Kevin Andrew Heslop (b. 1992, Canada) is a theatre-trained poet. He works in film & television. Say hi!
“If there is a greater humanity to be pursued than the one contained in this moving and profound book, I haven’t seen it.” - Dr. Joel Faflak, FRSC
Robert and Ruth Lumsden Professor
Department of English, UWO
"Like Charon escorting us between the realms, here Kevin Heslop is our generous guide, ensuring that our thinking is lacking in neither breadth nor depth—an antidote to absolutism." - Ben Robinson, author of As Is and The Book of Benjamin
“The Writing on the Wind's Wall is a gift of essential and diverse voices on the subject of MAiD.” - David Diamond, Retired Artistic Director of Theatre for Living
"In the black-and-white polarized debate on MAiD, through coverage ranging from the matter-of-fact to the metaphysical, this book invites an experiential reflection on the greys."
- Dr. Madeline Li, Professor of Psychiatry, University Health Network
Clinician scientist in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Princess Margaret Hospital
"The Writing on the Wind's Wall compassionately engages the challenging topic of euthanasia and the sociopolitical realities that inform it. Heslop is gifted at holding space for a diversity of voices, bearing witness to the struggle and humanity in each." - Jennifer Chesnut, Environmental Educator
Forthcoming with Guernica Editions February 6, 2026. The Appetizer Edition is here.
A few of the short films adapting the words of prominent poets to the screen Heslop produced, directed, and, in 2023, founded Astoria Pictures to distribute.
Published by Gordon Hill Press, Fall 2021. 2nd printing, 2023. 3rd, 2025. PDF.
Reviews with the League of Canadian Poets, rob mclennan, and Prism Magazine.
First apprenticed to drummers (Douglas & LaRose), Heslop (b. 1992) released a poetry debut hailed as "among the most promising poetic projects to come out of Canada in recent years" (Johnstone), a "sublime poetic debut" (Lockhart) "read with admiration" (Coetzee), "a gestalt of what it can assimilate" (Crymble) "bursting from the pages in an oceanic radicalization of empathy, grief and utter fucking joy in livingness and language" (Bennett) "no poetry lover should be without" (Paré).
On scholarship to Western University, Heslop intensively studied theatre (Watson, Kidnie, Devereaux) in Stratford, Ontario and Stratford-upon-Avon, appearing briefly on stage at the Globe Theatre and in local productions as Creon in Sophocles' Antigone, Katherine Minola in Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and, before leaving university without a diploma, Rabbi Saul Mortera in David Ives' New Jerusalem.
With six-figure support from municipal, provincial, and federal arts councils, he directed and produced thirteen short films; curated two local arts event-series; installed one group and three duo art shows; published poetry, flash fiction, screenplay, monologues, dialogues, and art criticism with ten dozen outlets in print, on radio, and online; won prizes with The League of Canadian Poets and some twenty film festivals around the world; and lived at ten artist residencies on five continents while recording three books of conversation—The Writing on the Wind’s Wall: Dialogue about Medical Assistance in Dying; and Craft, Consciousness: Dialogues about the Arts (Volumes One and Two)—forthcoming in 2026, 2027, and 2028 with Guernica Editions (founded in Montréal in 1978 “to publish books that address social justice issues, discover and cultivate our innate humanity, and transcend individual cultures and nations”).
In 2025, Heslop made his home while in residence with Teat(r)o Oficina in São Paulo, Brazil, training under Mateus Filellini of Rolling Jiu-Jitsu Academy and Mário Henrique of the Maharishi European Research University. His current creative work includes a debut television series, Death Doctor (Astoria Pictures, 2026); a poetry collection, here lies the refugee breather who drank a bowl of elsewhere (Biblioasis, 2027); a debut feature film (with Teat(r)o Oficina); research on a sophomore television series; and English-Danish translations of his ancestor and the 'father of the Danish lyric poem,' Ambrosius Stub.
In harmony with his work in the arts and culture sector, as a creative consultant and venture capitalist Heslop supports select companies (like Revolve Surgical) whose mission is to reduce suffering.
Portrait by Douglas Nascimento at Kaaysá, Boiçucanga, Brazil, March, '24.