In Our Tongues is the first reading series in Ottawa specifically dedicated to showcasing, nurturing and advancing Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who are poets, writers, musicians and other artists, including those with different abilities, across the gender spectrum, and from both English and French-speaking communities.
Titilope is a Nigerian writer, poet, playwright, and performer whose work grasps for moments of tenderness and persistent joy at the intersection of blackness and womanhood. She is the 9th Poet Laureate of the City of Edmonton. Titilope is the author of three award-winning collections of poetry, Down to Earth (2011), Abscess (2014), and This Is How We Disappear (2019) and has composed and released two spoken word albums, Mother Tongue (2011) and Swim (2019). Titilope has written three plays, The Six; an intergenerational exploration of womanhood, Naked; a one-woman play and Ada The Country, a musical. She has scripted global advertising campaigns for brands including The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Intel Corporation, Guaranty Trust Bank and The MacArthur Foundation. She was a writer and actor on the hit television series Gidi Up, which aired across Africa. Her writing has been translated into Italian, German and Slovak.
Joseph, author of SH:LAM, is a Kwantlen Aboriginal from Kwantlen First Nation in British Columbia. He is a poet, playwright, and archaeologist. He received a Diploma in Performing Arts from Algonquin College and studied Theatre and Direction at the University of Ottawa. He has previously published
I Want (2015), Hear and Foretell (2015), and The Rumour (2018).
Yolande, a classically trained clarinetist from Gatineau, Quebec, steps into the realm of ambient chamber music with her solo project mal/aimé via experimental improvisation. She builds dreamy landscapes with loops on synths and voice while demonstrating an array of interesting traditional and non-traditional techniques on clarinet using breath, vocalization, and percussive elements. mal/aimé has performed across Canada and at festivals such as Bluesfest (Ottawa), Megaphono (Ottawa) and Flourish Festival (New Brunswick).