Living Hyphen

• Bridging The Gap

  The final episode of our second season turns the question on distance: How do we close the gaps we’ve been exploring all season? How do we build a bridge to bring each other closer? To help us consider the answers from different angles, we’ve gathered together some of our friends from the On Canada Project, the Department of Imaginary Affairs, and Filipinos United 4 Palestine.  Featured in this episode:  • Elvin John Malonzo Velasco (all pronouns) is a 1.5 generation Filipinx-Canadian migrated as a settler-guest in Scarborough, Tkaronto; spiritually rooted in Baguio (Bagiw = Ibaloi word for moss) & Tarlac City (Malatarlak = Alta word for wild cogon grass) of what we colonially know as the islands called The Philippines.  They are a queer non-binary interdisciplinary creative artrepreneur, warrior-healer (ancestral lineage) & storytelling caretaker/co-creator of gumawa space; passionate in engaging their creative processes of drawing, drag (TITA), collaging, poetry & bridging community through active & participatory storytelling invitations with the focus on inner child healing & honouring; land stewardship & re-membering our queer ancestral lineage.  • The On Canada Project (@oncanadaproject) Gina Uppal is an entrepreneur and community organizer with 10 years experience leading initiatives across public and private sectors. Gina loves creating spaces for leaders to learn, build relationships, and steward systems initiatives. Trust, compassion, and community are central in her approach to this work. • The Department of Imaginary Affairs (@dia_space) Jennifer Chan (@jennzia) is a Mama, partner, friend, sister, aunt, daughter, designer, researcher, facilitator and recovering perfectionist. She craves things to make sense in her double Virgo brain and has a constant need to protect. She has created a job for herself where she gets to imagine equitable futures.  • Filipinos United 4 Palestine (@filipinosunited4palestine) Jovie Galit (@joviegalit @pinaycollection) is an artist, racial justice consultant, and community organizer living as a settler in Tkaronto. With years of experience organizing for and learning from migrant and racialized communities, she has been deeply involved in the newcomer and social justice sectors across Turtle Island. As a designer and hand lettering artist, Jovie founded Pinay Collection, a social enterprise and feminist merchandise line supporting liberation movements in the Philippines. She upholds strong abolitionist, anti-imperialist, and anti-colonial values. Gelaine Santiago (@gelainesantiago) is an award-winning social entrepreneur and storyteller working at the intersections of entrepreneurship, social justice, and cultural identity. She's on a mission to build ecosystems (not empires) and helps marginalized founders scale businesses that grow collective, wealth, and joy. Gelaine is the co-founder and CEO of Cambio & Co and Sinta & Co. dedicated to sustainable livelihood for artisans in the Philippines. Living Hyphen⁠⁠ is a community seeking to turn up the volume on the voices of hyphenated Canadians. You can purchase our magazine at ⁠⁠www.livinghyphen.ca⁠⁠, support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠, or find us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

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  56:12
• Distances Between Us, Part II

  In this two-part exploration of distances between us, we look at how colonial powers have tried to destroy the histories and complexities of racialized communities by deeming them as subordinate.  Featured in this episode:   • Alyssa Sy de Jesus (@alyssabethandra) is a writer and cultural worker. "Twice removed" from the motherland, she is a fourth generation Chinese settler from the Philippines based today on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tlseil-Waututh territory. • Sumaiya Matin (@sumaiya.matin) is a writer, social worker/psychotherapist, and public policy professional. She loves exploring the intersections of mental health and literature. She is the author of the literary memoir The Shaytan Bride, and is currently a Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of British Columbia. • Sarrah G. Malek (@sarrah3g) is a Palestinian writer and spoken word poet living in T'Karanto, Canada. She writes on colonization and resistance using creative performance and magical realism. She is co-editor of Min Fami: Arab feminist reflections on space, identity, and resistance published in 2014.  Living Hyphen⁠⁠ is a community seeking to turn up the volume on the voices of hyphenated Canadians. You can purchase our magazine at ⁠⁠www.livinghyphen.ca⁠⁠, support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠, or find us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

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  34:32
• Distances Between Us, Part I

