Come out and celebrate the start of our fifth season with an evening of poetry, prose, music and film. The concept of this iteration builds from the importance of family in Asian cultures, the tensions between blood family and the family we come to choose. This May, Ellen Chang-Richardson brings together two creators from the pan-Asian diaspora and two creators, not, whose works deal with the notion of family — roots, lineages and futures — to deepen and expand this conversation of intersectional familial relationships and the boundaries, blurred and distinct, between eastern and western understandings.
Wayne Ng and Jean Van Loon will present in-person readings, ViNa will stream in with a live performance from Treaty 6 and 7 territories, and we will screen Desmond Simon's Mitata | Grandfather followed by a live Q&A via video stream.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Born and raised on Treaty 6 and 7 territories, VINA embodies stories and songs of queer diasporic resistance, where the metaphorical becomes literal and meaning remains capacious. They’re a fiction editor at Augur, and their own writings have been Pushcart-nominated (thank you, The Ex-Puritan), with award and contest wins from Prairie Fire (2021) and Briarpatch (2020).
WAYNE NG is a novelist born in Toronto to Chinese immigrants who fed him a steady diet of bitter melons and kung fu movies. He is a social worker who lives to write, travel, eat and play, preferably all at the same time. His Letters from Johnny won the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Crime Novella and was an Ottawa Book Award Finalist. His most recent works are The Family Code and Johnny Delivers.
JEAN VAN LOON is a graduate of Carleton, Queen’s, Humber, and UBC. Her second poetry book, Nuclear Family (McGill-Queen’s, 2022) won the 2023 Ottawa Book Award. Her first, Building on River (Cormorant, 2018), was a finalist for that award. Her story, “Stardust,” published in the Queen’s Quarterly, appeared in Journey Prize Stories 19. Her stories, poems, and reviews have appeared in literary magazines from coast to coast.
Born and raised in Elsipogtog First Nation, New Brunswick, DESMOND SIMON transitioned from an 8-year stint as a Canadian Combat Engineer to chasing his passion for filmmaking. Self-taught through online resources and industry mentors, he co-owns a Fredericton-based production company, primarily producing documentaries and short films. His journey, filled with continuous learning, captures his dedication to storytelling through the lens of his unique cultural background and military experiences.
Event Venue
SAW Centre, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, ON K1N 7B9, Canada,Ottawa, Ontario
Tickets
CAD 20.00
