Holi: Spring Festival of Colours March 8, 2023 – Posted in: Readings & Excerpts

From Mattress Makers, by Sasenarine Persaud. May there always be spring in our eyesand fingers, feet: pink ixoras, red hibiscusmauve madar—green buds everywhere Even live oaks’ allergenic dust coating everythingyellow, golden gainda, daddy said, not marigoldspani re pani tera rang kaisa—is it rain—or Water what is your colour? Or plucked stingsMukesh mixing easily with jhaals chimingfrom UP: Holi Khele Raghuvira Awadh Mein May we sing for a thousand years—more—chowtals, olaras—Mamas crafting coconut gojiasdholaks in arteries, hearts,…

Thanksgiving November 24, 2022 – Posted in: Readings & Excerpts

From Mattress Makers by Sasenarine Persaud, forthcoming from Mawenzi House. Sun dances through clear-glass doorflagged by palm fronds wavingwebbed arms to bladed bananaLeaf-shadows lounging on fence—a morning thief dropping red petalson clipped lawn Indian orchid heartsrolling wind circumambulatingmy south and yours warm jamunleaves gyrating on weathered paling

Listening to Lata February 10, 2022 – Posted in: Readings & Excerpts

From Love in a Time of Technology, by Sasenarine Persaud.

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Toronto International Festival of Authors: Searching for Eastman October 5, 2021

Poet, playwright and performer charles c. smith unveils an evocative programme of theatrical storytelling from the wind in the leaves collective, a dynamic and diverse group of accomplished and passionate artists. smith’s latest work, Searching for Eastman: A Performance Poem, is a multidisciplinary performance in four acts, based on the interpretation of four of Julius Eastman’s compositions through poetry, theatre, music, dance, video and digital. Don’t miss this multi-disciplinary interpretation of the life and work of…

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In Our Tongues: TITILOPE SONUGA, YOLANDE LAROCHE (MAL/AIMÉ) AND JOSEPH A.DANDURAND September 24, 2021

In Our Tongues is the first reading series in Ottawa specifically dedicated to showcasing, nurturing and advancing Black, Indigenous and People of Colour who are poets, writers, musicians and other artists, including those with different abilities, across the gender spectrum, and from both English and French-speaking communities. TITILOPE SONUGA Titilope is a Nigerian writer, poet, playwright, and performer whose work grasps for moments of tenderness and persistent joy at the intersection of blackness and womanhood.…

searching for eastman book launch, Sept 28, 7pm

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Toronto Lit Up book launch: “searching for eastman” by charles c. smith

Celebrate the book launch of “searching for eastman”! About this event Mark your calendars for the Toronto Lit Up launch of the highly anticipated choreo-poem “searching for eastman”! On the evening of September 28, you are invited to participate in a lively conversation featuring author charles c. smith and performers Shannon Litzenberger, Michael Mortley, Bakari Lindsay, and Morgyn Aronyk-Schell.

Reminder on the Path Book Launch Sept 29, 7pm

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Reminders on the Path: Book Launch & Celebration September 14, 2021

Celebrate the launch of Reminders on the Path with poetry, storytelling & song! Seven years after the publication of Firesmoke, Sheniz Janmohamed returns with her third collection of poetry, Reminders on the Path. The poet is wayfarer, exploring the path we inherit and seek out, that disappears with every step we take on it. Settle in for a cosy autumnal evening of poetry, storytelling and song as we celebrate the launch of Reminders on the Path! Readings will…

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5 CARIBBEAN CANADIAN AUTHORS TO KNOW February 25, 2021 – Posted in: Highlights

Olive Senior is the Toronto-based Jamaican author of 18 works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s literature. Her widely taught, widely translated works have won her many awards, including the Matt Cohen Award, the Musgrave Medal, and the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. Her stories, set in rural and urban Jamaica, are celebrated for their humour and musicality, haunting use of history and folklore, and rich characters, many of them children coming to terms with…

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5 AFRICAN CANADIAN AUTHORS TO KNOW February 20, 2021 – Posted in: Highlights

Kagiso Lesego Molope is a South African writer who lives in Ottawa. Her novels, set in the South Africa of the 1990s and afterwards, bear witness to the legacies of apartheid and are studied in schools across South Africa. Her best-known book, the young adult novel This Book Betrays My Brother, won a Percy FitzPatrick Award and an Ottawa Book Award. and was named to best-of lists by Kirkus Reviews, the Globe and Mail, CBC, and the Chicago Public Library. WHAT TO READ: Awumey is a Togolese-Canadian writer…

The Paueru Gai Dialogues 2021: Catalyzing Social Equity through Culture & Connection to Place January 21, 2021

Terry Watada has been invited to participate in the Paueru Gai Dialogues 2021, hosted by the Powell Street Festival in Vancouver, during which artists and activists will share their perspectives on current social issues with the intention to inspire civic engagement and community building during the pandemic. Terry will appear in the inaugural event and speak alongside fellow panelists Ayumi Goto and Kathy Shimizu on how cultural heritage and place impact artistic practice and advance…