Arielle Twist

Arielle Twist
Born
Saskatchewan
Occupationsartist, author, sex educator
Notable workDisintegrate/Dissociate (2019)
AwardsIndigenous Voices Award for English Poetry (2019)
Disintegrate/Dissociate
Dayne Ogilvie Prize (2019)
Disintegrate/Dissociate

Arielle Twist is a Nehiyaw (Cree)[1] multidisciplinary artist and sex educator based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is originally from George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan[2] and describes herself as a Two-Spirit, transgender woman.[1]

She was mentored in her early career by trans writer Kai Cheng Thom whom she met at Venus Envy in 2017.[3] They quickly became friends. During this time, she discovered poetry that resonated with her as a trans First Nation woman, such as the works of Katherena Vermette, inspiring her to write poetry that was representative of her interests and identity.[4]

The institutions that have featured Twist's work include the Khyber Centre for the Arts, the Toronto Media Arts Centre, La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, the Centre for Art Tapes, the Art Gallery of Mississauga, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.[5] She has also worked in visual and performance art.[3]

Her poetry collection, Disintegrate / Dissociate, won the Indigenous Voices Award for English Poetry[6] and the Dayne Ogilvie Prize[7] in 2020. After publishing this collection, she began working as a sex educator at Venus Envy[8] and became an MFA candidate at OCAD University in the Interdisciplinary Art, Media and Design graduate studies programme.[9] Twist's work has been praised for its raw, vulnerable exploration of grief, trauma, and identity within Indigenous and trans spaces, bridging the gap between contemporary visual art, performance, and community-focused sex education.

Career

Writing

Arielle Twist began writing in 2017 after being encouraged by her mentor Kai Cheng Thom[2] whom she met at Thom’s book launch at Venus Envy.[3] Twist went on to publish the essay "What It's Like to Be a Native Trans Woman on Thanksgiving" in Them on November 23, 2017. After their publishing debut, Twist went on to perform her first poetry reading at Venus Envy alongside her mentor.[3] She also attended the Naked Heart Festival in Toronto and began a residency at the Banff center[3] where she debuted her first poems.[10] Arielle met Billy-Ray Belcourt during her Banff Centre who guided her through her first manuscript.[3]

Twist debuted as an author with a collection of thirty-eight poems[11] in her book Disintegrate / Dissociate published on June 4, 2019 by Arsenal Pulp Press.[12] The book focuses on "human relationships, death, and metamorphosis".[13] Her poems, which have been described as raw, confrontational, and eloquent, examine themes of colonization, kinship, displacement, and transmisogyny.[3] About her writing, Twist states that "It feels like the most vulnerable thing [she has] ever done".[3] Twist says Disintegrate / Dissociate is about "love, loss, and grief" as well as her coping with her trauma through dissociation.[3] The poem "Manifest" in the book was dedicated to editor Billy-Ray Belcourt who also held residency at the Banff Centre while Twist was there.[8]

In late 2019, Arielle also contributed to the Together Apart Series. Twist's book publication along with her collection of essays has earned Twist recognition and awards including the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers from the Writers' Trust of Canada[14] and the Indigenous Voices Award for English poetry in 2020.[6]

Awards and nominations

YearWorkAwardCategoryResultRef.
2019 —National Magazine Award—Shortlisted[15]
—Artist Recognition Award
Arts Nova Scotia		Indigenous Artist Recognition AwardWon[16]
—Pushcart Prize—Nominated[17]
2020 Disintegrate / Dissociate Dayne Ogilvie Prize—Won[18]
Indigenous Voices AwardEnglish PoetryWon[19]
Publishing Triangle AwardsLeslie Feinberg AwardFinalist[15]

Published work and exhibitions

Books

  • Disintegrate / Dissociate (2019)[20]

