Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her style is marked primarily by spoken word poetry set to music.
Tanya Davis | |
|---|---|
 Davis (2017) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, folk, spoken word |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, poet |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | Tanya Davis |
Background edit
Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, she moved to Ottawa for a time after high school to attend university, and then hitchhiked to British Columbia, where she worked in community development[1] before moving to Halifax in 2005.[2]
Career edit
Shortly after moving to Halifax, Davis began performing spoken word poetry at various cafés in the city. She soon recorded an album, Make a List, which was nominated for Female Recording of the Year, Alternative Recording of the Year and Album of the Year at the Nova Scotia Music Awards, along with a nomination for Davis herself as New Artist of the Year,[2] as well as four nominations for the MusicPEI Awards.[1] She was named poet of the year in The Coast's annual year-end reader's poll for 2007.
She followed up with Gorgeous Morning in 2008.[1]
She has toured across Canada and internationally as a poet and musician, both as a solo artist and with Jenn Grant.[3]
Davis attracted international press attention in 2010 when a performance video of her poem "How to Be Alone", directed by Andrea Dorfman, became popular on YouTube.[4] She subsequently released her third album, Clocks and Hearts Keep Going, in November 2010.[5] The album was produced by Jim Bryson.[5]
Davis authored a book of poetry titled At First, Lonely in spring 2011, published by Canadian publisher The Acorn Press.[6] She also served as poet laureate of the Halifax Regional Municipality from 2011 to 2013.[7]
In 2013, she wrote the poetic narration to Millefiore Clarkes' Island Green, a short documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada about organic farming in PEI.[8]
In 2014, she appeared in her first acting role, starring in Andrea Dorfman's film Heartbeat.[9]
In 2020 Dorfman and Davis again collaborated on the short film How to Be At Home, based on another poem by Davis about coping with isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.[10] The film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2020.[11]
Personal life edit
Davis has stated in the press that she identifies as queer:
My sexuality is as fluid as my creativity. I don't sit firmly in the category of lesbian, but I don't sit firmly in poet or songwriter either. I love people for people. I think the way I love is queer.[12]
Discography edit
- Make a List (2006)
- Gorgeous Morning (2008)
- Clocks and Hearts Keep Going (2010)
References edit
- ^ a b c "Tanya Davis' Gorgeous talk". The Coast, June 19, 2008.
- ^ a b "The Evolution of Tanya Davis". The Coast, November 16, 2006.
- ^ "Singers giving concert at the Haviland Club". Charlottetown Guardian, March 30, 2007.
- ^ "Tanya Davis isn't alone anymore, she's in the Guardian" Archived April 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. The Coast, August 13, 2010.
- ^ a b "Tanya Davis keeps going". The Coast, November 18, 2010.
- ^ "At first, lovely; Mayor's poet laureate for Halifax, Tanya Davis, shines in her debut book of poetry". The Telegraph-Journal, June 25, 2011.
- ^ "Davis returns to province". The Telegraph-Journal, June 10, 2011.
- ^ "Documentary Island Green contemplates an all organic P.E.I.". Charlottetown Guardian, January 25, 2014.
- ^ "Director invites you – and only you". The Globe and Mail, September 6, 2014.
- ^ Morgan Mullin, "Andrea Dorfman and Tanya Davis teach us How To Be At Home". The Coast, September 24, 2020.
- ^ Victoria Ahearn, "Toronto International Film Festival releases Top Ten lists for 2020" Archived January 4, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Squamish Chief, December 9, 2020.
- ^ "In the Dead of Winter festival heats up Halifax's music scene". Xtra!, January 29, 2009.