“The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through vast forests, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place.”
- James Baldwin
PAGES matam (They/He), is a genderqueer polyglot from Cameroon, Central Africa who blossomed in the DMV (not where you get your license, but DC, Murr’land & VA - Piscataway land). A fried plantains connoisseur, pleasure advocate and battle-horror anime fanatic, their background in poetry and spoken word has given them tools to grow into an agent of imagination as a med-school dropout turned award-winning, multidisciplinary artist and Drama TV/Film writer. PAGES employs elements of Central-African storytelling, folklore and their immigrant experience to tell dynamic stories in a poetic and magically surrealist way. Their work in poetry & screenwriting is guided by Toni Morrison’s words: “the function of freedom is to free someone else” informed from a lens of Black Queer liberation. PAGES is a National Poetry Slam Champion, Callaloo fellow, NFHA Cultural Ambassador, a Google x The Guardian 2020 Rising Voices, recipient of DC Commission of Arts & Humanities fellowships, and currently works as a Lead Story Expert & script consultant at The Professional Pen. Additionally, they hold multiple screenwriting fellowships with: Amy Aniobi's TRIBE writers program by SUPER SPECIAL, Writers Discovery with Circle of Confusion, and Artist DISRUPTORS with the Center for Cultural Power.
PAGES MATAM HAS WORK IN THE FIELD OF: Poetry & Spokenword, Screenwriting, Script Consulting, Hosting & Performance, Sensitivity Readings, Cultural Competency workshops, Creative Director, Editor, Educational Workshops.
