Studio.89, Unit 104

Hosted by Paul Edward Costa - Mississauga Poet Laureate =) Our feature this month is the incredible writer, poet, and rapper Mugabi Byenkya!

Feature Bio: Mugabi Byenkya is a writer, poet and occasional rapper. He was born in Nigeria, to Ugandan parents and is currently based between Kampala, Uganda and Toronto.

Mugabi was longlisted for the Babishai Niwe Poetry Award in 2015. His essays and poetry have been published in The Good Men Project, Amethyst Magazine, African Writer, Arts and Africa and The Kalahari Review, among others. He has been interviewed on Voice of America, NTV Uganda, Africa In Dialogue and Brittle Paper, among other media outlets. Mugabi's writing is used to teach international high school English reading comprehension.

His debut experimental epistolary speculative novel, ‘Dear Philomena,’ was published in 2017 and he recently concluded a 42 city, 4 country North America/East Africa tour in support of this.

In 2018, Mugabi was named one of 56 writers who has contributed to his native Uganda’s literary heritage in the 56 years since independence by Writivism. Dear Philomena, was named a Ugandan bestseller in the same year.

Open mic slots are about 5 minutes long and anyone interested in performing can email programming@studio89.org to sign up, though there may be some spots available the night of the event. All styles are welcome (spoken word, music, magic, comedy, dance, etc), provided acts are respectful and mindful of others. Feel free to invite friends and share this event to help spread the word! *There will be two microphones, two microphone stands, a PA system, and a two-input Fender acoustic amp available for use. Please bring any backing music on a phone with a jack that can connect to the mixing board.