Hamilton·Video

In spoken word performance, Hamilton poet slams gentrification of James Street North at Supercrawl

Canadian Individual Slam Poetry champion Eddie Lartey delivers a spoken word performance from CBC Hamilton's office during Supercrawl.

Hamilton's Eddie Lartey is the 2022 Canadian Individual Slam Poetry champion

Spoken word performance from Hamilton's Eddie Lartey

2 years ago
Duration 3:21
Poet Eddie Lartey, winner of the Canadian Individual Slam Poetry competition in Vancouver in May of 2022, delivers a spoken word performance at CBC Hamilton during Supercrawl in September of 2022.

When it comes to living on James Street North in Hamilton, Canadian Individual Slam Poetry champion Eddie Lartey says "even the ghosts can no longer afford to rest in peace."

Those words were part of his live performance at CBC Hamilton's studio during the Supercrawl festival on Saturday, Sept. 10. Watch the video above for his take on gentrification in Hamilton and on the street that played host to much of the celebrated arts festival.

Back in May, Lartey won the Canadian Individual Slam Poetry competition in Vancouver, beating out 16 other poets nationwide. 

The competition is a hybrid, spoken-word poetry competition held in Vancouver, B.C. Lartey is also part of the Hamilton You Poets (HYP), a local organization that creates programming in Hamilton to engage with poets in the community. 

Read the rest of CBC Hamilton's coverage of Supercrawl here: