2016 celebrating diverse authors and stories in historic downtown brampton
Festival Program Guide // May 6–8
thefoldcanada.org
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Table of Contents
Welcome Messages
Jael Richardson Linda Jeffrey Ruby Sahota
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M e s s a g e fr om t he Art is t ic Dir e c t or M ESSAGE F R O M T he M A Y O R M ESSAGE F R O M t he M P B R A M PTON N O R TH
Events + Participants
8 v e n u e m a p Friday, May 6 9 s c h e du le Saturday, May 7 1 0 s c h e du le Sunday, May 8 1 2 s c h e du le 14 p R ESE N TER Phot os 16 PR ESE N TER B ios
Collected Articles Jon Chan Simpson 18 Publishing My First (Diverse) Book Ayelet Tsabari 20 My Year of Reading Only Writers of Colour Chase Joynt 24 Post-Transition: Who We Might Be Helen Humphreys 26 An Interview with Helen Humphreys Brian Francis 29 On Agent Queries Cherie Dimaline 30 Resisting, One Story at a Time Vivek Shraya 32 Queer 1998: On Beginnings Sabrina Ramnanan 34 Q&A with Sabrina Ramnanan Eden Eyasu 38 A Curse and a Blessing
CONGRATULATIONS
On Your Inaugural Festival!
www.quillandquire.com Canada’s magazine of book news and reviews
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STAFF
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Artistic Director
CHAIR //
Jael Richardson
Communications and Development Coordinator
Amanda Leduc
Marketing and Programming Assistant (Intern)
Léonicka Valcius
VICE-CHAIR //
Marina Willats
TREASURER //
Jeff Luddington
SECRETARY //
Jael Richardson
Jasmine Danial
DIRECTOR //
Mark Richardson
Marketing and Production Assistant (Intern)
DIRECTOR //
Karen Mason
VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
PLANNING COMMITTEE
Monika Tzeciakowski
Cat Belshaw
Cat Belshaw Megan Lambe Amanda Leduc Jael Richardson Karen Mason Léonicka Valcius
Graphic Designer
Kilby Smith-McGregor
Web Designer
Rizwan Choudhary
Lawyer
Tyler Inkster
Festival Advisors
Merilyn Simonds Kelly Stahl
Accountant
Elvis Fraiser
Downtown Brampton photo provided by Andre von Nickisch-Rosenegk, VNR Photography.
Sponsors & Partners PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
COMMUNITY PARTNERS Brampton Library Peel art Gallery, Museum + Archives Downtown Brampton BIA Peel Aboriginal Network Regional Diversity Roundtable (Peel)
PARTNERS
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Booklore Brick Magazine Broken Pencil Magazine Dundurn Press ECW Press Humber Literary Review
Little Fiction | Big Truths The New Quarterly Ontario Book Publishers Organization Open Book: Ontario Open Minds Quarterly Plenitude Magazine PEN Canada Room Magazine Shameless Magazine TagTV The Walrus Wild Writers Literary Festival The Writers’ Union of Canada
Message from the Artistic Director Jael Richardson
Welcome to the Festival of Literary Diversity! Two years ago plans for Canada’s first festival for diverse books started to take shape in a coffee shop in downtown Brampton. It started with an idea – a need that stemmed from a hunger for more diversity in literary festivals. Since then it has turned into what one publication recently called “the festival everyone is talking about”. We are so grateful for what this means, not only for us as organizers, but for our authors. People want more diversity in the books they see in bookstores, libraries, schools, and festivals. Hallelujah – the FOLD is here! Over the past year, provincial and municipal organizations, Canadian publishers, industry professionals, local companies, and community partners have stepped up to bring nearly forty authors and performers to Brampton, delivering more than thirty sessions and events that showcase diverse Canadian literary talent and provide training for emerging writers. We are grateful to be able to provide a space for great authors to talk about writing. Whether those conversations address diversity head-on like our session on disability and exclusion or diversity in publishing, or whether those discussions are more focused on craft and plot themes, we hope that guests will experience the rich complexity of diverse Canadian voices. We hope that you will enjoy the city, that you will follow and support the FOLD on social media, and that you will make plans to come back and enjoy the event next year. Sincerely,
Jael Richardson, Artistic Director The Festival of Literary Diversity
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Edward Moffat Photography
Explore and engage with Brampton’s Arts and Culture scene. Take a workshop with beaux-arts brampton, hop over to the Art Gallery and exhibits of PAMA for some inspiration, and showcase your abilities in the live competitive setting of Art Battle. beaux-artsbrampton.com pama.peelregion.ca artbattle.com
James Flux
Climb amongst the trees and zip-line over Heart Lake at Treetop Trekking. Take aim at your friends and foes at Battle Archery or test your wit at Perplexity Escape Games. treetoptrekking.com battlearchery.com perplexity.ca
What’s your pleasure? To plan your visit, explore tourismbrampton.ca or pick up the interest-based 2016 Brampton Visitor Guide.
T o u r i s m B r a m p t o n . c a
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Dear friends,
April 13, 2016
It gives me great pleasure to welcome all the attendees of the �irst Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) to Brampton. It is exciting to see the activities included in this Festival, ranging from workshops for educators to sessions for high school students to the impressive line-up of award winning authors and performers.
This festival will provide a much needed platform to celebrate literature that re�lects and honours the diversity in our culture, religion and gender. It is educational and fun to hear stories from people that come from different backgrounds or have different ideas. Brampton is the perfect place to host this festival, as diversity and talent are the most prominent strengths of our city.
On behalf of the City of Brampton and all our residents, I want to thank you for giving us the chance to host and for sharing the literary wealth with us. A special thank you to all the volunteers for FOLD. I would also like to congratulate all the local talent that will be participating. We wish you success. Sincerely,
Linda Jeffrey Mayor
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Innovation Zone Please proceed with great ideas! Get hands-on and creative with cool tech and expert guidance. Programs include: 3D printing, Tech Talks and other interactive STEM learning for all ages, plus special events and networking. Join our mailing list at
16-0361
www.brampton.ca/makerspace
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Venue Map
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Main Venues 1.
Peel Art Gallery + Museum Archives (PAMA)
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9 Wellington St E
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2. Central Public School
24 Alexander St
Feature Event Venues 3. City Hall
2 Wellington St W
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1 6
Subdivided
4. Garden Square
1 Theatre Lane
Spoken Word Showcase
5. The Golden Stool
21 Nelson St W
Little Fiction. Big Truth.
6. St. Paul’s United Church
30 Main St S
Diverse Can Lit Writers’ Hub The Last Lecture
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Family Track Library Venues
(outside central map area)
South Fletcher’s
500 Ray Lawson Blvd Mount Pleasant
100 Commuter Drive
Gore Meadows
10150 Gore Rd
Schedule Overview Friday, May 6 CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOL MULTIPURPOSE ROOM
CENTRAL PUBLIC SCHOOL AUDITORIUM
Educator Workshop
Presentation
THE POWER OF THE PEN 9:00– 10:20am
Eritrean poet, journalist and fiction writer Eden Eyasu chronicled the spread of HIV/AIDS in Eritrea and the impact of the border war with Ethiopia. Some of her colleagues were imprisoned. Some are presumed dead. As part of PEN Canada’s Writer in Exile program, Eyasu shares her story and the challenges of re-settling in Canada.
9:00am–2:30pm
Workshop
TEACHING THE SPOKEN WORD Author and spoken word artist Dwayne Morgan leads teachers in a workshop designed to empower educators to incorporate performance poetry in the classroom.
Performance
THE SPOKEN WORD 11:00– 12:20pm
Spoken Word team, The Unchartered, present performance poetry collectively and as individual artists, fielding questions from the audience and spoken word artist Queen Lamoi – covering topics from the creation of new work to performance strategies.
Workshop
Lunch & Learn
with editor
Janice Zawerbny
House of Anansi editor Janice Zawerbny provides tips and tools for developing writers through the editing process. Teachers will learn how to shape writers through multiple drafts and how to foster the creative spirit through the written word.
Panel
1:00– 2:20pm
FIRST BOOK CLUB
Panel
From novel, to graphic novel, to non-fiction, and covering topics that range from Caribbean family dynamics, to systemic injustice in the Aboriginal community, to transgender politics, this diverse group of Canadian authors discusses the process of developing and publishing first novels. Featuring Sabrina Ramnanan, Patti Laboucane-Benson, Chase Joynt, and Melanie Mah and hosted by author and pop culture enthusiast Dalton Higgins.
Authors Waubgeshig Rice, Farzana Doctor, Helen Humphreys, and Heather O’Neill reflect on the stories that shaped them growing up and the educators who have contributed to their character on a panel designed to get educators dreaming about new ways to shape diverse the diverse readers and writer of tomorrow. In conversation with Angela Misri, authors share the important role of education in the development of their writing.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Feature Event
Subdivided:
City-Building with a Global Perspective City Hall (Main Atrium)
8:00– 10:00pm
Four compelling city builders propose solutions for fully inclusive communities that respond to the complexities of a truly global city. Presenting from their writing in the anthology Subdivided: City-Building in an Age of Hyper-diversity, co-editor Jay Pitter and contributing writers Ian Kamau, Eric Mann and Noreen Ahmed-Ullah discuss how regions would function if decision-makers genuinely accounted for race, ethnicity, and class when confronting issues such as transit, arts funding, and public space. Q&A moderated by co-editor John Lorinc.
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Saturday, May 7 PAMA – Courtroom
PAMA – council chambers
PAMA – studio 2 Feature Event
YOGA LIVE
Join us for yang yin yoga. Spend some time with gentle stretching to the acoustic sounds of a live musician. This event is suitable for beginner or advanced yogis. Bring your own mat!
8:00– 9:00am
Panel
Workshop
How does faith influence the creation and the shape of our stories? Do traditions and beliefs inspire or inhibit the words that arrive on the page? Canadian authors Vivek Shraya, Zarqa Nawaz, Ayelet Tsabari, and Cherie Dimaline discuss the development of plot, character, and stories and the inspiration behind them with Eufemia Fantetti.
How do emerging writers navigate the publishing industry? Is it better to have an agent? To self-publish? Is using social media and developing a website really important? Quill & Quire’s “Ask the Agony Editor” Brian Francis shares tips, tricks, and an insider’s peek into the world of Canadian publishing.
Panel
Panel
Workshop
How do the characters on the page arrive in the hearts and minds of the authors who create them? Join a star-studded cast of short fiction writers and novelists in a discussion about developing characters who live beyond the page. Featuring Canadian authors Samuel Archibald, Heather O’Neill, Waubgeshig Rice, and Helen Humphreys in conversation with Aga Maksimowska.
ON DISABILITY + EXCLUSION
FAITH AND FICTION
9:30– 10:50am
POWERFUL PROTAGONISTS
11:00– 12:20pm
12:30– 1:30pm
FOLD founder Jael Richardson and author Dorothy Ellen Palmer discuss the topic of diversity as it relates to marginalized lives and bodies, exploring the notion of diversity as a “work in progress”. In a candid discussion on exclusion, moderated by Amanda Leduc, this session addresses the complex factors that often exclude seniors and the disabled.
Panel
Presentation
Trans writer and social activist Chase Joynt and multi-disciplinary artist and LGBTQ activist Vivek Shraya sit down with author and journalist Zoe Whittall to explore the role that art and artistic expression play in transforming the way we relate to one another. Covering genres like music, poetry, fiction, and film, Joynt and Shraya explore the power of words in breaking down boxes that confine.
In an age of social media and digital communication, marketers are learning to communicate in a whole new way – and they’re taking those lessons from the world of politics. Using current events as a backdrop for discussion, Clive Veroni reveals how advertisers are adopting political campaign strategies in an attempt to manipulate and influence consumers – and why consumers should care.
SPIN With Clive Veroni
Family Track
Brampton Library
Join us at the Brampton Library for a special family program that highlights diverse storytellers. South Fletcher’s – 11:00am Gore Meadows – 2:00pm Mount Pleasant – 2:00pm
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Sponsored by ECW Press.
WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION “Creative non-fiction tells factual stories in a literary style.” Join prizewinning author Ayelet Tsabari as she teaches writers how to create true stories that are noteworthy and compelling. This workshop is designed for writers interested in writing nonfiction stories or essays, biography, and family memoirs.
Break // book signing
DEFYING BOUNDARIES
1:30– 3:00pm
Diverse Bodies:
PUBLISHING 101
Workshop
WRITING YA How do you write a book for young audience? How do you develop a series? Led by Angela Misri, author of The Portia Adams Adventure Series, this workshop will explore point of view, plot, pacing, character development and structure. Misri will provide tips on how to take an idea from the development stages to a single book or series.
Family Track
Pama
Calling all kids! Sat, may 7 + Sun, May 8
From 1:30pm–4:30pm come and make your very own Pop-up Book inspired by our exhibition Fabulous Fictions & Peculiar Practices.
Saturday, May 7 PAMA – Courtroom
PAMA – council chambers
Panel
Panel
This exciting panel of voices explores the influence of music and culture on youth. Authors Carrianne Leung, Melanie Mah, and Dalton Higgins, in conversation with writer and college professor Jennifer Chambers, discuss working with and writing about a younger generation – about the topics and adversity they explore in their recent work and the strategies they use to connect and communicate the complexities of a dynamic, youth culture.
From acquisition to acquired reading, industry professionals Anita Chong, Barbara Howson, Rachel Thompson, Bianca Spence, and Susan Travis discuss ways to improve access to diverse, Canadian stories at home and beyond Canadian borders. Animated by Léonicka Valcius, this session is designed for industry professionals and will feature a roundtable discussion followed by a Q&A that focuses on foward-thinking strategies for enhancing Canada’s publishing industry.
GROWING PAINS
3:00– 4:20pm
PUBLISHING (MORE) DIVERSE STORIES
Sponsored by the Ontario Media Development Corporation in partnership with the Ontario Book Publishers Organization.
4:30– 5:30pm
Break // book signing Feature Event
THE Writer’s Court
5:30– 6:50pm
Find out what it takes to catch the eye (and ear) of industry professionals in this live slush pile event. What does it take to keep an editor or an agent reading? Watch as industry professionals listen to emerging authors reading the first pages of an unpublished manuscript. Find out just what it takes to make a big impression in the must-see event of the festival, featuring PS Literary Agent Carly Watters, House of Anansi Fiction Editor Janice Zawerbny, Scholastic Book Buyer Léonicka Valcius, and Little Fiction | Big Truth Publisher Troy Palmer as judges, and moderated by author and pop-culture enthusiast Dalton Higgins. Sponsored by Kobo Writing Life.
Feature Event
Spoken Word Showcase Garden Square 7:30– 8:50pm
Spoken Word artists Dwayne Morgan, Britta B, Truth Is..., Paulina O’Kieffe, and Chris Tse take to the stage at downtown Brampton’s Garden Square in an outdoor presentation of poetry unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Watch these masters of metaphor deliver performances that will shatter and shake the way you see the world.
Networking Event
LITTLE FICTION. BIG TRUTHS. The Golden Stool 9:00– 11:00pm
Join visiting and local writers at a local pub. Exchange true writing tales or mix in a little bit of fiction with the organizers from online publisher Little Fiction | Big Truths. Special reading by Jon Chan Simpson. This is a 19 and over event.
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Sunday, May 8 Feature Event
A LITTLE MOSQUE on the prairie breakfast Pama Council Chambers
Enjoy a delicious Middle Eastern breakfast over an episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie with best-selling author and series creator Zarqa Nawaz as she shares about the development of the show and the creation of her memoir Laughing All the Way to the Mosque. Find out about the impact the show and her writing are having on communities around the world as we delve into topics that include funny women, islamophobia, and writing comedy. Can comedy change a culture? Can diverse television series impact big problems like racism and cultural prejudice? Feed your mind, belly and soul at this one-of-a-kind event.
10:00– 11:50am
PAMA – COURTROOM Panel
FROM THE HEADLINES
12:00– 1:20pm
Pulling from the stories and events that have inspired their most recent work, Canadian authors Farzana Doctor, Jay Pitter, Chase Joynt, and Patti Laboucane-Benson discuss how politics shape the creation of stories with author Karen Connelly. How do writers shape “truth� into stories? Can writing inspire action and impact policy and change? Panel
TALK TO ME
1:30– 2:50pm
Four engaging authors discuss the role of language and dialogue in the creation of compelling Canadian stories. How do dialect, linguistics, and translation impact the writing (and reading) of stories? Cherie Dimaline, Samuel Archibald, Carrianne Leung, and Sabrina Ramnanan chat with Rashi Khilnani about the language and dialogue that define their characters and stories.
PAMA – LIBRARY Youth Writing Workshop
DEAR FUTURE
Shameless Magazine Editor Sheila Sampath leads students in writing exercises designed to help young writers convey the challenges of the present and the possibilities for what lies ahead in writing.
PAMA – Studio 2 Workshop
WRITING MENTAL HEALTH & DEMENTIA Inkwell Workshops co-creator Eufemia Fantetti leads writers in a workshop designed to help writers convey powerful stories about one of our most vulnerable populations.
organization Meeting
presentation
Sankofa’s Pen (formerly known as African-Canadian Writers for Children and Young Adults, ACWCYA) is a co-operative supports writers and illustrators of African or Caribbean descent and paves a way of opportunity for Black writers and illustrators for children and young adults. New members welcome.
A workshop for educators, librarians and parents looking for stories by and about diverse, Canadian authors. Covering children’s lit to middle readers/YA.
SANKOFA’S PEN
OTHER
DIVERSE KID LIT
Family Track
Pama
Calling all kids! Sat, may 7 + Sun, May 8
From 1:30pm–4:30pm come and make your very own Pop-up Book inspired by our exhibition Fabulous Fictions & Peculiar Practices.
Presentation
PAMA Presents Leon Rooke Tony Calzetta, a visual artist, asked his friend Leon Rooke, a writer, to collaborate on book. The twist: instead of the usual practice of the artist illustrating the writer’s words, they would do it the other way around. After reading Leon’s texts, Tony suggested they could do something more original than simply a book with pictures. Join Leon Rooke for a reading in the PAMA Art Gallery where the exhibit is on display.
ECW Press is a proud sponsor of the Festival of Literary Diversity. "! " " " " " " " "! ""
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Sunday, May 8 Diverse Can Lit Writers’ Hub 2:00pm–4:00pm
St. Paul’s United Church – Sanderson Hall
The Diverse Can Lit Writers’ Hub is a FREE event on Sunday, May 8 from 2-4pm where writers can meet publishers who are actively seeking diverse stories and voices (short fiction, fiction, nonfiction, plus short-form stories and articles for magazines). Exhibitors at The Diverse Can Lit Writers’ Hub either have an open submission policy or a specific submission deadline coming up in which diverse voices are not only welcome but encouraged. This is a space for writers of colour and writers from marginalized communities, in particular.
list of exhibitors CBC Books
Little Fiction | Big Truths
Coach House Books
Second Story Press
Diaspora Dialogues
The New Quarterly
Dundurn Press
Plenitude
ECW Press
Room Magazine
GMJ Creative Hands
The Walrus
The Humber Literary Review
The Writers’ Union of Canada
James Lorimer & Company
University of Guelph MFA in Creative Writing
Kobo Writing Life
Feature Event
THE LAST LECTURE
St. Paul’s United church
4:00– 5:30pm
with
LAWRENCE HILL
Internationally acclaimed and prize winning author Lawrence Hill reads from his current book, The Illegal, and discusses the important role stories play in the lives of those who are marginalized and disenfranchised with a focus on the current global refugee crisis. This feature event includes a reading, presentation and interview conducted by Farzana Doctor. It will be followed by a book signing. Special spoken word performance by local artist Alyestal Hamilton. Bonus:
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Authors and Performers Noreen Ahmed-Ullah
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Samuel Archibald
Britta Badour
Patrick de Belen
Cherie Dimaline
Farzana Doctor
Eden Eyasu
Eufemia Fantetti
Brian Francis
Dalton Higgins
Lawrence Hill
Helen Humphreys
Chase Joynt
Ian Kamau
Patti LaBoucaneBenson
Carrianne Leung
Melanie Mah
Eric Mann
Angela Misri
Dwayne Morgan
Zarqa Nawaz
Paulina O’Kieffe
Heather O’Neill
Dorothy Palmer
Jay Pitter
Sabrina Ramnanan
Waubgeshig Rice
Leon Rooke
Sheila Sampath
Vivek Shraya
Jon Chan Simpson
Truth Is...
Ayelet Tsabari
Chris Tse
Clive Veroni
Patrick Walters
Joshua Watkis
We are the
industry professionals Anita Chong
Barbara Howson
Troy Palmer
Bianca Spence
Rachel Thompson
Susan Travis
Carly Watters
LĂŠonicka Valcius
Janice Zawerbny
Moderators and hosts Jennifer Chambers
Karen Connelly
Rashi Khilnani
Megan Lambe
Amanda Leduc
John Lorinc
Aga Maksimowska
Jael Richardson
Lamoi Simmonds
Zoe Whittall
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AUTHORS AND PERFORMERS Noreen Ahmed-Ullah teaches Journalism at Centennial College, works in Media Relations at the University of Toronto, and recently reported on a National Post piece exploring the lives of Indigenous teen-aged girls in Winnipeg. She was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune for 15 years where she traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan following 9/11; she reported on Muslims in North America, wrote about gentrification and urban development, and Chicago Public Schools. She now calls Brampton home. Twitter: @nahmedullah. Samuel Archibald’s debut collection of short fiction, Arvida (Éditions Le Quartanier, 2011), won Quebec’s Prix Des Libraries 2012 and Prix Coup de Coeur Renaud-Bray 2012. He currently teaches contemporary popular culture at the University of Quebec in Montreal, where he lectures on subjects including fiction, horror movies, and video games. Twitter: @ArvidaMan. Britta Badour is a spoken word artist who performs nationwide under the moniker Britta B. In 2016, she was selected as an ArtistIn-Residence for The Power Plant Power Youth Program, mentoring youth in Regent Park through artistic engagement with an emphasis on community collaboration. Britta is a lead cast member in the musical and award winning documentary, The Journey, a film based on the revitalization of Regent Park. Twitter: @missbrittab. Patrick de Belen is an educator, speaker, and award-winning spoken word artist. His spoken word has won him a national championship, earned him the title of inaugural Youth Poet of Honour of Canada and provided the opportunity to perform across North America. Off stage, he spends his time in mentorship and leadership, encouraging youth to use storytelling to spark dialogue and to discover the power of their voices. Twitter: @Patrick_deBelen Cherie Dimaline is a member of the Georgian Bay Métis Community in Ontario. Her award-winning debut novel, Red Rooms, was published in 2007. Her 2013 novel ‘The Girl Who Grew a Galaxy’ was shortlisted for the Burt Award for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Literature. Named Ontario Emerging Artist of the Year for the 2014 Premier’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, she was also the first Aboriginal Writer in Residence for the Toronto Public Library. Her new fiction collection is A Gentle Habit. Twitter: @writeoncherie. Farzana Doctor is the award-winning author of three novels: Stealing Nasreen, Six Metres of Pavement and All Inclusive. Farzana was named one of CBC Books’ “Ten Canadian Women Writers You Need to Read Now” (2012), was Voted Best Author in NOW Magazine’s 2015 Best of Toronto Readers’ Choice Poll. Twitter: @FarzanaDoctor. Eden Eyasu is an Eritrean writer and journalist who has worked for both print and online media. The political situation in Eritrea prompted her to address issues related to constitutional governance and freedom of expression, but Eden utilizes a variety of mediums to communicate stories. In 2015, she served as George Brown College’s Writer-in-Residence. Eufemia Fantetti’s short fiction collection, A Recipe for Disaster & Other Unlikely Tales of Love, was runner up for the 2013 Danuta Gleed Literary Award and won the 2014 Bressani Prize. Her work has been published in various anthologies including Conspicuous Accents, Emails from India, and Fish 2012. Twitter: @EufemiaFantetti. Brian Francis’s most recent novel, Natural Order, was selected by the Toronto Star and Kobo as a Best Book of 2011. His first novel, Fruit, was a 2009 Canada Reads finalist. He teaches creative writing as part of IFOA and writes a monthly advice column, “Ask the Agony Editor,” for Quill and Quire magazine. Twitter: @briantfrancis Dalton Higgins is an author, publicist and live music presenter whose six books and 500+ concert presentations have taken him to Denmark, France, Curacao, Australia, Germany, Colombia, England, Spain, Cuba and throughout the United States. His biography of rapper Drake, Far From Over, is carried in Cleveland’s Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame & Museum collection, and his Hip Hop World title is carried in Harvard University’s hip hop archive. His latest book is Rap N’ Roll. Twitter: @daltonhiggins5
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Lawrence Hill is the author of ten books, including The Illegal and The Book of Negroes. He is the recipient of various awards including The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He is a two-time winner of CBC’s Canada Reads. He is currently working on a new novel, as well as a screenplay adaptation of The Illegal. In 2015, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, received the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media: The Pierre Berton Award, and was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Helen Humphreys’s memoir Nocturne was nominated for the Trillium Book Award and the BC National Award for Canadian NonFiction. The Reinvention of Love was a national bestseller; Coventry was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year, and a finalist for the Trillium Book Award. Humphreys won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize for Afterimage and the Toronto Book Award for Leaving Earth. She is the recipient of the Harbourfront Festival Prize for literary excellence. Truth Is… has headlined conferences focused on social equity, gender equality, labour safety and youth motivation. Truth is… is co-director of Guelph Spoken Word and has also been named on Guelph’s Top 40 under 40. Truth is… is a multiple time individual slam champion, and a 9x national spoken word team member. In addition to slams and feature performances, Truth Is… has opened for HipHop idol K-OS and activist Angela Davis. Twitter: @truthisellipsis Chase Joynt co-authored the 2016 title You Only Live Twice. Joynt is a moving-image artist and writer whose work utilizes strategies of first person engagement to interrogate representations of gender and violence. Recently awarded the EP Canada/Canada Film Capital Award for Emerging Canadian Artist and jury awards for Best Documentary and Best Short, Chase’s work continues to be exhibited internationally. Twitter: @chasejoynt Ian Kamau is an artist, writer and performer from Toronto. He is currently a Masters student in York University’s Environmental Studies program and a writer in residence at The Theatre Centre. Ian has several music releases including his most recent, One Day Soon (2011) as well as publishing work with Vice Magazine and two anthologies of poetry. Twitter: @iankamau Patti LaBoucane-Benson is a Métis woman and the Director of Research, Training, and Communication at Native Counselling Services of Alberta (NCSA). She has a Ph.D. in Human Ecology, focusing on Aboriginal Family Resilience. Her doctoral research explored how providing historic trauma healing programs for Aboriginal offenders builds resilience in Aboriginal families and communities. Twitter: @PALB2011 Carrianne Leung is a fiction writer and educator. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Equity Studies from OISE/University of Toronto and works at OCAD University. Her debut novel, The Wondrous Woo was shortlisted for the 2014 Toronto Book Awards. She is currently working on a collection of short stories titled, That Time I Loved You. Twitter: @kayee13 Melanie Mah holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, and is the author of The Sweetest One, a novel forthcoming in spring 2016 by Cormorant Books. She now calls Toronto home. Twitter: @lemonyhams Eric Mann is an Architect and Urban Planner at DIALOG Inc., a Toronto-based integrated design firm active in Canada and abroad. With a commitment to the sustainable growth of cities, Eric applies an integrated approach to his design and writing. Recent work includes project management for the master planning and design of new mixed-income, mixed-use communities, as well as urban planning of LRT transit corridors in Ontario and Alberta. Angela Misri’s life changed at a school assembly when her principal let her know that her poem had been selected for publication. She discovered that despite being of Indian descent, there were in fact other options for your life’s work than medicine or engineering. There was the world of writing. Portia Adams became her homage to her favourite detectives, and she wrote 12 casebooks about the detective in three years. Twitter: @karmicangel Dwayne Morgan founded Up From The Roots entertainment in 1994 to promote the positive artistic contributions of African Canadian and urban influenced artists. He has received the Renaissance Planet Africa Award for Career Achievement, the African Canadian Achievement Award, the Harry Jerome Award for Excellence in the Arts, and has been acknowledged by the Ontario Black History Society as a Community Trailblazer. He has published 8 books, most recently a children’s book, Before I was Born. Twitter: @dwayne_morgan Zarqa Nawaz is the creator of CBC’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, which ran for six seasons and was watched in over sixty countries. She has spent much of the past six years writing comedy pilots for major networks, and touring the world as a sought-after public speaker. She has been interviewed or profiled by CNN, the BBC, The New York Times and Aljazeera. Zarqa lives in Regina with her loving but long-suffering family. Twitter: @ZarqaNawaz
Paulina O’Kieffe is a spoken word artist, producer, and educator. Founder of Guerrilla of the Word Productions and the Words by the Water Collective, she has performed, produced and hosted shows across Toronto and beyond. A member of the Up From the Roots Poetry SLAM Team (2015 Canadian Festival of Spoken Word finalists), she is also the producer of the Words by the Water Literary Festival. She uses spoken word to teach youth about self-education, expression and empowerment. Twitter: @Paulina_Okieffe Heather O’Neill is a novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and essayist. Lullabies for Little Criminals, her debut novel, was published in 2006 and won Canada Reads. It was shortlisted for both the Governor General’s Award for Fiction and the Orange Prize for Fiction. She has since published the novel, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, and the short story collection, Daydreams of Angels, which were shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in consecutive years. She lives in Montreal with her daughter. Twitter: @lethal_heroine Dorothy Ellen Palmer is a disabled senior writer, binge knitter, mom, and improv lover. She has worked as a high school English & Drama teacher in a Mennonite Colony on the border of the North West Territories; a tiny school house in rural Alberta; a Calgary Adult Learning Centre attached to a prison; and a high school in Pickering, where she created the only high school improv program in Canada. Her novel, When Fenelon Falls, is about a disabled teen adoptee in the Moonwalk-Woodstock summer of ‘69. Twitter: @depalm Jay Pitter earned a graduate degree at York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies. Her passion for inclusive city building and respectful citizen engagement led her to focus her research on: site-specific narrative, environmental design, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), and urban placemaking. She is a part-time professor and her writing credits include Spacing, CBC Radio, The Walrus, The Toronto Star, TVO, and the anthology Climate Change: Who’s Carrying the Burden? Twitter: @Jay_Pitter Sabrina Ramnanan was born in Toronto to Trinidadian parents. She completed her B.A. in English and B.Ed at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the U of T’s School of Continuing Education Creative Writing Program and the recipient of the 2012 Marina Nemat award. She was included in CBC’s 5 To Watch in 2015 and The Toronto Star’s 10 To Watch in 2015. Nothing Like Love is her debut novel. Twitter: @SabrinaRamnanan Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist originally from Wasauksing First Nation. Growing up in an Anishinaabe community inspired him to explore storytelling in a variety of forms. His latest novel, Legacy, was published by Theytus Books in 2014. He currently works for CBC News in Ottawa. Twitter: @waub Leon Rooke is a short-story writer, novelist, and playwright. Rooke has been writer-in-residence at two US colleges and has taught creative writing at the University of Victoria and elsewhere in Canada since 1969. He has written a number of plays for radio and stage, and has produced 14 collections of short stories. His novels include Shakespeare’s Dog (Governor General’s Award) and A Good Baby. Sheila Sampath is a South Asian artist, educator and writer. She is the editorial and art director of Shameless magazine, principal and creative director at The Public and an assistant professor at OCAD University. Her first book, Letters Lived, was published in 2013 by Three O’Clock Press. Twitter: @sheilasheila Vivek Shraya works in the media of literature, music, performance, and film. Her debut novel, She of the Mountains, was a Globe and Mail Best Book of 2014. Vivek is a three-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, and a 2015 Toronto Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Award finalist. Both debut poetry collection, even this page is white, will be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2016. Twitter @vivekshraya Jon Chan Simpson grew up in Red Deer, Alberta, and lives in Toronto. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s MA Creative Writing program, and his work has been featured in Ricepaper magazine. Twitter: @JonCSimpson Ayelet Tsabari’s first book, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and has been published internationally. Her work has won a National Magazine Award, a Western Magazine Award, and an Edna Staebler award. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto. Twitter: @AyeletTsabari Chris Tse is a spoken word poet based in Toronto. He placed second at the 2011 Poetry Slam World Cup and captained the Ottawa Capital Slam team to a national championship in 2010. His work has appeared on CBC and CTV, as well as international radio
stations. Tse graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Journalism, and previously worked as a human rights reporter in Ecuador and Ghana. Clive Veroni is a leading marketing strategist. He is a consultant on brand positioning, marketing strategies, new product development, and advertising to a wide variety of blue-chip clients across North America. He lives in Toronto, Ontario. Twitter: @CliveVeroni Patrick Walters is a spoken word artist and arts educator who has spent over two years professionally using poetry to place emphasis on mental wellness and overall well being—a simple message, but one of paramount importance in today’s society. Through the execution of workshops and showcases, this message is passed on to the hearts and minds of his growing audience. Twitter: @PatrickCWalters Joshua Watkis is a vivid storyteller through the arts of Hip-Hop & Spoken Word. The Toronto native is one third of the Spoken Word collective ‘The Uncharted’ and an Arts Educator/Youth Mentor. Whether performing for crowds of 20 in bars or upwards of 3000 opening for The Roots, the Emcee/Poet brings the same electric vibe to every show. Twitter: @thisisscribe INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS Anita Chong is a Senior Editor at McClelland & Stewart, where she edits fiction, narrative non-fiction, memoir, and literary graphic novels. Twitter: @AnitaChong9 Barbara Howson is Vice-President, Sales and Licensing at House of Anansi Press and Groundwood Books. Twitter: @barbhowson Bianca Spence is a publishing professional with over fifteen years of experience. She currently works for the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Twitter: @biancaspence Rachel Thompson is a writer and editor. She joined Room magazine’s editorial collective in 2010, where she has served as Managing Editor. Twitter: @rachelthompson Susan Travis is currently an in-house territory representative for Scholastic Canada serving BC, Alberta, the Yukon and the NWT. Janice Zawerbny has worked as an editor in Canadian publishing for more than twenty years. She is currently a Senior Editor at House of Anansi Press. Troy Palmer is the publisher, managing editor, and creative director of Little Fiction | Big Truths—a (mostly) digital publisher of short stories and essays. Twitter: @troy_palmer Carly Watters is a VP and Senior Literary Agent with the P.S. Literary Agency. Twitter: @carlywatters Léonicka Valcius is a product manager and digital marketing coordinator at Scholastic Book Fairs. She founded #DiverseCanLit and serves as Chair of the The FOLD Foundation. Twitter: @leonicka MODERATORS AND HOSTS Jennifer Chambers is an English professor at Sheridan College where she teaches Literature, Communication, and Creative Writing. Karen Connelly is the author of ten books of award-winning nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Twitter: @karenmconnelly Rashi Khilnani is the founder of Welcoming Words, an organization that uses cultural literacy as a tool to foster a sense of belonging amongst newcomers to Canada. Twitter: @rashikhilnani Megan Lambe has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph and teaches yoga classes focusing on mindfulness. Amanda Leduc’s first novel, The Miracles of Ordinary Men, was a finalist for the ReLit award. She is the FOLD’s Communications, Development, and Accessibility Coordinator. Twitter: @AmandaLeduc Aga Maksimowska emigrated from Poland in 1988. Her first novel, GIANT, was a Toronto Book Award finalist. Twitter: @AgaMak77 Jael Richardson’s debut memoir, The Stone Thrower: A Daughter’s Lesson, a Father’s Life has recently been adapted into a children’s book. She is the FOLD’s Artistic Director. Twitter: @JaelRichardson Lamoi Simmonds is an active spoken word artist and Change Agent to art and culture in the GTA. Twitter: @LaLaArdor Zoe Whittall’s most recent novel won a Lambda Literary award. She is also a poet, TV writer, and journalist. Twitter: @zoewhittall
//
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from: All lit up [online, January 28, 2016]
Publishing My First (Diverse) Book
39 things I’m pretty sure definitely happened By Jon Chan Simpson
One of the first stories I ever submitted to a creative writing class was about sailing. I don’t remember it all that well (it wasn’t memorable)—something about a kid and his dad who sail around and go ashore to pick apples from a gnarly old tree and catch them in a raincoat. I dropped in a lot of nautical terms in an attempt to anchor the narrative (see?) and make it feel real, but what did I know about sailing? Sure, I’d been on the water once or twice, hauled a jib, swabbed a deck—I knew more than nothing but less than something, and I ultimately sunk the story trying to prove it. My classmates were sweet and ruthless; they did what I should have done and scuttled the thing. Though I came away having learned something: I had no interest in a repeat. When it comes to joining the discussion of Diversity in CanLit and sharing my own Diverse publication story, I find myself jumping in from a similar starting point—between knowing nothing and something. I’m still in the research phase, gathering facts and moments, and trying to decide which ones are relevant before I try to build some kind of arc. This is a challenge; I don’t have a Diversity radar that can identify my Diverse experiences to be parsed out from the rest. The best I can do is guess.
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Being half-Chinese, I’d have to suppose that at least half my journey was affected, or that my whole journey was half-affected, but the exact mechanisms through which I was pushed or pulled (or not) through my publishing journey are mysterious at best. Though I don’t know for sure what happened—when it comes to meaning and overall significance—I can say with confidence that something happened, that several somethings happened, in fact, and that some of them might even have been important. Here’s a list of 39 things that (maybe for sure) happened on the way to publishing my first (Diverse) book: 1.
2.
3.
4.
My parents wondered how a mixed-race kid would do in small town in Alberta. They had their doubts, but had me there anyway. In grade four I wrote an adventure story about me and my best friends. There was an evil witch, a magic ring, a giant lizard named Ralph with a prehensile tongue, and pea soup with the blasting power of dynamite. I included my middle name in my application to creative writing school. I got accepted. I was excited.
5.
6.
I wondered if the program had a colourquota. I felt less excited. Later I found out that it didn’t. I wrote a Chinese gangster rap song for a writing workshop, and got nudged into performing it for the class.
7.
I am not a rapper.
8.
I was allowed to call the book Chinkstar while in grad school. If this can fly anywhere, I thought, it’ll fly here.
9.
An elderly couple in a café asked me if I was a student. I told them I was a writer. That felt like a lie.
10.
11.
12.
13. 14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20. 21. 22.
23.
I was not allowed to call the book Chinkstar when I was trying to sell it. It became Chistar. Nearly all acquiring editors agreed that it sounded interesting, but “we could never publish a title like that.” The title was okay for me, it seemed, but not for “we.”
24. 25. 26.
27.
I wondered who “we” was.
I realized “we” was different than me. I got professional photos taken, and wondered if wearing glasses made me look more Asian. I wondered if I should keep the glasses or lose them.
The same couple asked about the title of my book. I lied (no question).
28.
The editor I worked with left the final decision on the title up to me.
My colleagues at my day job asked me about the title of my book. I lied again. (My day job is in publishing.)
29.
My editor is either brave or crazy or smart. I suspect she’s all of these things.
30.
I was asked to sit on the jury for a grant.
31.
I wondered if jury selection had a colourquota. If it did, I thought maybe I was okay with it.
32.
I ate soup-filled dumplings and spicy noodles at a restaurant during a book interview for a national news outlet. I wondered what other authors got to do during their interviews.
While writing the book, I listened to the Crouching Tiger soundtrack about ten thousand times.
33.
People told me they couldn’t say the title of the book in public or read the book on the subway. I wasn’t sure I could blame them.
For research, I asked my mom questions about our family history. When she was short of an answer, she’d make one up without telling me.
34.
People took more issue with the book’s rap references than its colour references.
35.
I sent a copy to MC Jin, America’s first Asian American solo rapper. I wasn’t sure if he’d be flattered or offended.
36.
I realized that on some level I’m as much a writer of colour as I am not. I wondered if my dad’s blood felt left out.
37.
My boss threw me an at-work book-launch party. “Chinkstar” was plastered all over the room, posters and books. There was even a Chinkstar cake. (My day job is in publishing.)
I chatted with a stranger who asked me the title. I told him the truth. He laughed and said, “Good for you.” Was it “Good for you,” or “Good for you”? I had to explain the title to my little cousin. Had it been called [N-word]star, I wondered, would I have had to explain?
My nominating her cultural lore-keeper was unfair, I realized. I became resolved to take on my fair share of the bullshitting. I got some grants, which helped me write the book. I was extremely grateful. I wondered if the grants had colour-quotas. It was money, though. I couldn’t afford to care. I wondered if I was selling out. I felt guilty for being a sellout. I guessed there were grantless white writers out there more talented than me.
