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MelVee X

@melveex

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Aka Blaq Velvet
Spoken Word Poet • Burlesque Dancer • Visual Artist • Founder of @speakupyyc • CEO of MVX STUDIOS • B.Sc (Hons) Anthropology • YYC

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Come see the champ on Oct 29, @oma_is_loud

We are so excited to feature Oma is Loud!!! She is a powerhouse and a national slam champion. Sneak a peak at her incredible bio:

Oma is Loud is the 2026 Canadian Poetry Slam Nationals Champ and winner of the 2026 Evaristo Prize for Poetry. She is a Poetry Translation Centre (UK) Undertow Fellow. Her poetry-theatre production, Pretty Dangerous: Four Acts on Womanhood, premiered at the Calgary Central Library in March 2026. A stark raving mad poet, she stays wild in her musings until 9 pm or so

Hosted by MelVee X @melveex

Speak Up is made possible through the generosity of our friends at the Writers' Guild of Alberta @writersguildab and San<K>tjuri Buks @sanktjuri

Did we mention we're live!? We'll be streamlining live to our YouTube channel for those who cannot join us in person. Link to our livestream in our bio by @melveex

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8 days ago

Today I'm reflecting on some big life questions and thought I'd share my reflections with you beloveds

As an artist, I've learned that you never know who needs to read or see the thing, so keep doing and showing the thing

Trust the process, and trust that if you needed something, someone else will too

Helig, helig, helig (holy, sacred in Swedish)

Image credit: https://www.ingmarbergman.se/en/production/winter-light by @melveex

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11 days ago

My latest poetic essay on Substack, In Another Life, is a meditation on a troubled stranger I've seen repeatedly throughout my adult life and my thoughts on what she represents to me.

Get a teaser here 🫴🏽 by @melveex

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15 days ago

I want to take this moment to shout out 17 year old goth me
With the heavy racoon makeup
Dog chain
100 safety pin jacket
Nappy dreads
Writing angsty poetry
Reading at lunchtime by herself
Listening to Love and Rockets, Haunted
And howling at the moon

You were never a fool

And I'm really proud of who you became today

Embrace the darkness, yes
But remember to shine your light, too

**

A toast to my fellow goths out there, young and old 🦇🫶🏽 by @melveex

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22 days ago

My latest Substack, The Banks of the Ohio, is here beloveds

This week, I reflect on grief and heartbreak in a dear friend's honour

Swipe through for a sneak peak. Link to the 'stack is in my bio 🫶🏽 by @melveex

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23 days ago

Hey beloveds, my latest poetic essay, Selfie, just dropped on Substack.

Credit to @alot.of.poetry for coining the phrase Poetic Essay, which blends elements of poetry and essay into one cohesive piece of writing 🙏🏽

Swipe through for a lil' tease 👉🏽

melveex.substack.com

Link in my bio 🫶🏽 by @melveex

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a month ago

Oh hay friends, it's that time of the month again. Mark your calendars for the next installation of Speak Up Presents, featuring Gee.

We are all thrilled to bring such an incredibly talented poet to our stage 🤗

Swipe through to learn more about the radiant Gee 👉🏽 taken in Marlborough Mall by @melveex

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a month ago

Hey beloveds, the next time you're at AUA, check out the work of myself and other incredible BIPOC artists in Love Behind the Lens. Curator Bex Snoddon selected BIPOC artists to share our vision of what brings us joy.

I'm honoured to have been selected alongside such talented artists 🙌🏽

The exhibit opened yesterday, September 10 and will be on display at the Marion Nichol gallery until November 5. taken in Alberta University of the Arts by @melveex

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a month ago

Hey beloveds, I did a thing. I've been wanting to take the plunge and post my writing to Substack but couldn't find the courage. Well, I finally did.

