Biography

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Raïssa Simone is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal), Quebec. She has competed at numerous national poetry slams including the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and the Toronto International Poetry Slam. She has performed at numerous venues and festivals, including the Modern Fuel Vapours Series, Hillside Festival, and When Sisters Speak. Raïssa also co-directed Slam Kingston, Kingston, Ontario's first poetry slam. In 2013, Raïssa Simone founded the series POCTALK, an open mic for racialized individuals, described in the Queen's University Journal as "the perfect environment for closing the space between storyteller and listener."

Raïssa Simone has remained active in social justice causes throughout her career, particularly in working to support others living with C-PTSD.  She vigorously fights against domestic violence and sexual assault, and centers healing in her poetry. As a survivor, she aims to create spaces for other survivors of violence to channel their trauma into healing-centred artistic creation. 

Her academic work, as she moved on to pursuing her PhD in 2014, is often informed by what she is producing artistically. Raïssa's performances have expanded into multiple mediums; working as a spoken word poet, musician, and performance artist, her work has narrowed the gaps between genres. 

Currently,  Raïssa is producing a poetry show hosted at the Diving Bell Social Club called 'The People's Poetry. ' She is working as a part of the Throw Montreal slam poetry collective, producing an upcoming poetry collection, and writing content for a prospective album.