38.
39.
If I get to write another book, I wonder if it’ll be about race stuff. If I get to write another book, I wonder if I’ll have a choice. //
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from: ayelettsabari.com [online, January 16, 2015]
My Year of Reading Only Writers of Colour By Ayelet Tsabari
In the beginning of 2014 I made a public pledge to read only writers of colour for a year. My decision was inspired by Lilith Marcus’s essay, “Why I Only Read Books by Women in 2013,” and by a lifetime of reading mostly works by white authors and not finding myself in the books that I read. In my original post I said many things about my decision but I think the last paragraph sums it pretty well. “I’m choosing to spend the year reading only books by writers of colour, because I want to read more deeply. Because as a writer of colour who wants to be read I realize I should do my part, and become a reader, an audience. Because I’m interested in the world around me, and the stories these writers have to tell.… Because when I was suffering from a major writing block, trying and failing to fit my writing into what I thought the Canadian literature mainstream expected of me, my mentor Camilla Gibb suggested that I read books by writers from other cultures, and I discovered Edwidge Danticat, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Daniyal Mueenuddin, and Junot Diaz, and Yiyun Li, and I was instantly cured. Because reading their stories made me feel like there was room for my writing in this world.”
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The post garnered some attention and mixed responses. Some people wrote to tell me they were inspired to make similar pledges, like writer Jeffery Ricker who wrote this on his blog. Chelsea Rooney (author of the critically acclaimed Pedal) spoke about my initiative on her January 26th episode of The Storytelling Show. And CWILA interviewed me about it on their website. Others were unimpressed, offended even. I was told (though not to my face) that it was stupid, even racist. I also heard from Twitter friends that my reading project led to some heated dinner party conversations. For that I am glad. In March, my teacher, Russell Smith, wrote an interesting column for The Globe and Mail about the perils of writing fiction that is “good for you,” fiction depicting characters who are moral or likeable or nice, telling stories that are hopeful and empowering. He made some interesting points, some of which I agreed with. Then, at the end of the column, he tacked on this thought: “At the beginning of this year, I noticed a social-media trend among writerly colleagues. Everyone was announcing some kind of self-improvement plan in their reading. They
were going to read only women writers this year, or writers of colour. Whether this was to correct their own ideological deficiencies or to improve the world at large was not clear. It gives me to understand that their reading is not for pleasure but for moral improvement. I think, then, that they should give up reading altogether. If it’s good, it will be bad for them.” Smith’s final comment made me think about why we read. Back when I was a smoker I used to pray for some magical new research to declare that smoking was actually good for us because, how could something that feels so good be so be bad? Obviously, that never happened. Lucky for me, reading is the perfect drug: it is both pleasurable and good for me. Reading makes me happy; it provides entertainment, escape and refuge. It also (I like to believe) makes me smarter. It challenges me. It teaches me to be a better writer. It inspires me. It makes me feel deeply. It enlarges my view of the world, exposes me to other voices, other experiences, other cultures. And yes, I believe that reading can make the world a better place, that reading can make us more compassionate, can promote empathy and understanding (and research proves this to be true), regardless to how moral (or not) the characters depicted in these books are. I think of something novelist Catherine Bush, a teacher and a friend, posted on Facebook once; she was pondering the “altruistic” act of reading fiction – “the depth of entry, the sustained attention, the giving over.” I see that as a bonus. My year of reading only writers of colour made me aware of how much more visible white authors are in the media, and in the material taught in schools. This is true in both countries I call home. I saw it in the all-white panels I attended in Writers’ Festivals, in a writing class I took where every author taught was white. It also made me pay attention to the reading selections I was choosing for my own students, who—coincidentally this year—were mostly of colour. I found myself seeking new essays to teach, new essayists to introduce to myself and to my students.
As far as reading itself, my year of reading writers of colour was just like any year. I read books I loved and books I didn’t. Books right up my alley and books outside my comfort zone. Contemporary and classic. In Hebrew and in English. Fiction, nonfiction and poetry. I felt moved, engrossed, captivated, disturbed, heartbroken. Reading more diversely did not feel like a chore, but a privilege. If I felt limited by anything it was time. I hadn’t read half of the books I had planned on reading at the beginning of the year. (You can check out the ones I read on GoodReads.) But it was also very different than other years, because (like I said in my CWILA interview) there is power in numbers, and there is power in immersion. In reading only books by writers of colour, books largely depicting characters of colour, I engaged on a daily basis with diverse voices and perspectives outside the dominant culture’s frame of reference, lived with their stories of marginalization, displacement and immigration, contemplated their profound explorations of race, identity, belonging and language. And as time passed and the books piled up, my absorption—my “sustained attention”—deepened. I was not just a weekend visitor; I was moving in. Lilith Marcus in her thoughtful essay says her year of reading only women altered the way she looked at the world. I have always been highly aware of race; it’s hard not to be when you are not white. But as the year went on, I was becoming mindful of others’ experiences of race. Reading widely complicated my ideas of race and identity in Canada, in Israel, and in the world, pushed against the frames of the “single story,” which is how author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in her 2009 TED talk, refers to the common narrative we associate with certain cultures. The world around me cracked open, exploded, and expanded while at the same time, felt smaller, more intimate, familiar. I was not alone. The little Yemeni girl who grew up not seeing herself in the books she read had found literary camaraderie at last. And not just because I discovered works
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by (two!) Yemeni Israeli women for the first time in my life (Yes, you read that right. First time. EVER. More on that in a follow-up post) but because I saw my experiences—as an immigrant, a person of colour, a minority, an outsider—reflected in many of the books I read. In a poetry book by a young Yemeni Israeli writer (Black on Black by Adi Keissar) and in a book of lyric prose by a young Vietnamese Canadian writer (Ru by Kim Thuy). In a novel about a Nigerian woman discovering race in United States (Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), and in a book of essays by a Native Canadian writer (The Truth About Stories by Thomas King). In a book about a young Arab man’s blurring identities within Israeli Jewish society (To Jaffa by Ayman Sikseck), and in a memoir by an Afro-Canadian woman growing up in a predominantly white Ontario suburb (The Stone Thrower by Jael Ealey Richardson). And it was humbling, and empowering, and thrilling, and totally fucking wonderful And this, really, is the point. In her TED talk Adichie
MFA creative writing
said she did not think “that people like me could exist in literature.” Dionne Brand once spoke about never reading a character like her when she was growing up. The picture books I read to my daughter (in both languages) are filled with fair-skinned characters. Introducing diverse books to kids at a young age could change how children of colour see themselves and their place in the world; it could change how white children see themselves and others. It could change the world. And this year? No pledge. There are still many books “leftover” that I never got around to read, like Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, Janie Chang’s Three Souls, and Andrea Thompson’s Over Our Heads. I also have some books I saved for 2015, like Miriam Towes’ All my Puny Sorrows, Chelsea Rooney’s Pedal, and Angie Abdou’s Between (ha! All women!). My plan for 2015 is to continue to read deeply and widely, outside the realm of my experience, outside my comfort zone. I will keep seeking diverse books to read for my toddler. And I will keep writing Mizrahi stories. //
“ The experience of working
towards a MFA in creative writing was one of the most rewarding journeys of my life. I was not only able to complete and publish my first novel and enrich my spoken word practice, I was also introduced to a new community of colleagues and friends along the way.”
