Frederick Tamagi
Re: Calgary Poet Laureate nomination for Wakefield Brewster
To whom it may concern:
My name is Frederick Tamagi, and I am a long-time resident, multiple business owner, and an active participant and organizer in the local creative arts community.
In 2009, I was an original founder/owner of Cafe Koi (koicalgary.com) which continues to be one of the city's most vibrant, encouraging small venues for the full spectrum of local artists; from songwriters to graphic artists to poets.
Since 2018, I have helped lead a new, creative "community of communities" called The lndie YYC (theindieyyc.com), which is "dedicated to inspiring local artists in pursuit of independent creativity, independent thought, and independent life."
The lndie YYC is pursuing this mission through 2 main initiatives.
1) Curating and staging unique creative events for local artists from diverse artistic communities to encourage collaboration and new creativity on the Calgary scene.
2) Actively encouraging and developing leaders who will nurture and support our existing creative community, and inspire new artists to pursue a life of creativity.
For the last 2 years, I have had the privilege of meeting, knowing, and collaborating with Wakefield Brewster as one of The lndie YYC's most dynamic and inspirational leaders in our poetry and spoken word community.
In addition to his prolific skills as a writer of poetic truth and his one-of-a-kind talent as a performer of spoken truth, I have been a first-hand witness to his authentic, natural gift for encouraging new artists and community building.
On more than one occasion, I have been the recipient of unsolicited stories from local artists who attribute their decisions and development as artists to Wakefield's unique encouragement and modeling, as both a poet/performer and community mentor.
Wakefield Brewster is one of those very rare artists who use their enormous talent to involve rather than separate, to include rather than exclude, to inspire rather than intimidate.
I can think of no other artist who could better represent the dynamic, growing diversity and explosive, creative potential of our wonderful city. Whether we be artists or not, Wakefield will make us all proud to be Calgarians.
Frederick Tamagi