Writer, filmmaker, spoken word artist, and arts educator Liana Cusmano (Luca/BiCurious George) is a three-time Montreal Slam Champion and 2019 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship runner-up. Their novel Catch & Release (2022) was published by Guernica Editions. They are a two-time finalist for the QWF Spoken Word Prize and winner of the 2024 Society Pages Poetry Contest. They are also Fiction Editor at the literary journal carte blanche.
Liana’s work explores cultural heritage, sexual orientation and gender identity, queerness, interpersonal relationships, and mental illness. They are available to give readings of their poetry and prose, as well as to give writing workshops, focusing on both the writing and performance aspects of spoken word. They are also happy to participate in discussions and to answer questions on developing one’s craft as a writer; building a writing career in a way that is emotionally and financially responsible; and how to combine the personal and political in writing that is compelling and impactful without unduly capitalizing on traumatic experiences.
Liana is passionate about encouraging students to explore emotional or difficult themes in order to better understand themselves through their own writing, and to help them to identify the genre or form that best suits them.