– andrea thompson poet & novelist
core faculty and instructors include
Dionne BranD, Catherine Bush, Kevin Connolly, Karen Connelly, russell smith, JuDith thompson, iris turCott & miChael Winter a two-year mfa program in toronto, ontario located on the humber north campus
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guelphcreativewritingmfa.com Visit us online for more on faculty, grads, and our program structure.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
DECEMBER 5, 2016
$1000 for your Short Story Peter Hinchcliffe Fiction Award
sponsored by the St Jerome’s University English Department
For a work of short fiction by a writer in the early stages: someone who has not yet published a novel or story collection Deadline: May 28
Submissions NOW OPEN! tnq.ca/contests
humber literary review We live+read here Spring + Summer 2016 issue coming soon:
Wab Kinew // George Elliott Clarke // Marina Endicott // Moez Surani // Brit tany Smith // Bardia SinaeE // J e n n i f e r Lov eg r ov e // Mahak Jain // Georgia Wilder // Kim Dorland // Da r r e n O ’ D o n n e l l // Tom Thor B u c h a n a n // M a r k L a L i b e r t e //
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Hu m b e r L i t e r a ry R e v i e w. c o m
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from: Original plumbing Magazine [online, August 22, 2012]
Post-Transition: Who We Might Be by Chase Joynt
Someone once asked me if I thought my experiences over the years with depression and anxiety were related to my being trans. My youthful inclination was to immediately say no, as I was steadfastly resistant to any relationship people might propose between trans and sickness or pathology or pain. But recent news of three suicides in the FTM community has inspired me to amend that response, as the correlations between trans and mental health are far more complicated than they seem, even as I continue to assert that ‘being trans’ is not the experience and/or circumstance that is inherently to blame. I’m not particularly interested in people making conclusions about my mental health for me, nor am I invested in these linear narratives that rely on formulas such as: “being trans” = “generally stigmatized and unsupported life choice” = “depression”. There are lots of reasons why my mental health is impacted in this world; the fact that transphobia is anxiety producing and depressing just happens to be one of the most straightforward. As a trans person, I oft characterize myself as ‘having transitioned’, as if to say that the details, the journey and the process of this metamorphosis are long in my past and therefore not included in my present or invited into
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my future. Operating within this framework has made it easier for me to isolate emotions, experiences and even people into categories of pre, during and post transition; and as such affords me the luxury of leaving things behind in search of stories that are better, more accurate and yet unclaimed. The recognition of this story telling strategy has revealed profound flaws in my transition related life logic. Living a life that I identify as being post-transition, or is identified by broader social opinion as such, means unknowingly characterizing the most intimate and vulnerable parts of my life as being in the past and therefore not with me today. And though I feel like my life is exponentially smoother in various capacities than it once was, such a summary of me would be nothing short of insufficient, inaccurate and ultimately ignoring of various other realities, like shame. For example, if I was beyond trans (as a result of transitioning), I might not still think about my genitals every time I’m in the men’s room. If my transition was actually something of the past, I might not still internalize other people’s mismanagement of my identity as being my fault. And if I really did believe the transition story that I tell others, I might not still worry that the choices I have made to live
in this life, in this body, will render me unlovable to those I need and want most. What is most striking to me about this conversation is the way in which I have taken it upon myself “post-transition” to be personally beyond the crisis of these initial conversations. Perhaps it’s because I feel my life and identity moving away from broader trans narratives, perhaps it’s because I’m an artist and have internalized the need to distance and re-contextualize the trauma into something career worthy… or perhaps it’s my ego defending a prior more vulnerable version of myself from ever having to walk in the world again feeling so alone and unprotected. My ability to think through my mental health differently shifted while sitting in a café with a prominent Toronto writer as she shamelessly talked to me about her own experiences with anxiety. Up until that point, anxiety had been my secret, hidden in my youth by booze and bravado and hidden in adulthood by what I can only summarize as a fortunate combination of comic timing and well-refined public speaking skills. In that moment, I realized that she had part of what I was
looking for. She wasn’t overly packaged, she wasn’t highly rehearsed, she was quite simply attempting to integrate who she was then, with who she is now, all the while knowing that it might not be who she will be in the future. Trying to process through the impact of these devastating suicides reminds me that I am not yet good at having these conversations, and that in part, I rely on my post-trans reputation as a way in which to avoid these vulnerabilities. It makes me wonder if our community is doing a disservice to those whom are working the front lines of trans related care and service by relying upon the fact that they appear to be doing ‘ok’. I wonder how many times we draw conclusions about our community leaders, our public figures and even our peers based on assumptions we make about their age, their visibility, or their distance from transitioning. I wonder how many people who resonate with a ‘post-trans’ sensibility live as unaffected as they seem, or if perhaps it’s time to re-open conversations about who we were, who we are, and the myriad of things in this world that continue to impact and shape who we might be. //
#FuckYeahDiversity littlefiction.com
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from: The new quarterly Issue 128: Lies and Appropriate Truths
An Interview with Helen Humphreys By Lindy Mechefsky
Nocturne is Helen Humphreys’ long awaited, first foray into the memoir genre. In this heartbreakingly tender and candid book, Humphreys speaks directly to her younger brother Martin, recounting the stories of his life and death. Martin Humphreys was a gifted concert pianist, who at the age of 45 was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer. He lived for fourteen weeks after his diagnosis. During that time, with almost complete disregard for the cancer, Martin chose to keep working, travelling, and moving. Shortly before his death he packed up his home in Toronto and moved to Vancouver. “You always liked moving.” Humphreys writes to her brother. “It signalled a fresh beginning...” There is staying power in Helen Humphreys’ writing. You won’t finish one of her books and ask yourself later, “Did I read that?” or wonder what it was all about. It’s difficult to say exactly why some books linger with us— the combination of Humphreys’ lyricism and rare clarity of writing may be why her words endure long after you’ve read the book and, reluctantly, shelved it. In this way, Nocturne is similar to Humphreys’ other work. In other ways, it
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represents a departure. While luminous prose pervades this deeply personal and thoughtful re-telling of life stories—stories of the siblings’ childhood, teenaged, and adult years and of their parallel and often lonely journeys as artists—Humphreys reveals herself to readers in a way she has not done before, sharing an intimate look at her own childhood, her relationship with her brother, and her life as a writer. Divided into forty-five segments, one for each year of Martin Humphreys’ life, Nocturne is alternately infused with hope, insight, humour, and sorrow. It is a stunningly beautiful tribute to her brother. “To have you gone—you, who went clear to the bottom of my world— has thrown everything off balance, has left me wandering like a ghost in my own life.” Nocturne, Humphreys’ thirteenth book, was released in Canada (HarperCollins) in April, 2013. The UK title of the work is True Story. LM: There is a tender scene in which you de-
scribe bringing Martin home from hospital when he was a newborn. You were holding him in the car, careful not to jostle or upset him. You were caring for him in an almost maternal way even though you were only
three-years-old. Do you think those early moments of physical contact are part of the reason for the incredibly strong bond between the pair of you? HH: They were part of it, certainly, but the
bond was there because as children we spent a lot of time together. And as we grew up, we were also bonded as artists—making some of the same explorations, but through different mediums. There were big differences though—writing is a very private, lonely affair. Music is much more public. It makes a noise, takes up physical space. In our twenties, we were well on our way to becoming artists and that took us away from each other geographically. Martin was offered a music scholarship to the University of Toronto when he was 16 years old, but he transferred to the University of Western Ontario to study with British concert pianist Peter Katin. When Katin returned to England, Martin followed him. In those years I was reading my way through the entire alphabet in the Literature section at the public library and writing poetry.
LM: Even though you enjoyed a great deal of
independence and freedom in your early years—I’m picturing some dangerous antics on the Scarborough Bluffs—both you and Martin became extremely self-disciplined artists. This shift would almost defy logic.
How important was your childhood freedom, and how did it translate into your life as a writer? HH: Childhood in the 60s and 70s was much
freer than it is now, I think. Parents didn’t monitor children in the same way. We were basically left to our own devices for much of the time, left to make our own decisions. Also, we spent a great deal of time outside, wandering the wild spaces in our newly built suburb. Parenting wasn’t a verb back then. And I have to say that it worked for us, as blossoming artists, to have this degree of independence. We had jobs early—Martin was working at fourteen, playing piano part-time for a dance company—so we understood work, knew that we had to work hard at writing and the piano to get better at them.
LM: You are known for doing serious research
for your books. You’ve also been described as a “ method writer.� How did the writing of Nocturne differ from that of your other works?
HH: What was different was that writing
fiction is like getting inside a mechanical horse and trying to be that horse. Fiction is an apparatus. It’s cumbersome to don, and difficult to keep moving. But with the memoir, with non fiction, there is
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no apparatus. It was liberating to write a book that came entirely from my lived experience. It took me back to the way I wrote in my twenties when I was writing poetry and working from my life. Even though the book was painful to write, it was also very satisfying. LM: You write about the necessity of loneliness
and craft—and about the bond of loneliness between you and Martin as adults— how you understood each other and the time required for your respective arts. Has aloneness been a substantial factor in both yours and Martin’s success?
HH: Yes, loneliness has been a substantial
part of my success as a writer. You need time to sink down into something, to get a good long look at it. To be able to do this requires spending a lot of time alone, and this, of course, has its drawbacks. But then every choice in life has consequences. Now I consider myself lucky to have been able to follow an idea or feeling to a logical end, which is what my life as a writer has enabled me to do. I think that every serious artistic pursuit demands the same attention and commitment. Art does take a lot of one’s life, but it also gives a tremendous amount back.
LM: You’ve said you lost the witness to your
childhood, yet the trauma of seeing Martin so ill and the grieving seems to have opened you up. You talked about your ability to let yourself feel things like love and sorrow more deeply. You’ve relinquished some of your need for privacy. Was this the silver lining, Martin’s dying gift to you?
HH: I suppose that living more in the moment
and slowing down were the silver linings, although I’m hesitant to call it that. It was just necessity, really. When you’re blindsided by grief you can no longer rush
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through life. Slowing down happened because I literally could not do anything else. I couldn’t even read a book for a year. I’m definitely changed by Martin’s death, and I’m still sorting through those changes even now, three years later. LM: Even though in the end you seemed to
accept the fact that Martin never read your books, that fact had clearly hurt you. It’s a poignant and powerful moment for the reader, and an insight into your vulnerability. Did Martin simply wish to hang onto you as his sister and not as Helen Humphreys, the writer?
HH: Of course, I will never know. I will say that
Martin was always extremely busy—he worked all the time. He sometimes forgot to eat. He ran from one thing to the next. So, he didn’t have a lot of time for much else. I do know that, whatever the reason he didn’t read my books, it wasn’t malicious. Maybe he simply didn’t want to not like them.
LM: What are you writing and reading now? HH: I’m working on a novel set in a WWII
prisoner of war camp in Germany. As for reading—I’m mostly reading a lot of student work for my position as an instructor in the Humber School of Writing online program. And reading some of the modern British nature writers.
