This is our 4th episode of Liars of Orpheus. This one features Aaron Hunter, Dex Neily, Lydia Kwa and Stephen Collis. This is also the Death Rides a Unicorn hosting debut of the fabulous Lucia Misch.
Lucia Misch is a writer, performer and facilitator from unceded Muwekma Ohlone land. Lucia's spoken word poetry has found a home everywhere from historic theaters to high school auditoriums, and their first collection of poetry, The Problem With Solitaire, was released by Write Bloody North in 2020.
Aaron Hunter (he/him) is a poet, performer, visual artist and student. He produces and hosts "Brave Voices," the weekly poetry open mic in Port Moody. In between classes and work you can find him writing on topics such as identity, community and healing. His debut chapbook "The Archives" is set to be released by the end of 2024.
Dex Neily (they/them) is a poet and performer from Lekwungen territories whose work centres around disability and queer identity. They have represented Victoria nationally and internationally at seven spoken word festivals, and was a finalist at both the 2021 and 2022 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. They are currently seeking new ways to combine their loves and their pains into art that restores those who experience it. You can find their work on YouTube or hear them perform at the Tongues of Fire open mics run by the Victoria Poetry Project. Their list of superpowers include compassion and former-theatre-kid energy levels.
Lydia Kwa has published two books of poetry (The Colours of Heroines, 1992; sinuous, 2013) and five novels (This Place Called Absence, 2000; The Walking Boy, 2005 and 2019; Pulse, 2010 and 2014; Oracle Bone, 2017; A Dream Wants Waking, 2023). A third book of poetry from time to new will be published by Porcupine's Quill Press in Fall 2024.
Stephen Collis is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, including The Commons(2008), the BC Book Prize winning On the Material (2010), Once in Blockadia (2016), and Almost Islands: Phyllis Webb and the Pursuit of the Unwritten (2018)—all published by Talonbooks.
A History of the Theories of Rain (2021) was a finalist for the Governor General’s Award for poetry, and in 2019, Collis was the recipient of the Writers’ Trust of Canada Latner Poetry Prize. He lives near Vancouver, on unceded Coast Salish Territory, and teaches poetry and poetics at Simon Fraser University.