Grant Helps Spoken Word Artist Create Poems for Choral Compositions 

Brandon Wint, a poet and spoken word artist from Edmonton, is teaming up with two Canadian composers to write 12 original poems that will be the basis for choral compositions.

A poetic challenge with choir and neo-classical music

Wint uses writing and speaking to articulate both beauty in the world and the silver linings that underscore ugliness and struggle. In 2020, with support from the Canada Council, he began a project that involves blending the poetics of the spoken word with those of choral composition. He plans to adapt his own poetic (writing) voice to the needs and sensibilities of choral work to show that choir and neo-classical music offer a viable, exciting way to pursue unconventional poetic challenges.

Art in the era of climate change

Wint’s poems will speak indirectly to the climate change discourse by bringing into sharper focus the parts of the natural world that deserve gratitude and attention. He anticipates that blending forms and cultural dispositions will help his project foreground valuable ideas about the natural world, the human condition, and our responsibility to respect the planet and ourselves.