OUR POETS

Season 2

Building on the success of our first season, this year’s Poems in Passage features an extraordinary lineup of poets, including literary legends and emerging voices, continuing to transform Toronto’s transit system into a living anthology.

the disasters of war: a sequel

Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is one of Canada’s most celebrated literary figures, known for her poetry, fiction, and essays. Author of over 50 books, including The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments, she has won numerous awards, including two Booker Prizes. A champion of free expression and social justice, she explores themes of identity, nature, and human rights. In Poems in Passage, she contributes a powerful anti-war piece in support of War Child, reflecting on conflict and resilience.

 
Laugh lines and wrinkles

Rupi Kaur

A world-renowned poet, artist, and 4-time best-selling author, Rupi Kaur’s collections have sold over 12 million copies and been translated into over 40 languages, with milk and honey becoming one of the highest-selling poetry books of the 21st century. In 2021, Kaur produced Rupi Kaur Live, a first-of-its-kind poetry special on Amazon Prime Video. Kaur also executive produced the film This Place, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022, and the 2024 Academy Award–nominated film To Kill a Tiger.

 
beauty, end

Mustafa

Mustafa is a poet, singer-songwriter, and filmmaker from Toronto, known for his deeply introspective and poignant storytelling. A former poet laureate of Toronto’s youth slam scene, he transitioned into music, blending spoken word with folk-inspired melodies. His debut album, When Smoke Rises, received critical acclaim for its raw depiction of grief, community, and resilience. Through his art, Mustafa continues to honor the voices of his community, using poetry and music as a bridge between personal and collective experience.

 
cream soda

Britta B. (Poet-in-Residence)

Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Britta Badour, better known as Britta B. is an award-winning artist, public speaker, and poet living in Toronto.  She is the author of the poetry collection and audiobook, Wires That Sputter.  Britta is a Trillium Book Award Finalist for Poetry and has held several fellowships at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.  Britta holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph and teaches at OCAD University.

 
part of me is forgetting

Jayan Singh

Jayan Singh is a queer, trans, South Asian creative in Tkaronto, Canada. His work takes many forms, such as poetry, photography, mixed-media, textiles, drag, and found objects. Some of his past exhibitions include Moving Horizons, Stairway of Our Past/Stairway to Our Future, and The Light Within: Outer Prisms. He has worked in collaboration with Gallery 44, The 519, and Toronto History Museums. You can find more of his work on Instagram at @girls_nfilm.

 
medicines

Jadyn Hardie-Bardy

Jadyn “machinegunfunkk” Hardie-Bardy is a queer Kanein’kéha:ka and Jamaican poet and prevention worker in Tkaronto. Her work spans self-publishing her first chapbook, i am a wandering spirit, and features across VIBEarts, R.I.S.E. Edutainment, and Global News. Jadyn uses her art to connect with youth in the judicial and child welfare systems, exploring themes of cultural connections, grief, healing, and resilience against colonial institutions. In 2024, she was a featured poet at the National Arts Center: Hip Hop Theatre’s BlackOUT Night and continues to teach and advocate for youth in care across Ontario.

 
White hydrangeas

Fareh Malik

Fareh Malik is an author and artist from the Greater Toronto Area. Originally a spoken word poet, recently he was named the 2023 winner of the Austin Clarke Prize in Literary Excellence, the 2022 PEN Canada New Voices Award winner, and his book Streams that Lead Somewhere was the winner of the Hamilton Literary Award for Poetry.

 
a poem for single mothers

Maya Spoken

MayaSpoken is an award-winning multidisciplinary spoken word artist and author of Warriors in Broad Daylight. She founded Spoken in the City Poetry Slam, Tell ’Em Girl Women’s Spoken Word Showcase, and Loud Black Girls, platforms amplifying unapologetic voices. A two-time OG500 champion, she was crowned the 2023 Canadian Individual Spoken Word Champion and ranked 4th across the Americas. Her work appears internationally and on CBC. Through poetry, Maya amplifies urgent conversations on liberation, justice, and resilience.

 
dog days

Qurat Dar

Qurat Dar is the inaugural recipient of the Claire Harris Poetry Prize, was the City of Mississauga’s third Youth Poet Laureate, and a Canadian Individual Poetry Slam National Champion. Her work has appeared in Room, Arc, and Canthius, as well as the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Bradley Museum, and across the TTC network. Her debut poetry collection, Non-Prophet, is forthcoming with Goose Lane Editions in Fall 2025.

 
Growing up

Violet Myles

Violet Myles is a writer and multimedia storyteller whose work spans poetry, creative nonfiction, and audio journalism. Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, she has called Canada home for over seven years. Her work has been recognized nationally, including the 2020 Excellence in Student Programming Award from the NCRA for her podcast The Intimacy of Voicemails. She enjoys exploring themes of longing and nostalgia, blending personal narrative with the voices and stories of others. You can find more of her writing on her Substack, Memory Lane.

 
tomorrow always

Jesse June-Jack

Jesse June-Jack is an Afro-Canadian poet based in Toronto. A Political Science major with minors in Law and Creative Writing, he has volunteered with organizations like JAYU, IMANI UTSC, and UNITY Charity. Jesse has performed with Word Is Bond, RISE, and Poetry Saved Our Lives and has been published in Block Party Magazine, BAM Youth Slam, and Toronto Young Voices Magazine. His work also appears in the animated project DREAMS IN VANTABLACK on YouTube and CBC Gem.

 
sonnet for you

Ottavia Paluch

Ottavia Paluch is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto. In 2021 she was named the recipient of the International Young Writers Prize from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, and her work appears in Best Canadian Poetry, Iron Horse, Tinderbox, Gigantic Sequins, and various other publications both online and in print. She is an alumna of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program and the University of Iowa’s Young Writers Studio.

 
things i took from my hospital jobs

Charlie Petch

Charlie Petch (they/he) is a disabled & transmasculine multidisciplinary artist residing in Toronto/Tkaronto. Their debut poetrymWhy I Was Late (Brick Books), won the 2022 ReLit Award, and was named "Best of 2021" by The Walrus. Their next poetry book “Infinite Audition”, is out in Fall 2025 with Brick Books. Petch received a Golden Beret Spoken Word Prize from the League of Canadian Poets. Their latest play “No one’s special at the hot dog cart” debuted in 2024 with “Theatre Passe Muraille”. They write plays, librettos, poems, and music and perform their work for audiences all over Turtle Island. 

directions in a new city

Yuki Tam

Yuki Tam is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator of Chinese descent, born and raised in T’karanto. Her work blends image and written word to explore resilience in everyday tasks, objects, and rituals. Through care and radical vulnerability, she examines identity, class, community, and perception. Influenced by her Scarborough upbringing, she uses humor and satire to investigate how fragmented memories hold meaning and emotion.

 
sticky rice

Em Dial

Em Dial (she/they) is a writer from the Bay Area, now based in Toronto. Author of In the Key of Decay (Palimpsest Press, 2024), their work appears in Literary Review of Canada, Arc Poetry Magazine, and more. A Kundiman Fellow and recipient of the 2020 RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award, Em has performed across Turtle Island. Their poetry explores scientific racism, queer desire, and bodily sovereignty, creating connections between past and present.

Be a Featured Poet

Poems in Passage is always looking for fresh voices to feature future seasons! If you’re a poet with a powerful story to share, we invite you to submit your work for a chance to be featured on the TTC and other public spaces.