Tanya Davis is a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet, based in Prince Edward Island. 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 |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, poet |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Website | Tanya Davis |
Background
editBorn 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] She has since moved back to Prince Edward Island.[3]
Career
editShortly 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.[4]
Davis attracted international press attention in 2010 when How to Be Alone, an animated film directed by Andrea Dorfman illustrating a spoken word piece by Davis, became popular on YouTube.[5] She subsequently released her third album, Clocks and Hearts Keep Going, in November 2010.[6] The album was produced by Jim Bryson.[6]
Davis authored a book of poetry titled At First, Lonely in spring 2011, published by Canadian publisher The Acorn Press.[7] She also served as poet laureate of the Halifax Regional Municipality from 2011 to 2013.[8]
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.[9]
In 2014, she appeared in her first acting role, starring in Andrea Dorfman's film Heartbeat.[10]
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.[11] The film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2020.[12]
Davis was appointed poet laureate of Prince Edward Island on April 28, 2023.[13]
Personal life
editDiscography
edit- Make a List (2006)
- Gorgeous Morning (2008)
- Clocks and Hearts Keep Going (2010)
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Tanya Davis' Gorgeous talk" Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. The Coast, June 19, 2008.
- 1 2 "The Evolution of Tanya Davis" Archived December 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. The Coast, November 16, 2006.
- ↑ Davis, Tanya. "Tanya Davis - musician, poet, performer".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "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.
- 1 2 "Tanya Davis keeps going" Archived December 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. 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" Archived December 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. 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.
- ↑ "Meet PEI's new Poet Laureate – Tanya Davis". Government of Prince Edward Island. April 28, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "In the Dead of Winter festival heats up Halifax's music scene". Xtra!, January 29, 2009.