DORIANNE EMMERTON: Diaspora Dialogues Emerging Artist in Fiction 2010

by Janice Goveas

You wouldn't expect a self-described "femme, but low-maintenance femme" to be into Mixed Martial Arts. But then meeting Dorianne Emmerton will correct that expectation, because she has enough energy to snap you, me and a score of others out of our sleepy sense of contradictions and into a world where they make total sense.

Let's begin by qualifying our terms. On being femme, Dorianne includes among the things she enjoys: not wearing pants. Not, she explains, that she walks around with nothing on her bottom half, even if she does think that the recent trend for women to wear tights as pants is deplorable. She just prefers skirts and dresses. However, she can’t wear high heels and rarely wears makeup. Therefore, she’s femme, but low-maintenance femme. On her love of Mixed Martial Arts: it's the homoerotic text that most engages her. "It's goons in Tag Out shirts and oooh! they're hugging. That's so sweet," she coos. Even the language used, like doms and subs, is "totally kink terminology"

The other things she enjoys are cheese, cats, beer, direct sunlight, unconventional relationships and board games. We didn't discuss beer, direct sunlight, board games or unconventional relationships because those seemed self-explanatory - but now that I've met Dorianne I'm wondering if that was a misperception.

About cheese: "everything tastes better with cheese," she argues. She could write a commercial about it. She's not into very mouldy blue cheese, but judiciously consumed pizza topped with it when it was served to her on her second date with her current girlfriend. She remembers a recent trip to Paris where the cheese experience was outstanding. "But the French don't believe in refrigeration, and even my girlfried wasn't hard core enough to eat the furry parts, so we cut around them."

She is also an internet junkie. "If I could have a wifi connection implanted under my skin and wear glasses with screens displayed on the backside I would, and I don’t care how much that would make me look like a member of the Borg." She is a fiction junkie, as well, and would like nothing better than to spend all day reading and writing and tooling around the internet.

"However, I have not yet found a way to pay my rent with these pursuits, so I sadly spend 36.25 hours a week at an office job in the public sector."

THIS WEEK IN TORONTO - OCTOBER 25-31

1) Rasik Arts Roundtable

We meet informally around a table, hand out scripts, read a play (outloud) together, and then talk about it. There is no admission charge. All are welcome. And anyone who wants to read a part is more than encouraged to do so! We will be reading "After the Fall," by Rafi Khan and Alim Khan of Ottawa and Toronto, respectively.

When: Monday October 25, 7-9pm
Where: Urbana Coffee, 1033 Bay St (corner of Bay & St. Joseph)

2) Project Humanity's The Middle Place

When: Ongoing - Saturday November 13, 10pm
Where: Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave, north of Queen St W, east of Bathurst

3) Toronto Women's Bookstore Three Day Re-Opening Party & Cabaret

The Toronto Women's Bookstore invites you to join us for our official opening party! Come celebrate the re-opening of the store with a three-day cabaret featuring readings, performances, DJ's and refreshments.

When: Wednesday October 27 - Saturday October 29, 7-10pm
Where: Toronto Women's Book Store, 73 Harbord St

4) Homeland

Presented by Godot Art Productions, Homeland is a multi-faceted examination of the meaning of home in a hybrid setting of dance, live music and documentary film. The words of the personalities in the film are translated into a solo dance and physical theatre against the beat of drums and flow of electronic sequences performed by two musicians on stage.

Tickets: $20, Mantinee & Preview $10, Advance in Group $15

When: Thursday October 28 - Saturday November 6
Tuesday-Saturday 8pm
Saturday Mantinee 2pm
Preview October 27
Where: Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave, north of Queen St W, east of Bathurst

5) WESTEND Stories

Spend Halloween 2010 by hearing ghoulish tales and horrifying stories to celebrate the joy of fears that we all secretly have deep within. Join us in friendship surrounded by books and stories from around the world and the intimate bookstore of The River Trading Company and WESTEND Stories, a different way to spend a Saturday night!