LM: How and where will you tour Nocturne? HH: I’ll be talking about the writing process
of the book and, I hope, playing some of Martin’s recorded music; Nocturne is being published in Canada, England, and Italy, and I’ve confirmed my attendance at the Vancouver North Shore Writers Festival, Kingston WritersFest, Calgary WordFest, and the Vancouver Writer’s Festival. //
from: Quill and Quire Ask the Agony Editor [online edition, June 29, 2015]
On Agent Queries by Brian Francis
In this month’s readers’ advice column, Brian Francis congratulates you on finishing your novel. But wait—your work is only half-over… Bonjour, Brian, It’s your former elementary school French teacher. I have completed my first novel. It took three years to get it to the point where I feel I can think about publishing. I am currently sending queries to agents. Do you have any tips? Your advice would be appreciated. Signed, Madame From Your Past *** Bonjour, Madame, It’s always nice to hear from a former teacher. How is the LeDuc family? In some ways, agents are like second languages. You don’t necessarily need one to get by in life, but they can give you a competitive edge. Agents, after all, have connections to publishers and editors. They help generate interest in your book and negotiate contracts, foreign rights, and all sorts of things that overwhelm fragile, sensitive types who avoid living in the real world. (Hand up right here!) Having said that, agents work on commission. They need to feel you’ll be a good return on their investment. The less well-known you are, the higher
the risk. Chances are slim you’ll land an agent for your first book. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t aim your arrow high. I spoke to literary agent who offered the following tips for query letters: • Don’t be afraid to mention any personal connections you may have to writers or publishers, or if you’ve studied with a well-known writer. • Don’t say your book will sell a million copies. • Don’t be lazy. Do your homework about the agent and the types of books he/she represents. • Keep your query letter short. • Point out that you taught French to one of the greatest Canadian authors, like, ever. If you don’t get any interest from agents, try approaching publishers directly. But prepare for a long process. It took you three years to write the book. It will probably take you just as long, if not longer, to see it published. Bon chance. Brian Francis is the author of Natural Order and Fruit. You can reach Brian at info@quillandquire.com //
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from: Muskrat Magazine [online, June 29, 2013]
Resisting, One Story at a Time By Cherie Dimaline
As part of the phenomenally successful Aboriginal Student Association at York’s powwow and gathering, I was invited to sit on a panel with Lee Maracle and York U’s Elizabeth Brule. We were asked to speak about the responsibilities of Indigenous storytelling. It was one of those topics where I felt confident enough, banking on the panel set-up and the broad subject matter to make for a conversational event. And, thankfully, I was right. We spoke about our own experiences with story; how they were a part of our upbringing both as Indigenous women and as writers. And we touched on those areas of responsibility. Since we can only speak about the community and experience we come from, I spoke about my own understanding as a Métis storyteller. For me, being a writer is like being in the centre of a giant web of story. It is up to me to be able to hold all the loose ends of every thread that has been woven into the whole, to ensure that I understand where each originated, how they connect to one another and where those intersections occur. This is not to say that I have to tell those traditional stories in everything that
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I produce, but I must certainly know them, understand their intent and path and be able to allow them space and distance between so that they can evolve and change. Lee and I shared stories of our elders protecting us with story; me through the tales of the Rogarou to not go alone on the road, and her of the Earth Blanket her aunties sewed while telling stories to keep the children hidden as they night fished. It was powerful to share instances when stories not only saved us through the preservation of our history and culture, but also how they physically saved us from destruction. Inevitably, as occurs when talking about all our art forms, we veered towards resistance through story. We resist by thriving. We thrive by maintaining a solid foundation on which to build. We craft and upkeep the foundation through story. One of the best names I’ve heard is that of my publisher; Theytus. It means “preserving for the sake of handing down”. How perfect. These stories are being gathered, created and preserved so that the next seven generations will have access to them. So that their storytellers will have a better understanding of the origins,
the junctures and the spaces in-between when they are standing in the middle of the web. The drive up to York is no short distance from the St George Campus at U of T where Lee and I were picked up for the talk. On the way, we had a chance to talk, as rarely happens unless your trapped in confined spaces, rolling in between two points on a map. We talked about all the achievements of the Idle No More Movement, how INM supporters brought down Tom Flanagan, garnered international attention and educated millions in doing so, how they’re taking back spaces one street name at a time and blocking city’s from carrying on the tradition of giving their sports teams racist names (we’re looking at you, Ottawa). We talked about what makes this movement so successful; what’s different this time that we’ve been able to accomplish so much and make such a strong, undivided
stand? And we concurred, that in addition to the fantastic organization, the embracing of all mediums in gathering and spreading knowledge and the shared history of nations that live closer together now than ever before has been this: this time we are looking inward first; this time we gathered in a huddle, collected stock, took inventory and shared our personal stories. So that when we broke huddle and stood side by side across the field and began to walk forward, we were swaddled in the stories of a hundred thousand grandmothers. We relearned and retold our stories- creation, preservation, rebuilding and perseverance. We looked in our nations and families for the ways in which we could succeed and we walked forward with our stories, careful to hold all the loose threads, careful to leave the spaces in between for the new ones to evolve and change. //
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from: Plenitude Magazine [online, October 5, 2014]
Queer 1998: On Beginnings By Vivek Shraya
Even though I edit a lot during the writing process (a practice I strongly advise against when I am facilitating writing workshops #hypocrite), there are often chunks of a book draft that get chucked. This is because I am obsessed with efficiency in writing, where the math is always subtracting words versus adding them. Editing typically involves reading and re-reading sections, often aloud, to gauge flow and create rhythm. I pose questions of the writing and try to listen: Does the text bore, bug or disappoint me? If so, why? Does it feel familiar, like something I have read or written before? Does it gracefully, passionately and efficiently convey what I am trying to say? Can I say it better? Despite being fond of editing, I can still be attached to my writing, especially when one sentence can take a day to craft. To help alleviate the fear when hitting DELETE, I keep a separate document where I paste all the omitted sections. The section below, “Queer 1998,” was originally going to open my new novel, She of the Mountains, as a foundation upon which to build a bisexual love story. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the voice in this piece match the other voices in the book, so this chapter never made it past the first draft.
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Photo credit: Zachary Ayotte
It’s fascinating to look back at this two years later, and to recognize that a good beginning is most importantly one that ignites, one that drives you somewhere—perhaps somewhere unexpected. I am sharing “Queer 1998” to honour it for being this very kind of beginning. ***
In the nineties, we were queer. We were queer but we didn’t know it. I was eighteen and except for the pecks I had given Jenny-Marie Beston in Grade 2 under the park bench in exchange for fruit gummies, I had never had a real—full mouth, lasting for longer than five seconds—kiss. I told you I didn’t know how to kiss and you leaned in. Tell me about your ancestors. Tell me about India. Coming from a white girl in white Alberta, this intimate interest was the first time I thought being brown could have value outside of my family and religion. I taught you how to say Karnataka—the name of the state where my grandparents lived—correctly and laughed at your inability to roll your r’s and extend your a’s. You taught me that there was hair product other than gel, that sex didn’t equal penetration, how to keep breathing when you choked me.
I liked being your doll, dressed in your sarong, your bracelets, your eye shadow. We wore matching black turtlenecks that I sometimes accessorized with your younger sister’s jean jacket, and together we brooded in the corner of work Christmas parties, at the Roost and at the Painting Daisies concert, gripping each other’s shoulders and wondering why no one would talk to us. I want boys and girls to want me, I announced. You shrugged, as though I was stating the obvious. You found the word queer somewhere in one of the lines of the non-assigned, giant textbooks that you read for pleasure. You said it was what we had been searching for, longing for: a box that wouldn’t limit us but rather, a box that was open by definition. You, a maybe-lesbian with a straight boyfriend and me, your recently-gay other boyfriend. Except we were too queer for words like boyfriend and girlfriend. We were too queer for queer. We just said we were going with the flow. //
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from: Shameless Magazine [online edition, June 30th, 2015]
Q&A with Sabrina Ramnanan By Lindy Mechefsky
Toronto writer Sabrina Ramnanan’s debut novel, Nothing Like Love (Random House), follows a cast of Trinidadian villagers through one summer month filled with hijinks and humour. The novel’s protagonist, an eighteenyear-old girl named Vimla, unwittingly finds herself at the centre of attention after being caught frolicking in the mangrove trees with Krishna, the village pundit’s son. Scandal ensues, and, in the process of dealing with the shame-mongers and a broken heart, Vimla ends up discovering what it is she actually wants. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity SM: Your novel is extremely rich in detail as it
paints a picture of the fictional Trinidadian village where the action is set, from the local plant life to the daily household rituals, to the rules that govern the local market and the types of posters that hang on the walls of the local drinking dive. Can you tell us a bit about your connection to Trinidad and how that influenced the portrait of island life in your book?
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SR: So I was actually born in Toronto but
I’ve been visiting Trinidad, holidaying in Trinidad I guess, all of my life. I guess all of my life I’ve been soaking up all of the images and sounds and tastes and textures of the island not knowing that one day I would need all of these things. So when I did sit down to write, they all kind of tumbled out onto the page because they were in my mind. Also, it wasn’t only things that I had seen and heard about, but what I’d seen had been enriched by stories my dad had told me, and so even when I wasn’t in Trinidad, Trinidad always felt very close to me… I think, like most writers, I’m an observer, I’m a people watcher, and so I’ve been doing that all my life. When you visit places like this as a child, you can be inconspicuous, and you can eavesdrop and pay attention to the details adults don’t know you’re paying attention to, or don’t think are important, and those are all of the things I used when I ended up writing this.
SM: Did you have to make any special trips just
for research?
SR: Actually I did. I was about half way
through and I did because I needed to hear the dialect. Because what my parents talk is a very watered down version of that. Some of the quirky sayings, my parents don’t say. You only hear them when you’re there. So I needed to hear it for a prolonged period of time to really get it, so that I could be as authentic as possible when writing the dialogue, because I think dialogue really helps move my story. I went mainly to listen, to listen to people talk. I wasn’t walking around with a notebook, I was sort of existing in that space and that’s really all the research I needed to do. So it was fun research. Also, before my quote-unquote research trip, I hadn’t been to Tobago… It wasn’t a place we vacationed in. I went with my husband and all of the places I talk about in Tobago [in Nothing Like Love] are real places that I visited.
SM: Why 1974 as the setting for your novel? SR: In the early 70s, a lot of Trinidadians
were migrating from Trinidad. That was important to me because, at the end of the novel, Vimla decides to go, so it was important to me that it was kind of believable. I didn’t want to make it 1970 or 1971 because it wasn’t plausible that a girl would go alone that early, I think they needed a few years to get used to the idea of people going over before she could go. To me it was important that it was true. Another reason is that the talent show, Mastana Bahar that figures prominently in my plot, started in the early 70s also. It’s important in the book that the show is a novel thing. I couldn’t have it in the 80s and 90s when people were used to it and it was a tired, every day thing in Trinidad, like it is now.
SM: Your novel is filled with humour. I read in
an article about you that, when writing the manuscript, you would often burst into laughter. Does any particular scene stand out in your memory as having cracked you up the most?
SR: I was always really amused whenever
Faiza Mohammed was in a scene. I think I’m probably the most fond of him of all my characters. I’m fond of all of them, but there’s just something really quirky about him. It’s almost every scene he’s in that makes me laugh…I liked the chapter when the three men drink the marijuana drink and have hallucinations, and the women have to walk them back. Which also, as a side point, is very important, because I wanted the women to be the strong, smart, sassy characters that really move the book. Really the quirky secondary characters that I used for comic relief made me laugh. The ones I went to when I kind of got stuck in writing the story. I could always write something about one of them, and the story would move.
SM: Your novel tells a story from a community
that is well-represented in Canada. Are enough stories from Trinidad and Tobago, or the Caribbean, being told in Can Lit?
SR: Well, we do have a lot of really great
writers. We have Rabindranath Maharaj, V.S. Naipaul, and Shani Mootoo. Shani Mootoo and Rabindranath Maharaj, particularly, reside in Canada for at least half of the year, they travel back and forth quite a bit. My style of writing and my angle is very different from them because they are Trinidadian—they were born in Trinidad. And so their perception of the island life and politics is a little different from mine. I’m first generation Canadian—when I go back, I see the beauty of the island and I see things with fresh eyes
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because I didn’t grow up there. So our angles are different… [M]y [book] is different because I write from the perspective of a first generation Canadian. SM: Do you think writers continue to have a role
to play in changing society? If so, where you conscious of this as you wrote the book?
