Brendan McLeod

Brendan McLeod's picture
Photo credit: 
Mike Savage
Biography: 

Brendan McLeod is a Toronto-based poet, spoken word artist, theatre artist, and musician. He’s the author of one novel, The Convictions of Leonard McKinley; a one-woman play, The Big Oops; three monologues — the most recent of which is his award-winning piece on consciousness, Brain; and a collaborative spoken word/music show with classical pianist Sarah Hagen, Exultation. He is the founder of The Fugitives, a folk group signed to Borealis Records that tours internationally and has been nominated for multiple Canadian Folk Music and Western Canadian Music Awards, including Best Songwriter, Best Roots Group, and Best Vocal Group. He is a former Canadian SLAM poetry champion and World SLAM runner-up. He was the 2012 Poet of Honor at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and the 2015 Poet of Honour at the Victoria Spoken Word Festival. He has been influenced by a large contingent of spoken word artists including Zaccheus Jackson, Andrea Gibson, Buddy Wakefield, Sheri-D Wilson, and Jillian Christmas. 

www.brendanmcleod.ca 

Micro-interview: 
Did you read poetry when you were in high school? Is there a particular poem that you loved when you were a teenager?: 

As a teenager, I was very influenced by a combination of hip-hop, folk music, and Sharon Olds. 

When did you first start writing poetry? And then when did you start thinking of yourself as a poet?: 

I began as a performance poet when I was 23. I started touring a few years later, so that's when I decided to pick up the “poet” label. 

What do you think a poet’s “job” is?: 

Tell the truth with vivid language. 

If you have a poem in our anthology what inspired you to write it?: 

N/A

If you had to choose one poem to memorize from our anthology, which one would it be?: 

“Blackberrying” by Sylvia Plath. 

Publications: 
Title: 
Brain
Publisher: 
Patchwork Press
Editors: 
Joanna Reid
Date: 
2018
Publication type: 
Book
Title: 
The Convictions of Leonard McKinley
Publisher: 
Arsenal Pulp Press
Date: 
2007
Publication type: 
Book
Title: 
Cadence
Publisher: 
One Cool Word Magazine
Date: 
2008
Publication type: 
Periodical/Magazine