When: Saturday October 30, 7-9pm
Where: The River Trading Company, 1418 Queen St W

6) Latin-Afro-South Asian Festival

The Latin-Afro-South Asian Festival is a 3-day contemporary multi-disciplinary arts festival that shows the fusion between the different cultures and roots of the Latin American, African and South Asian artists involved and the influence of the multicultural society where they work and reside.

October 30, 2010 - TRANE STUDIO – Music and Dance
November 5, 2010 – GLADSTONE HOTEL – Music and Dance

Cover: $5

When: Saturday October 30, 8pm
Where: Trane Studio, 964 Bathurst St

PRADEEP SOLANKI: Diaspora Dialogues Emerging Artist in Fiction 2010

The Inner Editor

When I first began writing in earnest, the words used to pour out like a river whose dam had just burst. Those were the good old days, when I could sit at the computer for hours on end. Of course, most of the things I wrote then have been deleted, banished to some cyber-purgatory. The writer, Carol Murphy. once told me about the ‘golden turd’ phenomenon. Babies, when they first learn to defecate, think they have produced the most wonderful thing in the world. New writers are not unlike babies. And if one keeps at writing, slowly the inner editor emerges. The stronger the inner editor, the better the quality of writing one produces. And also less the quantity.

Writing workshops help educate the inner editor, as does the guidance of a good mentor. I was lucky enough to have been guided this summer by Rabindranath Maharaj, through the Diaspora Dialogues Mentorship program. I have to be honest, the first time I sent a draft for him to review, I was apprehensive. Just who was this man, he didn’t even know me, nor the style of writing I was aspiring to? How could his advice possibly have any merit? It turned out that he is not only a seasoned writer, but a seasoned mentor also. He seemed to understand immediately both my strengths and my weaknesses. And he explained each one of his critiques in a way that made sense to me. That is important. Often in writing groups, people have valid feedback, but they are unable to express it in a constructive way.

Being a co-editor at Descant Magazine has also sharpened my inner editor. Seeing the mistakes in others’ writing helps one see them in one’s own writing because we all make very similar mistakes.

Thus, when the inner editor has sharpened enough, one finds the volume of writing slows to a trickle. One scrutinizes each word, every comma; the rhythm, the imagery of each sentence has to be sing before it allowed into one’s fiction. Sometimes, the inner editor can be debilitating for the writer. Writer’s block is sometimes a symptom of a too-powerful inner editor. When this happens, how does one learn to switch off the inner editor?

I discovered one way recently, quite by chance. A short story of mine, "The Glass Eaters", was published in Echolocations, the literary magazine for the University of Toronto English Department. This is a magazine that only began in 2002, and is thus not well-known. However, I knew anything to do with the U of T should not be underestimated. Atwood, Ondaatje, and many other literary stars are alumni and/or mentors there. Publishers read such publications, searching for the next fresh voice. When I was asked to read an extract from my story at the launch, my inner editor worried me. Each time I practiced reading aloud, it kept doubting my grammar, my choice of words and imagery. I wasn’t even sure why Echolocations had even accepted my story, it was so full of flaws.

To add insult to injury, the morning of the launch I woke up with a head cold, my nose stuffed up and my throat sore. Should I cancel? Luckily I didn’t. Because when I did read my work aloud, to a room of perhaps fifty students and alumni, a surprising thing happened: it was my inner editor who was silent with fright, not me. Reading the words without the editor, I began to appreciate what was good about the story.

I had discovered a wonderful secret: like fire, the inner editor is a good servant, but a very poor master.

DD Wraps Up Its Season with Fun at the Park and a Glowing Night at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche!

Have you ever had a personal reading from a Giller Prize nominee? Or taken a psychogeographic tour of Queen’ s Park? Have you ever had a personal line of verse written just for you by a professional poet? If so, you probably participated in our Literary Scavenger Hunt at Word on the Street this year! We had close to 500 people divulge their favourite Canadian authors and books to us, find writers hidden around the park, and hit the tents and booths of our literary friends—all in competition for our fabulous grand prizes. The weather was lovely, competition was fierce but friendly, and it turned out to be a huge success! It was the perfect way to cap off a busy summer. Check out our pictures and video.


