REFLECTION & REASON

Cornel West was one of my go-to theorists, back in university when I was writing cultural studies essays on race, communications, or sociology, and needed some good solid quotations. Along with Stuart Hall and bell hooks, Cornel West was someone who articulated exactly what I needed to help me figure out my own college-aged thoughts on black history and social progress . He was--and still is--that dude. I was pleased to recently find a publication of his that I hadn't yet encountered. Written in 2008,  "Hope on a Tightrope" is a 237-page book featuring "Words and Wisdom" broken down into short paragraphs, single quotations, and themes like "Philosophy," "Leadership," and "Freedom." The first few pages gave me goosebumps, partially because I instantly remembered how much he would enlighten me back in the day. Books like 1994's "Race Matters" helped me uncover new understanding and theories on culture. So I was not ...

We watch and honour the U.S. President Barack Obama as if he were our own national leader. I'm sure many of us are celebrating Martin Luther King Day in our hearts today, although it is not a recognized holiday in Canada. We know American history and culture inside out, we understand it, and we embrace it, sometimes at the expense of our own stories and unfortunately, sometimes the icons of our own culture are often overshadowed. We accept and understand the American culture and documentation because it is widely communicated, defined, and accepted, and is often more accessible than our own. This is a common characteristic with urban culture in Canada, I believe. Although we have talented and passionate individuals right here at home...we are often under-exposed. The February 2nd event "Defining Canadian Urban Fiction," taking place at the Malvern Branch of the Toronto Public Library (from 2:00pm - 4:00pm) is a forum for Canadian readers, writers, educators, and cultu...

How do you define Canadian Urban Fiction? It's a question I've been asking myself lately, as a fan of urban fiction authors like Sister Souljah, Terry McMillan, Omar Tyree, Eric Jerome Dickey, and the countless other African-American authors who have successfully carved a new niche of literature over the past two decades.  " Urban Fiction "--whether everyone agrees with the perception of the genre, the use of the word urban itself, or the other connotations and controversies that the terminology may bring--exists, it's booming, and it's dominated by American voices.  On Saturday, February 2, 2013 at the Toronto Public Library (Malvern Branch), I've gathered a group of Toronto writers and urban cultural advocates to help define what we believe " Canadian Urban Fiction " to be. The panelists of writers includes: relationship blogger Telisha Ng , Christian non-fiction author Tanika Chambers , urban /scholar educator Camille Ramnath ,...