Famous Last Words Toronto

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In Famous Last Words, five contestants or provocateurs attempt to win their way into the heart of our master of ceremonies, Fannon Holland, through games designed to test their literary and comedic merit. With the assistance of the audience and his trusty sidekick Uni the Unicorn , our master of ceremonies will decide who performs best while dolphining a balloon on their nose; whose picture of a puppy most looks like a famous poet and whose poem directed at another panelist is most provocative.

During this first episode of Famous Last Words (Toronto edition), Death Rides a Unicorn Events is very proud to present David Delisca, Dave Silverberg, Jennifer Alicia Murrin, Kai Cheng Thom, Patrick de Belen and Uni the Unicorn.

David Delisca

Born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida residing in Scarborough. David Delisca is a writer, poet, actor and humorist. A versatile artist, he uses stories about the immigrant and diasporic experience, as well as other various human realities, to bridge realms of communication. His works and performances have been featured in Toronto Star, CBC, Netflix.

Dave Silverberg

Dave Silverberg is a theatre artist, poet, journalist, editor and writing coach. His first solo JEWNIQUE toured across Canada, and he has performed his poetry in Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, NYC, Paris and London (UK). He staged his second solo show BEFORE & AFTER in both Toronto and Vancouver and is now working on a recording of his show.

His latest book of poetry is Close to the Edge Without Going Over, and his poetry been published in Arc, Living Hyphen, Descant and Broken Pencil

His non-fiction work has been published in BBC News, The Washington Post, The Toronto Star, MIT Technology Review and The Globe & Mail.

www.davidsilverberg.ca

Fannon Holland

Fannon Holland comes to from Pittsburgh, via Chicago, where he maintains that there are only two major differences between Canadians and Americans: Canadians have an indelible belief in universal healthcare and better beer.Spoken word has allowed Fannon to travel across Canada, and on one fateful trip, earned himself a national title with the Guelph Spoken Word Team at CFSW, Winnipeg.Fannon is a husband, father, port, rabble rouser, loud mouth, agitator and good trouble.

Jennifer Alicia Murrin

Jennifer Alicia (she/they) is a queer, mixed Mi’kmaw and settler (German/Irish/Scottish) multidisciplinary artist originally from Elmastukwek, Ktaqmkuk (Bay of Islands, Newfoundland), now residing in Toronto. She is a two-time national poetry slam champion and her work has been featured in Canthius Magazine, NOW Magazine, CBC and imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. Jennifer Alicia co-edited an Indigenous poetry anthology titled The Condor and the Eagle Meet and has a debut chapbook titled Mixed Emotions. Most recently, she participated in the Animikiig Creators Unit through Native Earth Performing Arts, working on her debut play titled To Go Home. Find out more about her work at: jenniferalicia.com.

Kai Cheng Thom

Kai Cheng Thom is a writer, performance artist, and community healer. She is the author of Falling Back in Love with Being Human, a national bestseller in Canada, and the novel Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars, which was chosen by Emma Watson for her online feminist book club and shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award.

Her poetry collection a place called No Homeland was an American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book, and her essay collection, I Hope We Choose Love, received a Publishing Triangle Award. She writes the advice column “Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse” for Xtra.

Patrick de Belen

Patrick de Belen is an award-winning poet, filmmaker, educator and storyteller of many other mediums. His poetry, films and other projects often explore themes of mental illness, the Filipino-Canadian experience, social justice, youth empowerment and advocacy, grief and healing.

He is most known for his poetic collaborations with the Toronto Raptors, the NFL, CBC, his 2 spoken word EPs and multiple cine-poems and independent films he wrote and directed himself.

When he isn’t onstage, or writing, he is an educator and youth mentor, partnering with many institutions like addiction centres, mental health focused organizations, libraries, schools, jails and more - advocating for storytelling opportunities and platforms in as many spaces as possible.

Uni the Unicorn

For our first show in Toronto, Uni the Unicorn will be played by the thunderously talented MarLa B! MarLa B works as a juggler, character actress, puppeteer, poet, musician and more. With a BFA in Acting from Toronto Metropolitan University, MarLa has been a guest artist in over 600 schools across Canada performing live theatre shows and teaching workshops in mask, drama, juggling and spoken word poetry.

Splitting her time between the GTA and Los Angeles, MarLa’s beloved act, The Juggling Chef delights audiences of all ages and appears in community festivals, farmer's markets, libraries, schools and birthday parties.

Winner of the Stand Up to Cancer - Music as Healing Grant 2022, MarLa’s original song “People We Could Be” is available to stream on all platforms. Find out more at TheMarLabs.com.

We at Death Rides a Unicorn Events want to acknowledge that our first show out of Vancouver will take place on the unceded, stolen lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.

This event would not be possible without a team spannign across the country including the Toronto Poetry Project, The League of Canadian Poets and Death Rides a Unicorn Events.