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Poetry and comedy are expertly blended in Simon Fraser University’s (SFU) Famous Last Words, where contestants push each other to their creative limits in a series of games designed to test artistic and comedic merit. On June 22 at Pyatt Hall at the VSO School of Music, Famous Last Words brings together a well-known, much loved group of…
Tsimshian artist and storyteller Roy Henry Vickers weaves a beautiful and simplistic tale inspired by his childhood in the Indigenous village of Kitkatla through Ben the Sea Lion, a children’s picture book that will also delight any age group. “My childhood outside of school was connected to nature. My work has always been influenced by…
Uma Krishnaswami’s children’s book, Book Uncle and Me, explores the importance of children finding their voice in a community and the bond books can form with their readers. Through her book, Krishnaswami creates characters from various backgrounds and portrays how there are no barriers to friendships. “Book Uncle and Me is at another level,” says…
In a world of trying times, Laura Rivera inspires resiliency and hope through her beautifully drawn stories, those star heroines who do not fit in the boxes provided by society. The characters, their dynamics and the plot, cannot help but make the reader smile, as they root for the protagonists. “It is terrible for me…
This year’s Indian Summer Festival began June 17, 2021 and is still going strong with plenty of virtual events that can be enjoyed by festival goers until July 17, 2021. Knives and Sugar: Avni Doshi with Souvankham Thammavongsa is one of the virtual events happening July 10, 2021. Doshi will be discussing her debut novel…
Exploring the meaning of identity in every sense – individual, cultural, moral and national – allows Sami Alwani to delve into the personal reflection of other issues in his life. “We’re Canadians. What does that mean? I think of Canada as a made-up country that doesn’t really exist. It’s like if I come to somebody’s…
Hidden in her whimsical and colourful digital illustrations, artist Ejiwa “Edge” Ebenebe’s goal is simple: for Black people to feel seen, beautiful and loved just as they are. Edge, a Nigerian-Canadian illustrator, is passionate about uplifting Black people in her artwork. In her most recent project, Edge collaborated with Coquitlam Heritage to create a workbook…
A book is only words. There are so many emotions that cannot be described with words, says Myriam Steinberg, author of Catalogue Baby, a graphic novel, that tells the story of an indomitable young woman’s ordeal to get pregnant. “One would need too many words to really explain the range of thoughts and feelings going through…
A girl torn between her curiosity for a young maid and her need to maintain her higher social class; a sister torn between her love for her brother and her duty to herself and to a country that asks too much; a daughter pulled between the love of her quarreling and separated parents. These are…
Summer 2020 may not be the season of traveling and parties we all anticipated, but online readings and workshops (from Sept. 19–27) will be available for those interested in the work of countless Canadian authors and poets. Dakshana Bascaramurty, a Globe and Mail journalist, shares her debut non-fiction book This is Not the End of Me at the…
Claire Finlayson is set to debut her first book entitled Dispatches from Ray’s Planet: A Journey Through Autism. Ray’s Planet is a heart-warming story of two siblings learning to understand each other upon Ray’s autism diagnosis. Finlayson hopes this book can normalize autism spectrum disorder, which is a complex condition that consists of challenges with…
Carol Rose Goldeneagle is a woman of many talents. The award-winning author, artist and musician published Bone Black in 2019. This novel offers the reader a much-needed view into the reality of living as a young Indigenous woman in Canada as well as its possible dangers. From the moment she was born, Goldeneagle had to…
As an Indigenous woman, Canadian writer Francine Cunningham hopes to bring understanding and empathy to a world that greatly needs it. Her first poetry collection, On/Me, explores the universal themes of identity and what it means to fit in. On/Me, published by Caitlin Press in October 2019, is currently a finalist for the 2020 Indigenous Voices…