And while our energy was still high, we geared up for collaborative project Future City at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. On a night where the city belongs to pedestrians, artists and art lovers, we transformed the top floor of the Gardiner Museum. With help from poet Heather Hermant and glass artist Melina Young we mounted an installation called “Nice Bumping Into You” — an open exchange of poetry, art, ideas and anything else you can express with a piece of glowing glass, a sharpie, and a crowd of good-spirited and like-minded people. Atop a custom built light table courtesy of Humber College, visitor’ s thoughts, fears, desires, drawings – and sometimes even phone numbers! – glowed. People wrote or drew whatever they wanted, with our artists there to guide them should anyone need inspiration—and our guests didn’ t let us down. One guest captured the night perfectly, writing “ stoplights in the rearview, as the city falls cold” and another advised “ don’t let life and love slip by.” A young sightseer declared his hunger, and an even younger one told us how much her family meant to her. By the time the sun broke through the windows of the Gardiner, “ Nice Bumping Into You” had been an outlet for the whole spectrum of human emotion and thought, and it was hard to know if it was the journey or the all-nighter that had us all so spent. Either way, it was exciting, inspiring and gratifying to see how excited and willing people were to share.

It was a hectic change in season for us, with two major events back-to-back, but WOTS afforded us the opportunity to enjoy one of the last days of summery sunshine by soaking up the air in Queen’ s Park. And we kept warm all night long despite the first chill of autumn, bumping into strangers and huddled over the glow of our art exchange at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. As always, it was beyond worth it to share in the enthusiasm, curiosity and talent of everyone who came out to both events, our endlessly talented writers and artists and our ever-patient volunteers. Thank you to all, and we hope to see you at the next one!

THIS WEEK IN TORONTO - OCTOBER 18-24

1) Asian Arts Freedom School - Vivek Shraya

You don’t want to miss this special writing workshop facilitated by Vivek Shraya focusing on creative and editing processes and techniques derived from working on his collection of short stories, God Loves Hair.

When: Tuesday October 19, 6-8:30pm
Where: Kapisanan Centre (in the basement), 167 Augusta Avenue

2) Book Launch: Imagining Toronto

Amy Lavender Harris will launch her long-awaited new book, Imagining Toronto. This is also Mansfield's 10th anniversary party, and other books launching the same evening will include Leigh Nash's Goodbye, Ukulele, Peter Norman's At The Gates Of The Theme Park, Natasha Nuhanovic's Stray Dog Embassy and Priscila Uppal's Winter Sport: Poems.

When: Tuesday October 19, 7pm - Wednesday October 20, 1am
Where: The Boat, 158 Augusta Avenue in Kensington Market

3) imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is an international festival in Toronto that celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples on the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio, and new media. The works accepted reflect the diversity of the world's Indigenous nations and illustrate the vitality and excellence of our art and culture in contemporary media.

Ticket pricing here.

When: Wednesday October 20, 1pm - Sunday October 24, 9pm
Where: See here for events and locations.

4) Rakkatak's Cd Release

Rakkatak is Anita Katakkar's solo project, incorporating Indian classical rhythms, lustrous melodies, tabla soaked electronica and waves of synths. She collaborates with like minded Toronto musicians to create an atmospheric backdrop for her work.

Cover: $15 (including cd)

When: Wednesday October 20, 8-11:30pm
Where: The Painted Lady, 218 Ossington just south of Dundas West

5) The Middle Place

Project: Humanity's The Middle Place starts this week at Theatre Passe Muraille. Come see this new version of the play, further developed since our SummerWorks showing.

When: Thursday October 21, 7:30pm - Saturday November 13, 10pm
Where: Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, just north of Queen
St. West, east of Bathurst Street

6) Book Launch: Echoes of the Other Land

You are invited to the book launch of Echoes from the Other Land, a collection of short stories by Ava Homa. Event is free. Books will be available to purchase at the launch, along with author signing, readings and light refreshments.

