By Sahara Mehdi Miguel San Vicente stands on a Persian rug, absentmindedly pulling at his shirt, in A Different Booklist’s Cultural Centre, located next-door to the bookstore of the same name. The Facebook video of him pans around the room to show walls covered in African and Caribbean art and the large, diverse group of…
By David Warner The phone alarm buzzes. Ella Andrews flails her hand, scrambling to turn off her alarm; it’s 5 a.m. and she’s not a morning person. But the excitement of being in the heart of Jerusalem, Israel—in the centre of so much history—gets her out of bed. She steps out of her hotel and…
By Christina Flores-Chan There’s something about the energy in the first few minutes of every Lay-Up session that never fails to raise goosebumps on program director Chris Penrose’s arms. Maybe it’s the constant boom boom boom of check-emblazoned basketballs bouncing off the floor at different times like a hundred heartbeats echoing through the gym, or…
By Kendra Seguin Once upon a time, an 11-year-old Tamara Gorin took her first of many solo trips to the library, embarking on what would be the first chapter of a journey towards a bookish future. All alone, she skipped through her complex and boarded a bus at a stop in south Vancouver, feeling confident…
By Breanna Schnurr From Calgary to Waterloo, funeral director Rob Wintonyk shares his experiences in the funeral industry. It’s a cold and cloudy Monday morning as Rob Wintonyk walks up the concrete path leading to the brown double doors of Erb & Good Funeral Home. He strides in through the entrance, stomping his shoes on…
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, this mother and long-term care home worker continues to honour her family and culture by making a traditional Filipino dessert. By Stephanie Davoli It’s almost midnight when Evangeline Racho stumbles into her Mississauga home. She’s exhausted after coming off an eight-hour shift at a retirement home where she’s been…
By Jennifer Nguyen HANOI — Outside a tiny alley tucked away from bulkier storefronts on Nguyen Huu Huan street, two women sit and chat over paper cups that fit just right in their palm, filled almost to the brim with a thick golden foam. A sweet aroma fills the air, growing stronger as one travels…
By Carlos Rayman Thou Shalt Remember Thy Sabbath Day? A new meaning to the age-old commandment and how one mourner came to terms with a shuddered house of worship. On a bright spring morning in the suburban town of Burlington the bees buzzed, the tulips swayed, and the sky was a cloudless teal blue above…
By Thea Gribilas Sonya Thompson* remembers visiting a child psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children with her son, Michael*, when he was nearly 3 years old. The psychologist walked into the room, warmly smiled at the pair, rested her eyes on Michael and said “he’s a lovely boy, he smiles. But I think a…
By Alexandra Holyk On a summer night in 2020, Quintin Ermes could be found sitting on the floor in his shared townhouse near Queen Street and Ossington Avenue, drinking a glass of boxed wine and hand-decorating paper bags. Each bag was adorned on all sides with random strokes of colour and the textures of paint…
