The 24th session of The Tartan Turban Secret Readings was curated by The Canadian Authors Association — Toronto Branch and featured Stedmond Pardy, Nur Abdi, Ingrid Palmer, Jen Frankel, Pamela Yuen-Elkerbout and Sunil Tantirige reading on the theme of love.
Date and Time
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM EST, Thursday, February 27, 2020. Add to Calendar
How to book
Please book a seat on TTSR 24’s Eventbrite page. Tickets are free.
Venue
Barrett and Welsh, 577 Kingston Road, Suite #301, Toronto, ON M4E 1R3. View Map
The Canadian Authors Association’s Toronto Branch is managed by a voluntary executive committee that collaborates with a voluntary advisory board. The co-presidents are Lee Parpart and JF Garrard (who is organizing the curation of TTSR 24). JF Garrard is the founder of Dark Helix Press, Co-President of Canadian Authors Association’s Toronto Branch, Deputy Editor for Ricepaper Magazine, Festival Coordinator for LiterASIAN (Toronto) and Assistant Editor for Amazing Stories magazine. She is an editor and writer of speculative fiction (Immersion, Futuristic Canada, Trump Utopia or Dystopia Anthology, The Undead Sorceress) and non-fiction. Her latest stories include “The Curse” in the Brave New Girls: Adventures of Gales and Gizmos anthology, “The Metamorphosis of Nova” in the Blood Is Thicker anthology by Iguana Books and “The Perfect Husband” in the We Shall Be Monsters Frankenstein anthology by Renaissance Press.
Stedmond Pardy is a left-handed, self-educated poet, originally from the Lakeshore Mimico area, but now residing in…Tartarus, He quotes “An Artist is an Instrument through which the universe reveals itself” & “word poetry is for Everyman, but soul poetry alas, is not heavily distributed” are the words he TRIES to live by. His first collection The pleasures of this planet. Arent enough will be released by Mosaic in 2020.
Nur Abdi grew up in the territory now known as Somaliland. In the 1980s, when a civil war was raging in Somalia, he sought refuge in Canada and became a citizen in 1994. Opposing the repressive government ruling Somalia at the time, Abdi wrote articles in newspapers and magazines. He lives in Toronto. The Somali Camel Boy (Mawenzi House, 2019) is his first novel.
Ingrid Palmer’s writing is largely inspired by her intersecting identities as an androgynous woman of colour with a disability and experience of the child welfare system. Common themes include self-love, acceptance, awareness, and discovery. She is the CEO and founder of Lignum Vitae Virago — a motivational consulting campaign that seeks to shift individuals and organizations into transformational action. She is passionate about elevating marginalized voices and bringing authenticity to acts of inclusion.
Jen Frankel recently moved from the east end to Hamilton where she is suddenly in demand as a director and performer — mostly back in Toronto! She is the author of the Blood & Magic series, Undead Redhead, and the short story collection Feral Tales. Her latest publications include stories in the anthologies Futuristic Canada and Canadian Dreadful, and Amazing Stories magazine.
Pamela Yuen-Elkerbout is a Toronto poet and writer, born in rural Ontario to Hong Kong migrants. She is an expressive writing facilitator with the Toronto Writers Collective, working with individuals in mental illness recovery. During the week, she makes a living as a privacy professional in the public service.
Sunil Tantirige was born and raised in Sri Lanka. He completed his BASc in Chemical Engineering at the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and then continued his studies at the University of Toronto, where he completed an MASc and a PhD in Engineering. He has worked for over 25 years in the Canadian nuclear industry, specializing in nuclear reactor safety. His first book, The House of a Thousand Memories (Iguana Books) is a story of a boy growing up in Sri Lanka in the 60s and 70s. It is one father’s attempt to record his family’s history for his son and posterity before it is lost to the shifting sands of time.
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