Biography
Charlie Petch (they/them, he/him) is a disabled/queer/transmasculine multidisciplinary artist who resides in Tkaronto/Toronto. A poet, playwright, librettist, musician, lighting designer, and host, Petch was the 2017 Poet of Honour for SpeakNorth national festival, winner of the Golden Beret lifetime achievement in spoken word with The League of Canadian Poets (2020), and founder of Hot Damn it's a Queer Slam. Petch is a touring performer, as well as a mentor and workshop facilitator. They are launching "Daughter of Geppetto", a multimedia/dance/music/performance poetry piece with Wind in the Leaves in April 2022 , launched their full length poetry collection "Why I Was Late" (2021) with Brick Books, and filmed their libretto "Medusa's Children" with Opera QTO. They have been featured on CBC's Q, the Toronto International Festival of Authors, and were long-listed for the CBC Poetry Prize in 2021.