Basement Revue: Leanne Simpson and Tara Williamson, part 1

Leanne Simpson is a prolific and acclaimed writer and poet, with a number of books and subsequent awards under her belt. In 2014 she was named the inaugural RBC Charles Taylor Emerging writer by Thomas King and has been nominated for a National Magazine Award and ReLit Award. She has written many books used in academia and has lectured at universities across Canada. Simpson also combines her writing with music and spoken word, and is a regular contributor to the Basement Revue.

Tara Williamson is a musician, poet and self-described provocateur from Winnipeg. She has released two EPs; her first, called Lie Low, made it onto RPM.fm’s list of best Indigenous music of 2013 and her latest EP, ndn summer, was produced by Kinnie Starr.

Together, Simpson and Williamson performed a handful of powerful pieces from Simpson’s spoken word album Islands of Decolonial Love—“Caribou Ghosts and Untold Stories” and “This Accident of Being Lost”—for the special edition of the Basement Revue raising awareness about missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Stay tuned for the second half of their performance.