Read my reflections on The Sealey Challenge 📚

Subscribe for more of my writings, poetry and art on the regular. Joyfully join me on this exciting new chapter in my practice 🌱

As poet Tommy Pico (Junk, 2018) poignantly noted, fearlessness is not living without fear but learning to live alongside it

Link in bio and below
https://melveex.substack.com/p/the-sealey-challenge by @melveex

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a month ago

28 books. 31 days. What a whirlwind The Sealey Challenge has been. The Sealey Challenge, named after poet Nicole Sealey, is a challenge to read a book of poetry each day in the month of August.

I have so many thoughts, and obviously so much inspiration after a month of reading poetry, but I'll distill it to this:

Aren't we lucky? Poetry, arguably the language of our hearts; of the subconscious, gives us recognition and resonance to some of our deepest feelings, fears, longings and anxieties.

Just when I think I've read it all, I'll come across a line that takes my breath away and think, how did I ever live my life without precisely this line?

That's the power of poetry 💕

What I Read (for the curious)
August 1 - I Am The Rage by Marina McGowan
August 2 - A Really Good Brown Girl by Marilyn Dumont
August 3 - Love Medicine and One Song by Gregory Scofield
August 4 - The Response of Weeds by Bertrand Bickerseth
August 5 - Scientific Marvel by Chimwemwe Undi
August 6 - Build Yourself a Boat by Camonghne Felix
August 7 - Other People's Comfort Keeps Me Up at Night by Morgan Parker
August 8 - The Sky Was Once a Dark Blanket by Kinsale Drake
August 9 - Concentrate by Courtney Faye Taylor
August 10 - Sister's Entrance by Emitihal Mahmoud
August 11 - American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
August 12 - Junk by Tommy Pico
August 14 - Women Do This Every Day by Lillian Allen
August 15 - Annie Allen by Gwendolyn Brooks
August 16 - The Ferguson Report by Nicole Sealey
August 17 - spill: scenes of black feminist fugivity by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
August 18 - Chrome Valley by Mahogany E Browne
August 19 - Doggerel by Reginald Dwayne Betts
August 20 - Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha
August 21 - A Coney Island of the Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
August 23 - Horses by Jordan Skeets
August 24 - Sturge Town by Kwame Dawes
August 26 - The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes
August 27 - Poyums by Len Pennie
August 28 - The Age of Phillis by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
August 29 - Coke Machine Glow by Gord Downie
August 30 - The Best of American Poetry 2021. David Lehman, series editor
August 31 - The Idea of an Entire Life by Billy-Ray Court by @melveex

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a month ago

Oh hay friends, you know the poetry party don't stop ova here 🙌🏽🤗

Next week, I'll be back to hosting Speak Up @speakupyyc featuring the brilliant, never imitated, Sholley Powell @spth3 @sholleyp.poetry

Sholley is a legend in the poetry community. Inducted into the Calgary Spoken Word Poetry scene 2016, Sholley embraced the poetry community honing her literary talents with local group series, including Pitbull Poetry, Single Onion, Raw Voices; Can You Hear Me Now!: Youth slam series, Peoples Poetry Festival; and Calgary Poetry Slam - to name a few. Sholley continues to remain active amongst the Calgary community lending her voice in awareness and support, through collaborations with multi-model artists of varying crafts and disciplines.

Speak Up is made possible through the generosity of our friends at the Writers' Guild of Alberta @writersguildab and San<K>tjuri Buks @sanktjuri by @melveex

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2 months ago

Hey babes, it's been a minute ❤️✌🏽

Did you know I'm part of a new-ish literary and multidisciplinary collective called Speak Up YYC @speakupyyc, a hub to speak up, speak out and speak truth to power!?

Our monthly open mic night is happening this Thursday and it's truly a dream come true 🙌🏽 This month we're featuring the incredible @enter.lyrics.imagination and guest hosted by the one and only @alot.of.poetry

You don't want to miss this!

If you haven't already, follow us on IG @speakupyyc
Speak Up is made possible by the generosity of the Writers' Guild of Alberta @writersguildab and San<K>tjuri Buks @sanktjuri by @melveex

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3 months ago