Tanya Davis is a writer and performer based in rural Epekwitk (Prince Edward island). She creates for the page, the stage, the stereo, and the screen, and she is PEI’s current Poet Laureate.

WRITER

PERFORMER

MUSICIAN

ABOUT

Tanya Davis is a writer and performer based in rural Epekwitk / Prince Edward Island. As PEI’s current Poet Laureate, she speaks to local issues and events and advocates for literacy, literature, and the power of words. Tanya writes on commission for governmental and non-profit organizations and collaborates regularly, working in music, poetry, theatre, and film. She has been releasing albums and publishing her writing since 2006 and has been supported by The Canada Council, The Banff Centre for the Arts, and Innovation PEI, among others. With collaborator Andrea Dorfman, she made the hit video How to be Alone, as well as the follow up How to be at Home (produced by the National Film Board). She also starred in Dorfman’s feature film Heartbeat, which premiered at The Toronto International Film Festival. Tanya is past Poet Laureate of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was an Artist-in-Residence at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine. Her latest stage work, Mass for Shut-Outs, is a comedic and critical commentary on Sunday service; it was a featured presentation at Under the Spire Music Festival for the 2024 session. She is currently developing a new solo show, set to premier in 2025.

April 12, 2025 – 7:00pm 
Bar1911, Charlottetown PEI

Slide Piece: A Powerpoint Comedy Show

Hosted by local comedian Shawn Hogan, Slide Piece is a wonderfully weird comedy show where performers present a 15-minute PowerPoint on any topic they choose, but with a twist!

Ticket info TBD

April 19-30
Osaka, Japan

Expo 2025 Osaka

Canada’s cultural programme in music, dance and theatre at Expo 2025 Osaka is curated by the NAC’s Executive Producer for Popular Music and Variety, Heather Gibson, as an integral part of Canada’s overall participation.
Performers Tanya Davis, Diyet and the Love Soldiers, and Shakura S’Aida will kick off Canada’s lineup in Osaka the week of April 22.

May 23-24, 2025
Confederation Centre for the Arts, Charlottetown PEI

Charlottetown Forum:
Poetic Respondent

Tanya will attend the panels and discussions taking place during the Forum, and craft and present a poetic response to the Forum’s themes at the closing reception.

Click here for tickets and more info.

June 15th, 2025 – 7:30pm
Fredericton, New Brunswick

Charlotte Street Arts Centre

Mass for Shut-Outs is a shout out to anyone grappling with the complexity of faith, the inconsistency of awe, and the politics of organized religion. Touring across Atlantic Canada in 2025, stay tuned for venues near you!

$20/$25
Click here for tickets

VIDEOS

How To Be Alone

How To Be At Home

The Web

Similar But Different

Doer

THEATRE

Mass For Shut Outs

Mass for Shut-Outs is a shout out to anyone grappling with the complexity of faith, the inconsistency of awe, and the politics of organized religion. Loosely referencing the framework of a Catholic mass, it is a poetic take on Sunday service, exploring enduring questions through a joyful, critical, and comedic lens. It is for atheists seeking connection, agnostics asking questions, and believers kindly curious about other people’s gods.

Seeker

Gallivanting around themes of connection and isolation, pointlessness and purpose, Seeker is an attempt to sift through the noise of ambition to find the nuance of being here in the first place. The latest work-in-progress by PEI Poet Laureate Tanya Davis, it is a candid and comedic commentary on the many ways we seek, the realities we find, and the truth we miss along the way.

With support from PEI Arts Grants

MUSIC

Visit tanyadavis.bandcamp.com to listen and download

I’d love to hear from you

info@tanyadavis.ca

Join me on Substack!

COMMISSIONS
coming soon