Welcome, fellow hOwlers,
What a magical beginning to the year. Our 41st Woolf’s Voices gathering was truly special, filled with poetry, spoken word, and music, sparking connection, inspiration, and a wonderful honouring of the divine feminine. We are deeply grateful to the artists who joined us to create such a nourishing evening, and to Shelf Life Books for so lovingly hosting us. The words were powerful, the music ethereal. It was a luminous way to step into the year.
We are pleased to invite you to our Land & Sea: Honouring Indigenous Feminine Voices – Woolf’s Voices 42, sponsored by League of Canadian Poets. Please join us for an incandescent evening of soft-lit connection. We gather as artists, dreamers, and wanderers of every kind, to revel in vibrant art, soul-stirring poetry, and the magic of creative kinship. You are warmly invited to arrive exactly as you are and step into a shared safer space, one woven from many voices and identities, where we honour the feminine. However, each of us names it. In the shimmering, boundary-breaking spirit of Virginia Woolf.
This is a free event; donations are warmly appreciated. We kindly ask that you register through our Eventbrite link. Your care and support help us continue creating gatherings like this, and we’re so grateful you’re part of this community.
This event is Co-Curated and Co-Hosted by Adrienne Adams and The Merchant of Poetry
Hosted by: The Merchant of Poetry (Tyler Merchant) is a spoken word artist and fiction writer from Calgary, Alberta. She began her poetry career in 2018, when her close friend bullied her into joining her high school slam team. She began competing in the Alberta youth slam, Can You Hear Me Now, continued on to be a regular at The Calgary Poetry Slam, and was a finalist at the 2023 and 2025 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. She’s received a Bachelor’s degree in English with a Certificate in Creative Writing from the University of Calgary. Most of her work is epistolary, exploring themes of feminism, queerness, and spite.
Enjoy this warmly rooted, joy-filled gathering of creative talents.
PRAIRI CHERRI
Plump, bold, and juicy, this is a whole lotta mama. A proud Kainai Blackfoot and Black burlesque baddie, Prairi serves body-ody-ody, caramel curves, and a magnetic wink that’ll make you weak in the knees. Known for mixing impeccable tease with cultural pride and a wicked sense of humour, she’s the berry you’ll crave long after the show is over.
Social’s: IG @PrairiCherri
PATRICIA C
Patricia C is a Métis writer from Calgary, Alberta. She enjoys many forms of art, and started writing fantastical stories at a young age. Her princesses always befriended the dragons and found the knights annoying. These days, Patricia likes to write poems and can often be found reading history books.
Socials: IG https://www.instagram.com/trccarter?igsh=MWduMWY0eW9yZHJqag%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
CHANEL KLEIN
Bio: Chanel Klein is a spoken word poet, creative non-fiction writer and hoser from Treaty 6 territory. You can find her work in ROOM Magazine, Circe Magazine and the Edmonton Public Library’s Capital City Press anthologies.
Socials: @chanellovespoetry on Instagram and Substack
ASHELY GHOSTKEEPER
Ashley Ghostkeeper is a proud Métis artist from Alberta whose music blends heartfelt storytelling with modern country and roots influences. Known for her authentic voice and empowering presence, she has performed across Canada and earned multiple #1 singles on the Indigenous Music Countdown. Ashley is the 2025 YYC Music Awards Indigenous Artist of the Year, quickly establishing herself as a powerful new voice in Canadian country music
Socials: Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ashleyghostkeeper
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ashleyghostkeeper/
Website:
https://ashleyghostkeepermusic.com
LEEANN GOMEZ
Leeann Gomez is an Indigenous poet and artist from Kainai, Chippewa Cree and Tohono O’odham Nations. She is also currently a student at the University of Calgary pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.
Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/leeanngomezart?igsh=MXRsbDJ4ZmVmOGNiNg==
We look forward to connecting and hOwling with you all on April 29th!
Please take a moment to register for the event here! We’re so grateful for your support.
Thank you so much to our generous sponsors and supporters, League of Canadian Poets, Writers Guild of Alberta, and Alexandria Writers Center, whose kindness and commitment make it possible for Woolf’s Voices and its artists to bring these gatherings to life.
We are especially grateful to Shelf Life Books and Alcove Center for the Arts for opening their doors to us and creating such a welcoming home for our hOwls, a place where we can come together and honour the feminine in all its forms. It is a true privilege to collaborate with these spaces and the wonderful people who run them, and we appreciate your ongoing support more than words can say.
IN OTHER NEWS
Our Woolf’s’ Voices alumni are blooming with all kinds of fun, imaginative creations. Here’s what’s blossoming in our radiant creative community and how we’re celebrating and supporting their magic.
Join three of our spectacular alumni, Skylar Kay, Shone Thistle, and Sheri-D Wilson, for a writing workshop and evening of poetry on April 11th to celebrate National Poetry Month!
Join Josie Veness and Cobra Collins on April 15th at 6:30pm for All The Way Up at Loophole Coffee Bar! Enjoy some spoken word magic and a good beverage!
Join Ashley Frerichs for an illuminating night of hope and excitement for the future at Pachamama Soul Flavour Emporium on April 21st at 7pm!
Join Shelf Life Books for Independent Bookstore Day on April 25th! They have a lot of wonderful events coming up this month. Check them out here!
Join Speak Up YYC for an evening of creative flow! Their Free Open Mic Night is taking place on April 30th! You can catch our lovely Adrienne Adams and her lush poetry gracing the space! Click on the photo below to visit the post!
Join Kenna Burima at Congress Coffee on May 28th for Artist Speak: Social Media, re-imagine your relationship with social media and dive into an experience like no other. Part talk show, part storytelling, and creative gathering! Get your tickets here!
Check out other events by Artist Speak here!
Make sure to check out Alcove Center for the Arts’ upcoming events here! They have lots of fantastic events!
Thank you all again for an incredible start to this year. We’re so excited to see what blooms this spring in our community!
We hope you enjoyed this newsletter! Let us know what else you’d love to see in future issues—your ideas help shape what we create.
We can’t wait to hOwl with you on April 29th at Alcove Center for the Arts and to share space, stories, and conversation together. We’re truly looking forward to seeing you there.
Warmly,
The Woolf’s Voices Collective
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