When: Friday October 22, 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Beit Zatoun House, 612 Markham Street (Bathurst Station, beside Honest Eds)

7) Latin-Afro-South Asian Festival

The Latin-Afro-South Asian Festival is a 3-day contemporary multi-disciplinary arts festival that shows the fusion between the different cultures and roots of the Latin American, African and South Asian artists involved and the influence of the multicultural society where they work and reside.

October 22, 2010 - LULA LOUNGE - Music, Dance and Video
October 30, 2010 - TRANE STUDIO – Music and Dance
November 5, 2010 – GLADSTONE HOTEL – Music and Dance

Cover: $5

When: Friday October 22, 7:30pm
Where: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W.

8) Canzine 2010: Canada's Largest Festival of Zines and Underground Culture

Over 100 zines, book publisher, comic artists and crafters will take over The Great Hall. Plus play homemade video games on the Hand Eye Society's video console and buy tiny poems from the Toronto Poetry Vendors poem vending machine.

Cost: $5 at the door. Includes a copy of the fall issue of Broken Pencil.

When: Sunday October 24, 1-7pm
Where: The Great Hall, 1087 Queen Street West (Dovercourt and Queen)

THIS WEEK IN TORONTO - OCTOBER 11-17

1) OUTwords 2010: a queer| spectrum community arts exhibition & fundraiser

When: Ongoing - Friday October 15th at 9:30 pm
Where: The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West

2) Hard Times

based on the novel by Charles Dickens
adapted and directed by Chris Earle, with the company

performed by Ann Powell, David Powell, Anand Rajaram
puppet design and construction by Ann Powell and David Powell
dramaturged by Shari Hollett
music by Rick Sacks
design consultant Camilla Koo
Stage managed by Bonnie Thomson

Performances:
Tuesday-Saturday 7:30pm
Saturday Matinees 2:30pm
Tickets $15 - $25 at Arts Box Office or at 416.504.7529

When: Ongoing - October 16 at 7:30pm
Where: Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, 16 Ryerson (East of Bathurst & North of Queen)

3) 10½ Stories

A night of ten 5-minute stories on a common theme, "Choices", told by volunteer audience members drawn at random from a hat. The eleventh story will be left unfinished – its ending will begin our next storytelling night. Hosted by MothUP Toronto's Daniel Goldbloom.

When: Wednesday October 13, 8-10:30 pm
Where: Terrazza Restaurant, 372 Harbord St. (Just east of Ossington)

4) Breakfast Club Series: Bravo!FACT & You

Discuss with Executive Director Judy Gladstone why both established and emerging filmmakers are interested in working on shorts, and pick up some tips on how to put together a great application.

When: Wednesday October 13, 8-9:30 am
Where: Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, 49 Ontario Street, Suite 501

5) Broken Pencil's Indie Writers Deathmatch IV

Enter your best story (1500-3000 words) by December 31, 2010!

JOYCE WAYNE: Diaspora Dialogues Emerging Artist in Fiction 2010

When you’re my age, 59, being included in the Diaspora Dialogues literary mentorship program is the most rewarding experience imaginable. This year I completed my first novel, The Cook’s Temptation and I also began writing short stories focused on the 1947 spy trials of Soviet sympathizers in Canada. Robin Maharaj is my mentor and his editorial comments have been so helpful that I can envision writing more stories (maybe even a novel) based on the tragic characters embroiled in the start of the Cold War. I think this is called “finding your voice.”

My day job is as the head of the Media for Global Professionals program at Sheridan College. Right now I’m leading a research project investigating the relationship between diversity arts organizations and “mainstream arts” in the GTA. By the way, it was a former student of mine, and an emerging voice in last year’s Diaspora Dialogues contest, Mayank Bhatt, who encouraged me to submit my story to the 2010 competition. I’m so thankful that he did.