Artistic Director
Johnny Trinh

artisticdirector@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

Often quoted for this mantra, “It takes a community to build an artist, whether we resist against it, or are nurtured by it.” Johnny Trinh wants to acknowledge many poets are birthed through resistance, and envisions a space where their voices are nurtured and encouraged to grow. There is a deep need for compassion, laughter, healing, weirdness, and transformation in our community. Vancouver Poetry House and its many programs can be an incredible platform to help people listen to voices that have endured despite the world that aims to silence them.

Johnny is the Founder and Artistic Producer of Stage to Page Performance Society. Stage to Page, developed through the support of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver. As a community-engaged artist, Johnny is interested in auto-ethnographic performance in relation to building community, especially when community seems inaccessible. Johnny is committed to the continual application and creation of consent based, decolonizing, and trauma-informed practice when engaging with community to create art.

Johnny’s spoken word career began in 2012, quickly reaching national level in 2013 through the poetry slam community, becoming a multi-year finalist at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. Trinh went on to join the team at Vancouver Poetry House as the Tournament Director for the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam for multiple years, as well as be a featured artist, Word Play educator, and guest curator for the Verses Festival of Words.

Johnny holds a MFA: Interdisciplinary Studies – Theatre & Creative Technology from the University of Regina; a Honours BA: Drama from the University of Waterloo, a diploma in Music Theatre Performance from the Randolph College of Performing Arts, and is an alum from the Banff Centre: Spoken Word Literary Program and Dell’Arte International School for Physical Theatre: Mask Intensives.

Operations Manager & Youth Coordinator
Johnny MacRae

wordplay@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

A self-proclaimed mouthy poet, Johnny MacRae lives and works on the the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-waututh), and sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) nations. Since first hitting the slam stage in 2009, he has won regional and national slam titles, represented Vancouver and Victoria at national and international poetry festivals, featured at poetry series and arts festivals across the country, and led 400+ workshops in BC schools. Johnny’s passion for collaborative spoken word has led him to perform and tour with acts such as 2 Dope Boys in a Cadillac (inc. musical spinoff, Cadillac Mountain Orchestra), The Dambassadors, and Travelin’ Word Circus. He was also a 3-time ensemble member at Victoria Spoken Word Festival, including the 2015 “All Star” ensemble, as well as the festival’s 2013 Poet of Honour. In 2023, he served as Writer in Residence for Powell River Public Library and he has been a regular faculty member at the Writers’ Guild of Alberta’s Wordsworth creative writing summer camp since 2015, where he not only teaches writing classes, but shatters young writers’ dreams of a professional career in “Gaga ball,” “Jackpot” and “Tips.”

In addition to his work as an artist, Johnny has spent years working to support spoken word communities at all levels, from hosting events, to directing slam tournaments, to coordinating programs, to “managing” the Po’tel at CIPS from 2011 to 2013. Aside from his years working in various roles to support Vancouver Poetry House, Johnny co-founded UBC Poetry Slam with Lucia Misch in 2009, founded the Raising Voices school outreach program on Vancouver Island in 2013, co-directed the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in Victoria in 2014, and acted as Interim Artistic & Managing Director for Victoria Poetry Project from 2023 to 2024. Additionally, he has served as a member of VPP’s board of directors and acted as a director-at-large on the speakNorth national board from 2018 to 2020. He brings to this work a deep commitment to fostering organizational resilience to support the powerful artistic and social impact of spoken word communities and artists – and a wry sense of humour.

Events Manager & Inclusion Coordinator
Sonya Littlejohn

inclusion@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

Sonya Littlejohn recently graduated from Simon Fraser University with a certificate in Community Capacity Building. She holds a bachelor of arts from UBC, a career in poetry performance and facilitation, and communication building. She is a community engagement facilitator, a cultural worker, community coordinator, mad artist and poet.

Financial Coordinator
Laura Covaza

treasurer@vancouverpoetryhouse.com

Prior to joining Vancouver Poetry House, Laura spent over 7 years in Accounting, managing the finances for many not-for-profit clients. She has her Professional Bookkeeping Certificate from Langara College and her Office Administration Diploma from Vancouver Career College. She intends to continue with more accounting studies in the time left from pursuing her other passions: sewing and embroidery.