The Drake Hotel

The playoffs continue with a sizzling lineup of competing poets, a seasoned host and one heckuva feature poet reppin Edmonton!

Competing poets are:

Desiree, Shelly, Olivia. AG, Fira, Kevin, Yungstar Millz, Sulva

Semifinals #2 features KazMega making his TPS debut!

KazMega is what happens when you have a 1st generation immigrant of the Caribbean islands settle on Turtle Island in Amiskwacîwâskahikan, Treaty 6 territory, aka Edmonton Alberta. Being the only KazMega in this plane of existence, he is a fully unique expression of what it means to exist in such polarizing times, within such a polarizing body. He has taken it upon himself to document his perception of this experience through not only the lens of a Caribbean man, but also through his relationship to the missing murdered and indigenous women he is a descendant of, whilst witnessing history repeat itself. He bears with him a body of work that has taken extra time to craft stories that connect immigrants to the politics of this land, which can often be traced right back to nameless and voiceless conversations many settlers fail to observe generations at a time.

Hosted by Rahul Gupta.

No open mic at our semifinals.

Accessibiilty:

The Drake Hotel has a single step from the front door off Queen St. W leading into the lobby. There are two separate sections of staircase separated by a large landing, 19 steps in total, from the lobby down the Drake Underground and into the main bar. A small set of stairs with railings lead from the bar level to our general seating area (chairs are provided but they often fill up by 8 p.m.) The Underground's bathrooms are located just outside the main doors. A wheelchair-accessible, gender neutral washroom is located on the ground floor in the lobby. The Beaconsfield Avenue side entrance (located at the west side of the building) has no barriers, however a button has to be pushed in order to operate the door.