Speakeasy Reading Series: Adrian De Leon, Chris Bailey, Ambika Thompson, Kai Thomas

Adrian De Leon is an Abagatan (Southern) Ilokano writer and cultural educator from Barangay Bagong Tanyag in Manila by way of Scarborough, Ontario. He teaches Philippine culture in classrooms, museums, and martial arts gyms. His first book, Rouge, was published in 2018 by Mawenzi House. Adrian was a Fulbright Scholar in Hawai‘i and Seattle in 2017-2018, and he is finishing a PhD in History at the University of Toronto. He is currently working on his second poetry collection and a first novella.

Chris Bailey is a fisherman from North Lake, Prince Edward Island. He has a MFA Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, and is a past recipient of the Milton Acorn Poetry Award. You can find his work in Grain, Brick, FreeFall, and on CBC Radio. His poetry collection WHAT YOUR HANDS HAVE DONE, published by Nightwood Editions, is his first book.

Ambika Thompson is a writer, musician and parent. She has been published at Electric Literature, NPR Berlin, Fanzine, Riddle Fence, Plentitude, was in Crab Fats Magazine’s “Best of” compilation (2017), and was also nominated for the Journey Prize in 2017. She is the fiction and managing editor of Leopardskin & Limes, in the band Razor Cunts and is an MFA candidate in creative writing at Guelph University. ambikathompson.com

Kai Thomas' recent work includes several youth projects involving land based learning, farming, and history. He has warily delved into anthropology and optimistically experimented with sustainable building. He currently studies creative writing at the University of Guelph. He is working on his first novel, a historical fiction set in this region, a century or two ago.