“one day, my daughter will be proud of the curls mimicking the bounce in her feet,
when she looks in the mirror she won't even have to look,
her and beauty would have already had the chance to meet"
Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning poet, arts educator, and voice actor based out of Toronto.
SHORT BIO (to be read at events):
Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning poet, arts educator, national poetry slam champion, and voice actor living in Toronto. Her poetry and voice have been featured in works for CBC’s Poetic License series, When Sisters Speak, Clearco Financial, Button Poetry, Kids Help Phone and Home Depot. She facilitates a range of community poetry programming for organizations like JAYU, VIBE Arts, Unity Charity, Poetry in Voice, and Shakespeare in Action. Her debut spoken word EP, Wet Hair, is now available on streaming platforms. In December 2022, she opened for Rupi Kaur on her world tour stop at Massey Hall.
LONGER BIO:
Desiree Mckenzie is an award-winning poet, arts educator, national poetry slam champion, and voice actor living in Toronto. Her poetry story starts in competitive slams. She was the 2019 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word National Champion with Up From the Roots and represented Toronto Poetry Slam at the 2020 Women of the World Poetry Slam in Dallas, Texas placing in the top 40 of 100 poets. In 2020, she was ranked among the top three poets in Canada at the 2020 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam.
Her poetry and voice have also been featured as part of CBC’s Poetic License series, the Black Diamond Ball, Bergen Lit Fest, VIBE Arts NExT program, When Sisters Speak and Clearco Financial’s International Women’s Day Campaign, the TTC, Home Depot and Kids Help Phone. In late 2020, her newest passion, photography, was showcased for The Bentway’s ‘Safe in Public Spaces’ campaign. Her photography was also featured as part of ResilienTOgether 2021, and VIBE Arts Desire Lines and NExT Exhibit. In 2021, she was also a community creator for Kids Help Phone, sharing poetry about mental health and breaking intergenerational cycles.
Along with her performance experience, she helps facilitate a range of community programming for organizations like Unity Charity, JAYU, and Poetry in Voice. In 2020, she was awarded the JAYU iAM Arts for Human Rights Award recognizing creatives doing exceptional work where the arts and human rights intersect. In 2021, she released her first EP of spoken word, WET HAIR, now available on all streaming platforms.
She opened for Rupi Kaur on her world tour stop at Massey Hall in December 2022.
It is her ultimate goal to share her poetry with the world, inspire, and be inspired by all the stories that surround us.