Writer, educator, editor and award winning spoken word artist, Andrea Thompson, has been publishing and performing for over 25 years. The critically acclaimed artist has been awarded countless accolades for her works and uses her knowledge and literary prowess to further recognition for the spoken word genre in Canada and beyond.

Thompson released her debut spoken word album, One, in 2005 which was then nominated for a Canadian Urban Music Award. Her one woman show, Mating Rituals of the Urban Cougar, toured the national Fringe Festivals in 2008, and made her one of the first Canadian spoken word artists to do so. She produced and was featured on several spoken word documentaries and even hosted her own radio show on CIUT, which featured spoken word artists from all over North America. Her 2019 album, Soulorations, was the winner of a League of Canadian Poet’s Golden Beret Award.

She has published, edited and been featured in several works including her first collection Eating the Seed (2000), was featured in the anthology Best Canadian Poetry: 2020, co-edited the anthology Other Tongues: Mixed Race Women Speak Out, and has written several academic essays on spoken word. In 2021, her collection, Selected History of Soul Speak, was shortlisted for the Robert Kroetsch Award of Innovative Poetry, and longlisted for both the Pat Lowther and Raymond Souster awards. Her debut novel, Over Our Heads, was published in 2014. She has served as editor of the editorial collective Brick Books and as the artistic director of Brick’s online spoken word showcase, Brickyard.

Thompson has taught several courses throughout her career including at Brock University, the University of Toronto, OCAD University, and other community organizations and schools. She not only shares her talent through the education system, but has also helped facilitate workshops for disadvantaged youths and vulnerable persons, helping to develop their craft and literacy skills while also building their emotional well-being and self-esteem.

Awards:

• Canadian Festival of Spoken Word’s Poet of Honour (2009)
• League of Canadian Poets’ Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award (2019)
• League of Canadian Poets’ Leon E. & Ann M. Pavlick Poetry Prize (2021)