Hamilton woman excited to 'shed a new light' on slam poetry after winning national title

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: May 05, 2024 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

When practising the final poem she would perform on a national stage, Hamilton poet Karessa McQueen was "convinced" she would cry. 

She'd never performed anything like a poem she calls Coneflower, which deals with domestic violence. As a survivor, the prospect of doing so was "nerve-wracking," McQueen said.

But in the end, "it was liberating," she told CBC Hamilton.

"I was able to take growth and a feeling of love out of something that was tragic and make it my own."

With that poem, the 32-year-old won Canada's Individual Poetry Slam competition on April 26. The contest, which took place in Vancouver, featured 24 poets who competed in rounds by performing three-minute pieces. 

WATCH | McQueen performs Coneflower at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam: 

Next stop: Mexico

McQueen performed several poems during the contest, including one about the treatment of Black people in society — adding that much of her work deals with race and politics. 

She started performing her poetry at open-mic nights in Toronto around 2015. She moved to Hamilton and took a break for a while before getting back into it last year with the group Hamilton You Poets.

"It feels very good for this to be my first year back," she said. 

Now that she's the Canadian champion, McQueen will go on to compete at an Americas-wide cup in Mexico in 2025. Hamilton poet Eddie Lartey won that contest, called the Copa América de Abya Yala Poetry Slam, in Brazil in 2022. 

McQueen inspired by fellow local poet

Seeing Lartey perform in Hamilton and hearing his story stoked McQueen's competitive fire and set her on this path, she said. 

But for now, the single mother of three says she'll appreciate having time to rest and recover after her Vancouver trip. She said she's not used to flying, and her mom helped look after the kids while she was away.

Working full time and competing has been a balancing act, she added.

"We have the obligation of moving with the system and paying our bills and going to work, but without our passions and without actually immersing ourselves in those things that make us feel love, what is the point?"

WATCH | McQueen on how she found her way back to poetry: 

Lartey told CBC Hamilton he's excited to see what's next for McQueen.

"There is a huge sense of pride," he said. "These competitions provide a ton of validation to not only your craft, but your experiences on a whole."

He's happy to see someone from Hamilton shine, he said.

"There is such a collection of talent and beauty in the city," he said. "I think there's an underdog mentality, especially when it comes to Hamilton art. And I think there's a great character that exists."

Another exciting part of this for McQueen is being able to share her craft more widely with people who may think of poetry and "get a little sleepy," she said.  

"I hope to bring a new energy, shed a new light and get more people involved in learning how powerful it is and how impactful it is to share your words."