poet. survivor. educator. catalyst.
(Note: A slightly shortened version of this essay was given as a speech on May 06, 2022, at the Shabbat Itanu event held at the Danforth Jewish Circle congregation.)
Most of us have likely heard or seen some variation the saying: “Give a man a fish; he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish; he will feed himself for a lifetime.” There is a wealth of assumption and relentless social pressure present in that saying.
The lovely folks at Brockton Writers Reading Series are hosting me along with 3 other Ontario writers — Ryanne Kap, Waubgeshig Rice, and Marlo K. Shaw — for a reading this coming Wednesday, July 08. It’s happening on Glad Day…
The 5th annual Naked Heart: An LGBTQ Festival of Words (the world’s largest queer/trans literary festival) happens this weekend. I love this event every year, for its realness, freshness, relatability; for featuring queers like me and unlike me, all having…
Let’s talk about cookies. Humans are social animals. We need an ongoing connection to others, and a sense of belonging in community in order to thrive. These needs are powerful enough, that if we’re not getting them met straight up,…
(I first wrote this piece in 2014, when I didn’t have a website and when there wasn’t (or, probably, I wasn’t aware of) much writing with this perspective — i.e. practical ideas on defeating rape culture — but am only publishing it…
If you are reading this, you are likely a well-meaning person who wants to treat trans and gender-non-binary folks with respect, and facilitate the inclusion of folks of all genders in your community. In which case, here are some important…
Liminal people Ever since I read Excommunicate Me from the Church of Social Justice — and then, a few weeks later, I’m a Transwoman, I Am in the Closet, I Am Not Coming Out — I’ve been thinking about how we…
Welcome again to Crip Sex Tips! Where we discuss sexuality and access negotiation for various disabilities from a first-hand knowledge perspective. (In future installments I’d like to write about sex & chronic pain, and sex & PTSD. And I will…
Hello, and welcome to Crip Sex Tips. Ages ago I spent a long time looking for information about sexuality relevant to my disabilities — and didn’t find it. (Seriously. Hours and hours scouring the internet. And — crickets.) After much…
So, it’s that time of year again. Time to take stock of the ways the dominant culture crushes all the parts of our selves and our spirits that don’t fit with dominant paradigms, and makes us feel ashamed and wrong…
Chag sameach to everyone celebrating Chanukah. And happy holidays to all of you celebrating whatever is meaningful to your heart this time of year. Especially marginalised queer & trans folks. May warmth & love & hope & kindness & gentleness…
So this weekend is the second annual Naked Heart: An LGBTQ Festival of Words (basically, a queer/trans literary festival), and I am sooo excited to be attending and performing/speaking at it. I’ve already carefully planned my best spoon-usage and spoon-support…
I’m doing 2 poetry readings for Pride in Toronto: As part of Too Queer: A Bi Visibility Cabaret, the brilliant, captivating brainchild of Katie Sly. Saturday June 25, 7:30pm, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander Street. http://www.blogto.com/events/too-queer-a-bi-visibility-cabaret-at-pride-2016/ http://buddiesinbadtimes.com/show/too-queer-a-bi-visibility-cabaret/ https://www.facebook.com/events/536955696483123…
(Notes for the Disability Justice Panel at the Third Annual Gender and Sexuality Alliance Forum for high school youth, held at Glendon College on May 14, 2016) The need for disability justice Our society treats disabled folks like trash, as…
Last year, during a challenging experience of having to trial-and-error solutions to disability access while staying somewhere overnight, I realised I often exhibit an attitude I’ve started calling Apologetic Disability. (When I talked this afterwards over with my spousefriend, who…
This list is grounded in my experiences of several decades of living with chronic illnesses, which bring both chronic pain and short-term episodes of intense pain. During that time I’ve experienced some not-so-useful support, and a lot of quite excellent…