses.
To book Shen for performances, or to teach a course or workshop, you can connect with her over Instagram, or via her website, lisashen.ca, and you can catch some of her work on her YouTube channel, by attending the Sauga Poetry launch on May 21, or by catching her on June 12 at the Art Bar Poetry Series at the Free Times Cafe in Toronto from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Shen also welcomes any emerging poet to connect with her, keeping up that community-minded spirit of spoken word.
