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When meeting Svens Telemaque, one could not guess the difficult past of the 33-year-old man. The artist, who is distinguished by his achievements, nevertheless had a particularly arduous and traumatic start to his life. Not only did he make a 180-degree turn as an adult, but he is now inspiring young people to reach their full potential and pursue their ambitions. We reached him at home, in Montreal, after speaking on a panel he was moderating.
You wear several hats on a daily basis. What are they?
I am an author, a speaker and an artist from Spoken Word. My first book is a poetry collection, and I am currently working on a second, a memoir. As a speaker, I am mainly dedicated to the emancipation and personal development of young people. I have a series of workshops on these themes called Broken Cencils Still Color.
I have organized them all over the United States, Canada, in indigenous communities like that of Waswanipi, in particular with the Cree Nations, in Morocco, the Bahamas and in Haiti — in juvenile detention centers, high schools, universities. I am a co-founder of Laughs Allow, which is a platform for Spoken Word which has existed for nine years.
I am also the coordinator of Union United Church. During COVID, I am responsible for the food bank that we have, and also our program for seniors. I am also in the army as a reservist, and I am studying theology at Concordia. My goal is to become a chaplain.
How did your career develop?
I was born here in Montreal but grew up in Miami. I was in an environment that was really ideal for me to fail. I had a lot of self-esteem issues and because of these issues I was trying to fill a void, to fuel my ego. I have become a product of my environment. I started doing credit card fraud at 13; I started selling crack cocaine at 16. I have been arrested six times, I have spent several weeks in prison. I pretended to be able to handle that.
When I was young, it made me feel like a tough guy. When I was arrested last time because of a gun, I wanted to never go back. People tried to kill me, I was almost kidnapped, I was attacked, my guns were pointed at. I expected bad things to happen to me. What I was not prepared for was the suffering of the people who bought from me. At the time, I put money before people, and even before myself. I was taking a lot of risks: losing my life, ending up in prison.
My objective was money. Today, it is the opposite.
Broken colored pencils can still color. Different events can break us down, but that doesn't stop us from manifesting ourselves in our communities, our society, and ultimately around the world with our own wealth. I want to show coloring with this unique character.
Svens Telemaque
How did you decide to change course and do something else with your life?
I really liked the music. At that time I was rapping. There was an open mic, and the person who was holding it took me under his wing. He was actually a very popular comedian. He was trying to get me to let go, because he had already gone to prison for drug trafficking. So I couldn't have drugs on me when I was with him. It made me discover another world, that of entertainment. He taught me how to promote shows and stuff like that. It was the first time I started making money legally.
It made me see things differently. I was robbed, and the car thief almost died. It made me realize that my environment was only conducive to my failure. So I left. I arrived in Montreal and started from scratch at the age of 20. At first I couldn't find my place. I had a job, but I was not happy.
I went back to school, but I kept failing. I came across the profession of lecturer in schools by chance, following a meeting. I thought about my story and the treasures that were there.
Why did you want to share your story with young people?
I realized that the problem wasn't being black, being poor, or even living in the ghetto. It was a question of ego. It was a question of self-esteem. Everyone has vulnerabilities. If you don't talk to people when they're young, they end up turning to things that make them feel loved.
In my case, I think that if I had had someone talk to me like this at that age, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.How can you become something you can't see?
We need reference points. You have to give it to young people, to give them the support they need to do what they want to do. I want young people to have more options, and to realize the options they have. I also hope that they will be better educated financially and in other areas that interest them. This will benefit them and allow them to move the next generation forward.