Diaspora Dialogues

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Alicia Elliott

Reimagining our History—DD at Doors Open

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Canada’s defining attributes are its multiculturalism and inclusivity. Yet, we tend to tell Canadian history through the eyes of the white settler. For Doors Open 2016, Diaspora Dialogues has invited some of the city’s finest writers, spoken word artists, and playwrights to explore a moment or figure from Canadian history reimagined in a more diverse and inclusive lens.

10 a.m.–4 p.m., May 28–29, 2016
Old City Hall, Court Room 121

Readings will take place for the duration of Doors Open.

FEATURING

  • Alicia Elliott
  • Mia Herrera
  • Sheniz Janmohamed
  • Shaista Latif
  • Rabindranath Maharaj
  • Pasha Malla
  • Lee Maracle
  • Pratap Reddy
  • Kerri Sakamoto
  • Shawn Salik
  • Priscila Uppal

And more!

Reimagining our History

by

Diaspora Dialogues invites you to join us for a weekend of readings reimagining Canadian history. Our country’s defining attributes are its multiculturalism and inclusivity. Yet, we tend to tell Canadian history through the eyes of the white settler. For Doors Open 2016, Diaspora Dialogues has invited some of city’s finest writers, spoken word artists, and playwrights to explore a moment or figure from Canadian history reimagined through a more diverse and inclusive lens.

Saturday May 28, 2016, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday May 29, 2016, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Old City Hall, Court Room 121
60 Queen Street West

FEATURING:

Hosted by: Dianah Smith, writer, teacher, and arts educator.

Readings are happening throughout the entire weekend so be sure to stop by Old City Hall between taking in other historical sites at Doors Open.

Tickets:
FREE
Available here.

Heels

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Stephanie struggled to shove her feet into red stilettos outside the cheap-looking door she’d just closed. As her foot found its nook, toes reassuringly squeezed by reinforced satin, she thought she could hear the man on the other side of the door, just barely audible: “Fucking squaw bitch.”

She expected a lot of things from the man she just left, but she was thinking more along the lines of an exasperated sigh, maybe even something whipped fast and hard at the door. Instead he had chosen the most violent option he had. She wasn’t expecting that.

There had been nothing to suggest such a reaction when she was in the room with him. Only twenty minutes earlier she had woken up there, still-damp flannel sheets clinging to her body. She could smell him right away. Dried sweat and morning breath, alcohol, stale cigarettes. A scent that could belong to anyone—high-end businessman, cheap cheesy salesman, university professor, grease-fisted plumber. Pieces of their night were still in her head. Fleeting flashes of bare skin, demeaning expressions forgivable only when grunted during sex, all woven into a night that was slipping from her even as she examined the fragments.

Published in TOK: Writing the New Toronto, Book 6. Purchase the book to read the full piece.
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