The Foreign Land We Call Canada: Immigrant Stories

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Have you ever felt uprooted so deeply that the stories you tell are the only connection you have to home? What is home anyway? What makes a place home? And can one belong to multiple homes at the same time? Is home a geographical location? A traditional outfit? A taste of food? A friend asking ‘how are you’ in your mother tongue?

These authors, joined through their immigration experience, bring you stories of how they create belonging on the foreign soil of Canada. In their writing, they search for the nuance in what it means to be an immigrant, a Canadian, an uninvited guest on First Nations territories, and what it means to hold on to a heritage from a place so far away.

Curated by Syrian-Canadian author Danny Ramadan (The Clothesline Swing, The Foghorn Echoes), this event features authors Francesca Ekwuyasi (Butter Honey Pig Bread), SJ Sindu (Marriage of a Thousand Lies, Blue-Skinned Gods), Téa Mutonji (Shut Up You’re Pretty), and Jasmine Sealy (A Fair Wind to Take You Home).

Curated and moderated by Danny Ramadan

This event is captioned

NOTE: Zoom link will be on your confirmation email.

Links

• Register eventbrite.ca

Organizer

Victoria Festival of Authors

Since 2016, Victoria Festival of Authors (VFA) has been the largest celebration of books and book lovers on Vancouver Island. Each fall we invite authors from across Canada to share their books and ideas with Victoria’s readers. VFA has also included school-based programs since 2019.

Our traditional five-day festival includes author readings, panels, workshops, and master classes, as well as events that fuse literature with other art forms, such as dance, music and visual arts. The Victoria Festival of Authors showcases established and emerging poets, prose writers, and other storytellers. Artistic achievement, creative innovation and a diversity of voices drive our mandate. Victoria Festival of Authors achieved charitable status in 2019.

In 2021, we have taken what we learned last year, at our first virtual festival, and combined it with the strengths of past programming to deliver a hybrid festival. We are excited to present seven in-person events to small but necessary audiences. You can also take part from the comfort of your living room since all in-person programming will be live-streamed for free. These events celebrate the writers from our region: Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. In addition, we will have four Zoom events, featuring authors from across Canada.

We gratefully acknowledge the generous financial support of the BC Arts Council, Canada Council, the CRD, the City of Victoria, United Way and the Government of Canada's Emergency Community Support for ensuring live-streaming and Zoom-based events are free.

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