Mystery Torture by Addi Stewart

a moment is a lifetime

times the silent violence of not knowing

we both don't win, what kind of crazy game is this?

playing with my heart, now I'm a praying atheist

cause hesitation to create a bridge of connection

makes me crazy and dangerously unstable

where did all that potential disappear to?

my ears do not fear truth

reject me or accept me

just say it so I can hear you

my phone is like an umbilical cord

to the soul of my vision and hope

next time you ring, I want to commit and explore like a marriage

if you're careless and unaware

then the hand of destiny will eventually become crippled and broke

but this is the beginning if we want to give a little bit more...

Performance Artist David Delisca at PSW This Week!

I guarantee this week's workshop (Tuesday, November 16, 5 to 7 pm, Parkdale Library) will be SO MUCH FUN!


We've got the fantastically funny and inspiring David Delisca doing a workshop on performance poetry. Last year, he was one of our favourite guests...

ABOUT DAVID: 
David is a Haitian-born, ginger tea sippin’, dishwashin’ sports enthusiast, four-eyed homeboy from ’round the way, who just so happens to be a Spoken Word Artist - Performer - Facilitator. Member of the Toronto Poetry Slam Team.
Here's his website: http://saywordsaypeace.com/


Check out his Blackberry love poem online: 

Free Writer's Workshop with Alan Stratton.

I just got heard of this in an e-mail from Elsa Ngan the liabrarian from the North York Central Liabrary and I thought I should pass it on.

Author Alan Stratton will be holding a FREE writing workshop for people between 13-19 at the North York Central Liabrary this Saturday from 2-4 PM.

Call 416 395 5674 to for more information and registration.

Article about Parkdale Street Writers in the Toronto Sun!

Hey, the Toronto Sun published a great article about our group...

Why funding the arts doesn’t just cater to the black tie set

By RACHEL SA, TORONTO SUN
rachel.sa@sunmedia.ca Twitter: Rachel_Sa

Last Updated: October 23, 2010 9:18pm

There has been little talk about nurturing the arts in Toronto lately, especially in the midst of an election that has focused more on cutting costs and tightening belts than it has on the cultural growth of our city.

But, as Torontonians go to the polls Monday, it is important to look at what deserves to be celebrated and maintained in our city — not just what should be slashed and burned.

A new poll from the Ontario Arts Council released this past week revealed 89% of Ontarians believe that, if their community lost its arts activities, people living there would lose something of value.

Too many people think the arts are the exclusive domain of people who attend black tie galas or high-priced theatre openings. But the arts are accessible — and they make a difference on the ground.

Parkdale Street Writers, an arts group, is doing just that. Making a difference.

It’s a series of free writing workshops that run eight months of the year for Toronto youth ages 16 to 25. Meetings are held weekly at the Parkdale Library.

Award-winning Toronto writer Emily Pohl-Weary created the group in 2008. This week, Parkdale Street Writers kicked off their third full season of writing.

“I grew up five blocks from there,” Pohl-Weary explains. “It’s one of those rough neighbourhoods to grow up in, especially for boys. I feel I had it pretty lucky. I was the girl who would go to the corner and read. But a lot of my friends and my own siblings didn’t come out of it unscathed.”

What I Learned Growing Up in Parkdale

BY EMILY POHL-WEARY

Cars never stop for pedestrians
Kids buy cigarettes in ones, it’s cheaper
Lake Ontario was once clean enough to swim in
Cadillacs invariably carry pimps
You can’t find parking on Sundays
Never trust others
Pick your nose when a pusher approaches
If you steal, you’ll get beat to a pulp
The cops only make you bleed worse
Guardian Angels are worse than cops
Hookers earn a decent living
The pimp always gets tired
Old women live alone
Boys trick you into giving them blow jobs
Residents’ associations only hassle single women
The guy who owns the grocery store kicks his workers
My babysitter turns tricks
After dark, every car carries one man
Hide-and-seek is a dangerous game
People can survive anything

*This is a poem I wrote a few years back. It's been published in a number of places, including my little poetry collection Iron-On Constellations.

Rural Reign - The Rural Canadian Superhero Webcomic

Rural Reign is quite honestly my longest running project. Since I was able to read well enough to write it has gone through several variations on the theme of a school of superheroes but finially I got it down.

Drawing influence more from Heroes, The Runaways and Darker Than Black than the likes of Teen Titans and the X-Men the focus is not so much on costumed fighting of evil than on the lives of people who just so happen to have super powers. Of course the evil fighting still happens, it is a superhero story after all.

Across Bruce County the schools have been contaminated by Nuclear Waste which gives many students superpowers. The Canadian Government is understandably concerned and sets up a blockade around the effected area. Radical movements by some of the superhuman teenagers show opposition to this and are preparing to strike back. Caught in the middle is James Connor, a non-powered teenager. Living in a pressure cooker with hundreds of walking weapons of mass destruction is pushing him to the edge. Just what might he do to be able to stand on equal footing with his peers?

If any of that sounded interesting to you please check out series written by myself and drawn by AteMozzeralla at http://www.drunkduck.com/Rural_Reign

Lillian Allen | Godmother of Hip Hop has got Riddim'

Tuesday OCT 26th, 2010
Lillian Allen fed our minds with with bright smiles, stories, 5 pieces of poetry and even a little bit o' history...or Herstory actually.

Interesting points will soon be posted here!

I love Lillian's philosophy on writing:
"You can't be wrong if you write"
bAM!

Put THAT on a t-shirt! [but give Lillian Allen credit and Parkdale street writers the money]

Find more of Lillian at http://www.griots.net/archives/Allen/