Of Diasporas and Homelands

Shyam Selvadurai ed., Story-Wallah! A Celebration of South Asian Fiction (Thomas Allen Publishers)

Hailed by critics and readers worldwide, South Asian writers have taken the book world by storm. Yet despite their great popularity, until now there has been no anthology of fiction available that addresses the idea of the South Asian diaspora. Edited by Shyam Selvadurai, and featuring story by authors such as Michael Ondaatje, Salman Rushdie, Anita Desai, Monica Ali, M.G. Vassanji, Rohinton Mistry and Shani Mootoo, Story-Wallah! is the world’s first collection to showcase the best South Asian fiction from the diaspora. Come hear renowned novelist Shyam Selvadurai in conversation with Daniel Coleman, author of The Scent of Eucalyptus, as they discuss how dynamics such as politics, the use of language, race & gender, and personal history inform and influence the identities of South Asian writers around the world.

Shyam Selvadurai was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and came to Canada with his family at the age of nineteen. He is the author of two novels, the award-winning Funny Boy, and Cinnamon Gardens, which was short-listed for the Trillium Award and has been published in over five countries. Selvadurai lives in Toronto.

Drew Hayden Taylor, Futile Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway (Theytus Books)

Half Ojibway and half Caucasian, Drew Hayden Taylor likes to call himself an Occasion. And it is always an occasion to laugh when he speaks in front of an audience. Thomas King has called Taylor “…one of those dangerous writers who knows the potential of humour, how far it can reach into society, how deep it can cut, how quickly it can heal.” Accompanied by clips from his NFB documentary, Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew, Taylor will regale the Rivoli crowd with stories of native humour told from his unique perspective between two cultures.

Drew Hayden Taylor is an Ojibway from the Curve Lake Reserve in Ontario. He is an award-winning playwright, journalist, flimmaker and lecturer. His journalism has appeared in Windspeaker, NOW Magazine, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and on CBC Radio. Futile Observations of a Blue-Eyed Ojibway is the fourth and final installment in his “Funny You Don’t Look Like One” series. Taylor lives in Toronto.