By Angela Brown

Spoken word artist brings message of empowerment to students

Mar 15, 2018 | 10:00 AM

A transgender poet and performance artist gave students at Sakewew High School a lesson in survival when she spoke at the school Wednesday.

Elise Pallagi is originally from North Battleford, but now calls Saskatoon home.

She said growing up in North Battleford she was the victim of bullying at school, which caused her a lot of suffering. Pallagi later found a sense of identity and belonging through the LGBT community when she went to university, and especially through her art.

“If anything, I hope that I inspire them to challenge bullying, challenge fear… racism, transphobia, homophobia,” she said.

The artist gave a spoken word performance at the school during Wednesday’s visit and invited students to speak up to share their ideas too.

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When she asked students if they’ve ever experienced bullying many of the youths raised their hands.

‘I’m hoping I can give them the courage to get out there, and stand up to bullying, but more importantly I want to inspire them to share their stories, tell their tales, speak their truth,” said Pallagi. 

She said to the people who brought her down when she was a youth that they actually ended up giving her something to fight for.

“You tried to disempower me, but you eventually empowered me to be the change I wanted to see,” she said.

Pallagi said the Gay-Straight-Alliance (GSA) that offers students support today didn’t exist when she was a youth.

“I would love to have gone to a high school like this,” she added later. “It would have been nice to have found solidarity in community rather than feeling isolated.”

She said she hopes students can find their voice to express themselves too if others try to bring them down.

“The microphone is a very powerful tool, but the microphone is meant to be shared and passed around. It shouldn’t be dominated by a single voice,” Pallagi said.

Today, she said she regularly attends a poetry slam in Saskatoon called “Tonight It’s Poetry,” and has performed on several stages across Canada. 

Pallagi has written two books of poetry “Confessions of a modern queer beatnik” and “Your slurs empower me.” She has also been published in various journals and magazines.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

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