“Black Lives Matter. Does mine? I faced some of my biggest hurdles this year. I was reminded daily that I matter, and reminded daily that I don’t. This pandemic has opened my eyes in some big ways and I am forever grateful.” Martha Mutale reflects on her work at a Halifax shelter.
Another great poem by Chad Norman:
I am sure you have seen him there.
Seemingly so confident, unalone
and unafraid, the gigantic gun
falling over him like a fashion
chosen by those brothers, everything
to do with a white Romerica.
Claire and Jack Bennet reflect on the legacy of Jim Bennet, their grandfather and co-host of Singalong Jubilee, a wildly popular tv show in the sixties and early seventies. “First, and most simply, we learned that making music and singing are fun. It provides an escape into a joyous community of musicians united with one goal in mind: to sing, to enjoy music.”
Stacey Gomez, Asaf Rashid, Jessica Tellez and Wanda Thomas explain how racist immigration policies keep migrant workers temporary. “In Nova Scotia, approximately 2000 migrant workers arrive each year through Temporary Foreign Worker Programs, to plant and harvest crops, and to process our agriculture, as well as seafood products. Abuse of migrant workers is rampant in Nova Scotia and across Canada. The recently released report Unheeded Warnings includes accounts from migrant workers in Nova Scotia about being coerced into speaking positively of their employers during a government inspection under threat of deportation. Other workers report having racist slurs used against them when they spoke out about poor conditions. We’ve also received reports of migrant workers being unlawfully prevented from leaving Nova Scotia farms.”
A new poem by Angela Bowden. It’s very good. You should read it.
“And somebody besides me must remember how their parents did not allow Black boys and Black girls into their homes, so we had to sneak in and sneak out of their homes and their parties.” Angela Bowden wonders when white people will finally come to acknowledge all the aggression and contempt heaped upon Black Nova Scotians at the most intimate levels.
The Canada Student Service Grant pays students less than minimum wage and strips them of basic employment protections. Doing this may well be illegal, writes Lisa Cameron, and it’most certainly sends the wrong message about student labour.
“Growing up with various medical conditions, I struggled with how society perceived my (dis) abilities and began documenting my experiences through poetry.”
We’re delighted to present this poem and photograph by Cara Jones, one of the five poems that were selected after we issued a call for poems earlier in the year.
Language barriers. Slow internet. Students sent home with no work. Stephen Wentzell writes on the Liberal government’s broken promise of ‘no child left behind’ after the schools closed because of the coronavirus.
This poem by Nova Scotia poet and visual artist Grace Lane-Smith was among the submissions after we issued our call for poets. Enjoy.