Short Works

Year Title Published Location Type Ref.
2017 "What It's Like to Be a Native Trans Woman on Thanksgiving" Them Essay [21]
2018 "On Translating the Untranslatable" Canadian Art Essay [22]
"Soakers" The Fiddlehead Poem [23]
"Rework" This Magazine Poem [24]
"Contemporary Poetics of Trans Women of Colour Artists" Facilitated by: Kama La Mackerel Performance [25]
"Vacant Faces" Khyber Centre for the Arts Exhibit [26]
2019 "Together Apart Issue 2: Projections" Series [27]
"Poems for Impending Doom – Digital Exhibition" Halifax's Centre for Art Tapes Exhibit [28]
"Cumming Commons" SBC Gallery Performance [29]
"Split Tooth" Canadian Art Review [30]
2020 "Trancestry" Canadian Art Essay [31]
"Post Emo Theory" Canadian Art Poem [32]
2021 "How streaming video games on Twitch helped me find pure, unapologetic joy in the midst of a pandemic" CBC Arts Essay [33]

References

  1. 1 2 "Arielle Twist". CBC Books. 26 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 van Koeverden, Jane (29 April 2019). "Arielle Twist explores grief in her poetry and finds a home in the Indigenous arts community".
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 McCracken, Brennan (28 February 2019). "Arielle Twist's becoming".
  4. ↑ "Disintegrate/Dissociate". CBC Books. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  5. ↑ "Arielle Twist".
  6. 1 2 "Winners Announced for 2020 Indigenous Voices Awards". 22 June 2020.
  7. ↑ "4 emerging Canadian writers receive $10K prizes from Writers' Trust of Canada". CBC Books. 21 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 Mullin, Mogan (13 August 2020). "Behind the verse with Arielle Twist".
  9. ↑ Paglione, Joshua (29 October 2020). "IAMD MFA student, Arielle Twist wins 10K Dayne Ogilvie Prize for Emerging LGBTQ Writers!".
  10. ↑ dogeared (27 June 2018). "BWS 11.07.18: Arielle Twist". Brockton Writers Series. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Gilroy, Corinne (18 March 2019). "Disintegrate/Dissociate by Arielle Twist".
  12. ↑ Arielle, Twist (2019). Disintegrate/Dissociate. Canada: Arsenal Pulp Press.
  13. ↑ Twist, Arielle. DISINTEGRATE/DISSOCIATE.
  14. ↑ "Arielle Twist".
  15. 1 2 "Arielle Twist | Writers' Trust of Canada". Arielle Twist | Writers' Trust of Canada. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "2019 Artist Recognition Award Winners Announced | Arts Nova Scotia". artsns.ca. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Announcing the finalists for the $10,000 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers – The BPC". www.thebpc.ca. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "4 emerging Canadian writers receive $10K prizes from Writers' Trust of Canada". CBC Books. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  19. ↑ "2020 IVAs". Indigenous Voices Awards. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  20. ↑ Twist, Arielle (2019). Disintegrate/Dissociate. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 978-1551527604.
  21. ↑ Twist, Arielle (23 November 2017). "What It's Like to Be a Native Trans Woman on Thanksgiving". Them. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  22. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "On Translating the Untranslatable". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  23. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "Soakers". The Fiddlehead (277): 115.
  24. ↑ "Rework". This Magazine. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "CONTEMPORARY POETICS OF TRANS WOMEN OF COLOUR ARTIST". KAMA LA MACKEREL. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Vacant Faces | Arielle Twist and Brandon Hoax". Mad Mimi. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  27. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "Projections". Together Apart (2) – via Grunt Gallery.
  28. ↑ "Poems for Impending Doom - Digital Exhibition Launch Party". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  29. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "Cumming Commons". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  30. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "Split Tooth". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  31. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "Trancestry". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  32. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "POST EMO THEORY". Canadian Art. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  33. ↑ Twist, Arielle. "How streaming video games on Twitch helped me find pure, unapologetic joy in the midst of a pandemic". Retrieved 7 March 2023.
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