About me:

Speak what needs to be spoken, shake what needs to be shook, rock the boat, and do it with style. – Leah

Please note, all artwork and photographs appearing on this site are my originals and may not be copied or used without my express written permission.  Please note: if you contacted me in late December of 2021 and your email bounced back, please try again, there were some storage issues, but now everything is working. You may contact me via personalprose@gmail.com

Bio: Leah is a multi-disciplinary artist who you may find performing on stage, in bookstores, at cafes, in boxing rings, in story and dance circles, on the street, and at kitchen tables in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Jamaica.

She is a graduate of the anitafrika! dub theatre residency program and Algonquin College (Journalism Print).

Her play, iridescence, debuted at the Word, Sound, Powah! Festival and in its second incarnation at the Audre Lorde Festival, it was subsequently published in the anthology “s is for storytelling” in 2009. That same year she also performed excerpts from iridescence in Sketchin’ Toronto, under the direction of d’bi young at SummerWorks. 

Leah performed at the 17th and 18th Ottawa Storytelling Festivals and shared personal stories woven with original poetry at the Toronto Storytelling festival in 2013, as well as at the festival’s Storytelling at the Gladstone in 2019.

Leah performed virtually, with co-teller Jess Smith, as part of an international collaboration during the Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF) in October 2021. Their multi-disciplinary Global Lab titled, “Wingless,” included, storytelling, song, original poetry and a video montage in honour of the many children in Canada, Scotland and Ireland, that were abused, disenfranchised, neglected, and too often tortured and murdered, then left in unmarked graves in a cultural and physical genocide.

She has created and taught workshops on storytelling, public speaking, and poetry for students and adults including at: Branksome Hall; LEAP into Literacy summer camp and the Bi Arts Festival.

She is the co-founder and co-creator of Flowetic Wednesdays Toronto and the WordSpell spoken word series and has participated in poetry competitions including, Capital Slam, the Toronto Poetry Slam,  Last Poet Standing and SLAMtario.

Her artwork and/or photographs have been shown at ARTiculations (Curio Shadowbox Show 2016, & the Sketchbook Challenge 2016, 2017. 2018, 2019); Heartwood House (One-Woman show, Honouring the Sacred Feminine in Response to FGM); Caribbean Flavours (Images of Cuba); Da Chicken Crib (wall mural) and Mother Tongue Books, Femmes des Paroles (Midwifery week celebration).

Born on the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and the Anishinaabeg, including the Chippewas and the Mississaugas of the Credit, Leah later moved to Algonquin Anishinabe territory, where for 18 years she raised her family and avoided frostbite, before returning to her hometown.

Recently she spent over 2 years on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations territory, where between rainfalls, she searched the waterfront for clues, cues and stories.

At night, when the city is quiet, she excavates the layers of her experience, searching for the love that is at the centre of it all.