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	Tanya Evanson is an Antiguan-Québécoise interartist Poet, Writer, Spoken Word Artist, Vocalist, Whirling Dervish Dancer, Arts Educator and Director of Mother Tongue Media and The Banff Centre Spoken Word Program. She is the 2013 recipient of the Golden Beret Award from the Calgary Spoken Word Festival. Montreal-born and based in Vancouver, Canada, she has published six poetry chapbooks, recorded three studio albums most recently Language for Gods (Mother Tongue Media 2012), and has been performing multilingually across Canada and abroad since 1995. Her work is featured in the award-winning videopoem Almost Forgot My Bones (2004), documentaries Generation Exile (2010) and In Search of Ecstasy (2009) as well as international music recordings, TV, radio and anthologies; most recently The Great Black North - Contemporary African-Canadian Poetry (Frontenac 2013). Spoken word performance highlights include The Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Calgary Spoken Word Festival, Edmonton Poetry Festival, Beats Without Borders, Poetry Gabriola Festival, International Vancouver Storytelling Festival, ZeD TV and When Sisters Speak, alongside such artists as John Giorno, Ursula Rucker, Michael Franti, Ted Joans, Sheri-D Wilson, bill bissett and Bob Holman. As Mother Tongue Media since 2000, she has produced intercultural and interarts events such as Tales of Ordinary Madness spoken word series, Under the Griot Tree Black History Month arts festival, and ANU conceptual group art performances. A classically trained Whirling Dervish since 2002, she has performed and taught extensively across Europe, Turkey, Japan, US and Canada from her bases in Istanbul and Vancouver. Performance highlights include whirling with Mercan Dede, Natasha Atlas, Ludovico Einaudi and Niyaz at such venues as AKM (Turkey), Barbican (UK), Club Paradiso (Netherlands), Etnosur Festival (Spain) and Ars Electronica (Austria). Open your arms if you want to be held. Fresh new track recorded in Antigua, West Indies. "Apocalypsiata" (2013)
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