About Greg Frankson a.k.a. Ritallin

Ritallin - the drug, the activist and the artist
the drug and its relevance to poetry 
the community social activist 
Ritallin (the Cerebral Stimulant) 

the drug and its relevance to poetry

Ritalin (Methylphenidate) is a central nervous system stimulant.  The purpose is to help the brain be more selective in the way it filters and responds to various stimuli.  It has effects similar to, but more potent than, caffeine and less potent than amphetamines.  It has a notably calming effect on hyperactive children and a "focusing" effect on those with ADHD.  Ritalin is used to treat narcolepsy, Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Greg chose the name Ritallin because the drug's effect is to stimulate the brain to concentrate better on the things that matter -- exactly the effect he is aiming for as a spoken word artist and social commentator.  It's a fitting metaphor for the words and works that are central to what he does as an artist and spoken word organizer.

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the community social activist

During six years as a student at Queen's University (1993-99), Greg was a vocal anti-racism activist and student leader before becoming the first Black person to serve a term as President of the Alma Mater Society, Canada's oldest university student government, in 1996-97.  He also chaired a student task force that successfully lobbied for a room to be named on campus after Robert Sutherland, the first known African-descended university graduate in Canada and the first Black person called to the bar of Upper Canada. 

Greg instructed a Canadian Black History course at St. Lawrence College in Brockville in the fall of 1997 and has participated in numerous anti-racism, diversity, multiculturalism and youth events over the years.  

 

Currently, Greg gives back as an active member of the Queen's University Alumni Association and as a board member for the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization (OCISO).  He has also provided diversity training services to the Ottawa Police Service and is the Spoken Word Curator for WESTFEST, the annual arts festival held in the Ottawa community of Westboro.

 

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Ritallin (the Cerebral Stimulant)

Greg debuted his Ritallin persona at an Ottawa spoken word event in summer 2003.  Since he began performing regularly in winter 2004, Ritallin has developed a reputation for delivering powerful poetry in a way that is lyrically appealing, widely accessible and unapologetically provocative in its socially conscious message.  Greg has always written about issues that matter, including social justice, racism, the plight of Afrikans across the Diaspora, and empowerment of the disenfranchised.

In October 2004, Ritallin represented Ottawa at the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics (now the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, or CFSW) and was a member of the festival's organizing committee.  Since then, some of Ritallin's accomplishments include:

Organizational

• Co-Founder of Capital Slam (with Elissa Molino), October 2004
• First Director of the award-winning Capital Poetry Collective, 2004-2006
• National Director of Spoken Word Canada, 2006-2008
• Founder of Cytopoetics, August 2007
• Initiator of the SLAMtario regional spoken word initiative, July 2008

Discography/Bibliography

• Executive producer, Live at Capital Slam 2005, released in September 2005 by vanörange records 
• EP recording Capital Thoughts released in December 2005 by vanörange records
• Debut collection of poems, Cerebral Stimulation, published in January 2006 by BeWrite Books
• Political poetic chapbook The Halifax Chronicles, self-published April 2006
• Executive producer, Live at Capital Slam 2006, released in September 2006 by vanörange records
• Appeared with Antizario on the track "Can You Feel It?" on group's debut CD It's Great to be Fine, released January 2007 
• Poetry chapbook Coast Poems, self-published April 2008
• Contributor to Mic Check: An Anthology of Canadian Spoken Word Poetry, edited by David Silverberg, published by Quattro Books in April 2008
• Appeared with M.O. on the track "Uncomfortable" on his CD  Eskimocentricity, released September 2009

Canadian Festival of Spoken Word

• 2004 Capital Slam Team member at inaugural festival (then referred to as the Canadian Spoken Wordlympics) in Ottawa
• 2005 Capital Slam Team Manager (team finished third in Canada at CFSW 2005 in Vancouver BC) 
• 2006 Capital Slam Team member (team finished fourth in Canada at CFSW 2006 in Toronto, Ontario)  
• Assisted in the organization of SpoCan related activities and administration of the national slam finals at CFSW 2007 in Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Assisted the Festival Organizing Committee as a member of the hosting team and as a workshop presenter at CFSW 2009 in Victoria BC

Other Notable Achievements

• Joined the roster for MASC, an arts education organization linking schools with artists in Ottawa-Gatineau and eastern Ontario, September 2006
• Appeared in Heard of Poets, a documentary by Ben Walker and Josh Massey, screened at the Ottawa International Writers' Festival, April 2007
• Named Poet Laureate for the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership, September 2007

Previously, Greg also appeared in the 1997 documentary The Fact of Blackness by Anna Laperle.

Ritallin has performed on both sides of the border where his creative services have been sought out by (among others): 

• Belleville Public Library
• Canadian Conference of the Arts
• Carleton University
• Council of Canadians
• District School Board of Niagara
• Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
• Georgetown University Center for Child & Human Development
• Greater Victoria School District (BC)
• Immigrant Women Services Ottawa
• International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL)
• Malaspina University-College (Nanaimo Campus)
• Mental Health Commission of Canada
• National Federation of Families For Children's Mental Health (Rockville MD)
• New Democratic Party of Canada
• Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group
• Ottawa Art Gallery
• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
• Ottawa Police Service
• Poetry Gabriola Society (Gabriola Island, BC)
• Queen's University 
• Quinte Arts Council
• St. John's NL Youth Services Centre
• STAND Canada (uOttawa & Carleton University Chapters)
• Tongues of Fire (Victoria BC)
• Vancouver Poetry House
• YMCA-YWCA National Capital Region
• York Region District School Board
• Youth M.O.V.E. (Motivating Others through Voices of Experience) - USA

Ritallin is working to complete a full-length recording and a few collaborative projects with other poets and musicians, including guest appearances on a couple of upcoming CDs from other talented artists.  He also plans to visit more venues, schools, businesses, organizations and communities across North America and around the world to spread his message to as many people as possible. 

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