SR: I’m treating new space. I was conscious
as I was writing of writing women that had a voice, were not afraid to use their voice. I don’t have any demure, shy, women. Nobody is that way. They’re bold and sassy, and they kind of break the rules. For Vimla to go to Canada, even if it was on a scholarship, even if it was to go to school, by herself, is a huge deal. It would have been a huge deal then. And so I wanted to show people how powerful women are, and I intentionally wrote all of my male characters as sort of their shadow. Really, the story is about these young women who take their destiny into their own hands, and they get what they want in the end…
SM: In the novel, scandal erupts when it’s discov-
ered that one of the characters participated in Mastana Bahar, a televised talent show. Are you or your family a fan of the show?
SR: I wasn’t because it aired in Trinidad. So I
didn’t really follow it. No. It was more that the show was a shock factor. Even though it was a show specifically for the IndoCaribbean community, I think it would have been a little shocking for a girl to be on it, even though that’s what it was for. It was also treading new ground—to have a young woman be going up there and singing and dancing. Back then, people were all about preserving their sort of traditional Hindu demure kind of girl. So no, I wasn’t a fan, and I’m not a fan now. It still airs in Trinidad, but it’s not something I’m interested in.
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SM: It seems you’ve accomplished a long-stand-
ing dream in publishing your first novel. What were the most important steps in achieving that goal? What would you recommend to young aspiring writers?
SR I think when you have a dream you
should follow it regardless of what people want you to do. That’s actually really close to my heart—doing what you know is right regardless of what you feel society thinks is right. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a writer, but I always felt like, you know, if you’re a writer how are you going to pay your mortgage, how are you going to live and, you know, you’re not going to be a millionaire being a writer, unless you’re J.K. Rowling. So, maybe it’s not the most practical thing to do. I’m also a teacher by trade, I’m teaching part-time, so maybe being a teacher full-time would have been the more practical thing to do, but when I did do that, I wasn’t happy. So I had to backtrack and follow my dream. I think the message is, do what you know you love and what you’re supposed to do, and everything else will fall into place. Because when you do what you’re not supposed to do, you’ll struggle. And I know that from my own personal experience. In terms of being a writer, write every day. Write as much as you can. Read, read, read, that’s probably the number one thing that you should do – expose yourself to all kinds of different writing. I took a creative writing course at [University of Toronto] and that helped me become a part of a writing community, which is really good for encouragement. That was instrumental in helping me get my publishing deal with Random House because I met the right people. I met my publisher through the program—I was that lucky. And I got my [book] deal
before I was even finished my manuscript. So, it’s good to connect yourself and be part of the writers’ community, I think. Because it’s a solitary act, writing. You do it because you love to do it. And if it does go anywhere, well then you’re lucky, right? SM: What’s your next project? SR: I’m working on something that’s a little
bit closer to home, figuratively and physically. I’m writing about Toronto this time. I’m writing from the perspective of a first generation Canadian like myself who was born to Trinidadian parents but who has a very big Trinidadian family—I don’t have a big Trinidadian family here, but this book is going to follow a similar cast to Nothing Like Love’s cast of characters, but they’re all related. It’s going to be that new immigrant story—because I don’t think it’s been done. Well maybe it has, but this is what we were talking about before, about treading new space. It’s going to be about Toronto. It’s going to be about what it’s like to have immigrant parents. So it’s going to be an immigrant story, but a new twist on the immigrant story. It’s going to be filled with the same kind of humour and it’s going to be flavoured with that Trinidadian, Caribbean flavour and humour, but a lot of Canadian flavour, too. It’s going to have a wider audience because any child of immigrant parents in Canada or the U.S. is going to be like, yup, that’s my parents, they’ve done that before, or I know that person. Because we’ve all had those experiences and they’re funny. They weren’t always funny when we were kids, but now they’re funny, when we look back on them. So that’s the kind of thing I’m going to pull into the story, it’s going to be something that speaks to everybody. //
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from: TWUC Dispatches [online, Vol. 43, No. 3, Winter 2016]
A Curse and a Blessing: A writer looks for her voice in a new Land By EDEN EYasu
Being a writer in a new country can be a curse and a blessing. For me, the curse starts with the new language. A person of words (that’s me) who does not master the language will surely be challenged. I was. I still am. Yet, actually being in a new place at first can have an effect similar to falling in love. Euphoric, that is. I came to Toronto from Eritrea in May of 2013. As my new beginning was set against a new backdrop, I was not only invigorated, but I also felt heroic enough to venture out and explore without the help of my questioning mind. This, I told myself, was a time meant for first impressions. There was a certain freshness about it all. At that point, freedom was merely a concept. Because even if it had a physical presence and I could touch it for a split second, it was not getting through to me. I don’t think it was a conscious decision, but my heart took the lead while my mind fell asleep. Beauty seemed to gravitate towards me, and I found myself taking it in, wherever and whenever I encountered it. And that can be inspiring, indeed! Just like longing, being homesick, watching the clouds tango from high up on a mountain somewhere in Africa.
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Well‌ this is not the whole story, though. I better go back and start telling it again. I had left one country for another. In my case, that meant leaving Eritrea, a country ruled by a dictatorship that has literally converted it into one huge prison for its own people, for Canada, a democracy, where human beings are, at least as far as I can tell, free to be and to express themselves in whichever way they want. However, landing in a new country meant staying suspended in mid-air for quite some time. I had yet to come. I may have left a situation where writers/journalists are severely censored by the government and to a lesser extent by the public, but having lived through all that and having practised self-censorship for so long complicated things. A tiny, nasty version of the dictator had come away with me! Self-censorship. So I had to try and understand what it meant to be free. As I wrote in one poem, learning has always been easy, unlearning, almost impossible. And certainly, internalizing it was going to take me time. Being a woman did not help, either. If anything, it had exacerbated the situation, because I belong to a society that views vocal women as a thorn.
Nevertheless, just as self-censorship had sneaked in on me, freedom started reclaiming me. In hindsight, I think, since I was writing poems almost on a daily basis, I was able to process new information and avoid being overloaded, while getting rid of the dust my voice had been collecting for so long. Finally, my ideas, thoughts, and stories started to be consistent. Something was familiar about them, although it felt like I was only a medium, as if something greater than myself was writing through me. After the initial connection, the stories, the voice creating them, and the one transmitting them were in perfect alignment over what they needed to say and how to say it. Therefore, I concluded that the voice was, actually, the source. That did feel good! So I had my voice. Regardless of how stifled it had been and for how long, this peculiar thing that I had longed to regain for what feels like a century came back. It looked just like me, too. And it made me whole again. Then I had my rhythm! And I became this child who would not stop scribbling. In August 2013, I started writing a book. It is a story set in Toronto. It is about two people who happen to be very troubled strangers. So, basically, they simply decide to rely on each other in order to find what’s missing. And to put things back together. There is a lot of dismantling at first, though. In any case, after I had worked on it for about
four months, I was almost done with the first draft. And I was thrilled. But then I put it aside. I told myself that I needed to grow up. That my Canadian childhood should end there. It really had to. Because I needed to start looking for a job. At that point, my voice and I had a meeting of sorts. I knew that I had to be cautious. The voice, or rather, my voice, is a delicate thing, and unless it is protected and nurtured and made use of in ways that make sense to it, there is always the risk of it running off and taking time out to hibernate, especially when threatened. I could not forget how much of my energy was spent on trying to hold on to it when I was back home. Back then, I was scared of losing the image that flashed in my mind when inspiration hit me. That was then. This time round though, I assured it, we have found the core. Any time away from my voice would be a conscious decision on my part. And it was going to be temporary. Whether we were apart for a while or not, I definitely knew how to reclaim it. Employment. I picked cleaning. Whether as a teacher, a writer/journalist, or any other occupation, I have only made use of my mind. But I am also someone who values work. And I work hard. So cleaning, I told myself, was a job that would corrupt my mind the least. In addition, it would leave my mind enough room to wander and write stories.
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Actually, I was sure I was going to be inspired on a daily basis. And that inspiration would pull me out of any dark hole. I was right. I got inspired. A lot. At some point, I was going to get a recorder so that I could record my stories while I worked. But I never did. Then I started writing on my way to work. That did not work out, either. And since I was simply too tired to do anything except fall on my bed the moment I got home, I mostly just used my ideas to sweeten my dreary days. And I came up with another project. Crushing the ego! So I was consciously using my job to help me do it. I was writing stories in my head, too, and using cleaning to peek through the eyelet it presented me into the Canadian psyche. But for the most part, I was only writing articles and short stories for Eritrean media outlets, in my mother tongue, a language called Tigrigna, one that is spoken in Eritrea and Ethiopia. Usually, I raise social and political issues, such as freedom of expression and democracy. Finally, a few months back, I returned to working on the book about the two troubled strangers which I began three years ago. I also started a story about my cleaning job. It is in English too. Next I am looking forward to writing the book I was writing in my head while I did my tedious job. The title of that one is going to be Master Max; it will be the story about my master, his dog, and me, his servant and
interpreter — a human being and for some unknown reason, nameless. (The dog is the master. Master Max is the dog. The nameless human being is a servant and an interpreter.) What have I learned since coming to Canada? I learned there are many ways for the self to be. I learned that sometimes you can replace your knowledge addiction and your fixation on meaning with something like “consciously fostering naivety.” Since I love deserts and I find them inspiring, in winter, when Toronto is white with snow, I tell myself, this is how a desert looks up north. And the snowflakes become falling stars. Lake Ontario becomes the sea. The human species is one race, which is powerful enough to heal its wounds through compassion and love, and it is in exile. I learned that I don’t need mountains or deserts to get inspired. I am an African princess and an imagination believer. All I need is time to play around, and for my mind to be idle enough to have original ideas. Also being different, which was a curse in my society, I declare, is a blessing. If anything can be liberating, for me, this is it. Eden Eyasu is a writer, journalist, poet, and editor. Originally from Eritrea, she came to Canada in 2013. She is currently working on a novel and a collection of poems and was the 2015 PEN Canada Writerin-Residence at George Brown College. This column is part of a series exploring the lives of writers in exile now living in Canada. It is a partnership between TWUC and PEN Canada. //
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