  What happens when we try to do away with nuances and differences altogether — and in doing so erase the cultures made richer by them?  Featured in this episode:  • Amritpal Singh Arora is a writer of poetry. He is a family physician in Burnaby, British Columbia. His poetry is centered around themes of medicine, grief, domestic violence, and navigating the world as a racialized person. His creative work has previously appeared in This Magazine, Train: a poetry journal, The Canadian Medical Association Journal, Canadian Family Physician, and Living Hyphen. • Christopher Tse (@tselikec @chris_tse) is a facilitator, writer, and poet based in Whitehorse, Yukon. He placed second at both the 2011 Poetry Slam World Cup and 2016 Rio International Poetry Slam, and continues to miss the top of the podium in most areas of his life. Christopher is passionate about interrogating the intersections of identity and power through storytelling and art, particularly the role of art in historical and contemporary resistance movements. He has a dog. • Cobra Collins (@kingofthesnakes) is a Mohkínstsis based mixed Indigenous and settler poet of significant height. She has represented our city on a national level at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and was humbled to sit as Indigenous advocate on the Writers’ Union of Canada’s (TWUC) National Council in 2021 and 2022. Her debut short film “Hop Along Hang On” has been featured nationwide and internationally in numerous film festivals and has won several awards, including Best short film, Black Hills film festival. Cobra was also honoured to be shortlisted as a nominee for Calgary's 2016 & 2018 poet laureate. • Thamer Linklater (@Rustic.lyricist) is Rocky Cree from Nothern Manitoba. They are an activist, poet, and researcher currently residing in Peterborough Ontario. They love exploring how stories and narratives shape people, places, movements, and countries.  • Taha Tabish (@taabaii) is a Pakistani-Canadian immigrant settler. He currently lives and works in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang (Montreal) with his partner, toddler, and goldendoodle. Living Hyphen⁠⁠ is a community seeking to turn up the volume on the voices of hyphenated Canadians. You can purchase our magazine at ⁠⁠www.livinghyphen.ca⁠⁠, support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠, or find us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

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  29:52
• Intersections

  Our identities are never neutral, unchanging facts. These different intersections of our identities are invariably linked to larger forces of power and oppression. How do we confront the ways that these intersections can run up against each other and create distance?  Featured in this episode:   • Dee Stoicescu • Erica H Isomura (@ericahiroko) is an award-winning essayist, poet, and multi-disciplinary artist of Chinese and Japanese (yonsei/四世) descent. Erica is currently at work on a collection of poems and essays, and a graphic project exploring fragmented Japanese Canadian memory. • Andi Vicente (@andivice) is an artist whose interdisciplinary practice is humbled and radicalized by their work with different communities. Through installation and image making they’ve explored intersectional identities, precarious livelihoods and the juxtaposition of movements. Andi aims to broaden an understanding of oppressed experiences and encourage collective empowerment through the answering of the questions “Who is not here with us and how can I be there for you?” Living Hyphen⁠⁠ is a community seeking to turn up the volume on the voices of hyphenated Canadians. You can purchase our magazine at ⁠⁠www.livinghyphen.ca⁠⁠, support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠, or find us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

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  34:00
• Boundaries

  Many of us might be familiar with the impact of displacement on our families and communities: the trauma, the disconnect, the divide that spans generations and cultures.  How do we bridge these gaps? How do we have the difficult conversations and make the difficult choices that cut right into the heart of our belief systems?  Featured in this episode:   • jean allynn (@jnllynn) is a Kapampangan queer femme. When she isn’t providing peer support to 2SLGBTQ+ youth, you can find her at the local community garden, buying more books, and watching horror movies. • Ginny (@ginnnychen) is a DEIB consultant, strategist and inclusive designer. As a former teacher and crisis call responder, Ginny is best known for creating intersectional safe spaces and coaching interpersonal relationships. • Thanuja V. (@tj.thanuja) creates, curates, and collaborates to connect with others and build community. Wellness, authentic living, travel, supporting local, and connection are all big themes she explores in her life. • May Lui (@mayluiconsulting) is a settler/ immigrant of Chinese and white/ European/Jewish ancestry who lives in T’karonto. She is a consultant and adult educator about anti-racism and anti-oppression. May has been published in Body Stories: In and Out and With and Through Fat (2020), Living Hyphen Volume 2.2 Healing Across Generations (2022), Hags on Fire Issue 6 (2022), Hungry Zine Volume 6 Hot and Spicy (2023). www.maylui.com • André Pawan Vashist (@andrevash) is a son, cousin, parent who cares about living in a society where we work together to care for the Earth, each other and future generations.  He uses his gifts through poetry, through nonprofit sector and through facilitating personal growth.  Living Hyphen⁠⁠ is a community seeking to turn up the volume on the voices of hyphenated Canadians. You can purchase our magazine at ⁠⁠www.livinghyphen.ca⁠⁠, support us on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠, or find us on ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠.

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  33:41

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