Kathy Friedman, Inkwell Workshops, Antonio Michael Downing, Musician, Writer, Activist, Eufemia Fantetti, Author

Moving Parts: Migration and Mental Health

Geographic borders are a product of the colonial imaginary. Yet the act of crossing them can cause long-lasting ruptures in our identities, families, and communities. How do diasporic Canadian writers address the links between migration, displacement, trauma, and mental health? How does their work engage with language and its stumbling blocks? What experiences have they shared as writers confronting discrimination and a lack of culturally appropriate supports? And in what ways does the act of storytelling empower their sense of selfhood? In this lively reading and panel, three diasporic writers of fiction and memoir read from their work and delve into a frank discussion with insight and humour.

 

 

Kathy Friedman, Humber College

Kathy Friedman emigrated with her family from South Africa to Thornhill, Ontario, when she was five. Her first collection of short stories, All the Shining People (Anansi, 2022) is currently shortlisted for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and the Trillium Book Award. In 2012, she was a finalist for the Writers’ Trust Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. A professor in Humber College’s Bachelor of Creative and Professional Writing program, Kathy is also the co-founder and artistic director of InkWell Workshops, which offers free literary programming to adults with mental health and addiction issues. She lives in Tkaronto/Toronto, an uninvited guest on the shared Ancestral territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Wendat, and the Haudenosaunee.

 

Antonio Michael Downing, Musician, Writer, Activist

Antonio Michael Downing grew up in southern Trinidad, Northern Ontario, Brooklyn, and Kitchener. He is a musician, writer, and activist based in Toronto. His 2010 debut novel, Molasses (Blaurock Press), was published to critical acclaim. In 2017 he was named by the RBC Taylor Prize as one of Canada's top Emerging Authors for nonfiction. Saga Boy, his 2021 memoir, an enthralling deeply personal account of a young immigrant's search for belonging was shortlisted for both the 2021 Speaker's Book Award and the 2021 Toronto Book Award. Giller winner Ian Williams called it: "...the triumph of Blackness everywhere--the irrepressible instinct for survival in a world where Blacks are prey." He has written two children's books slated for release with Tundra Books Canada in 2023, and his novel Little Orphan Blue was recently purchased by Simon and Schuster Canada. When not writing, Antonio Michael performs and composes music as John Orpheus.

 

Eufemia Fantetti Humber College

Eufemia Fantetti’s short fiction collection, A Recipe for Disaster & Other Unlikely Tales of Love (Mother Tongue Publishing) was runner up for the 2013 Danuta Gleed Literary Award and won the 2014 Bressani Prize for Short Fiction. Her second book, My Father, Fortune-tellers & Me: A Memoir, delves into the experience of growing up with mentally ill parents. She recently co-edited the award-winning anthology Tongues: On Longing and Belonging Through Language (Book*hug, 2021). Eufemia’s writing frequently explores the challenges of navigating mental health concerns with layers of cultural complications. Her work can be found in various anthologies including Beyond Crazy, Conspicuous Accents, Emails from India, Exploring Voices, Love Me True, and Body & Soul: Stories for Skeptics and Seekers. Eufemia is a professor of writing at Humber College and the University of Guelph- Humber.