Three new poetry collection debuts bring creative communities together

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) hosted poets Britta Badour, Aaron Boothby and Eva H.D. to read from their new anthologies

By: Harrison Clarke

McClelland & Stewart authors Britta Badour, Aaron Boothby and Eva H.D. (Courtesy: M&S, CBC)

Poetry lovers gathered with three talented writers for an evening of creative inspiration, laughter and genuine connection through a shared appreciation for poetic artistry.

In an event held by publisher McClelland & Stewart, a large crowd gathered in the Art Gallery of Ontario’s (AGO) Walker Court to hear readings from Britta Badour’s Wires That Sputter, Aaron Boothby’s Continent and Eva H.D.’s The Natural Hustle.

With introductions from award-winning Canadian poet and author Anne Michaels, the night started with readings from the Brooklyn based poet H.D.

H.D. read poems Belugas, Bonedog and Magic Hour, Manhattan, August from her new book The Natural Hustle. (Harrison Clarke/CanCulture)

Many of her poems explore the deeper complexities of day-to-day life and the beauty in familiar moments that people often overlook. H.D.'s poem, Bonedog, featured in the film I’m Thinking of Ending Things, describes the pain of living a repetitive lifestyle, particularly the ritual of coming home.

“When poetry happens, we encounter our intricate selves,” said guest speaker and award-winning poet Canisia Lubrin while touching on H.D.’s work. “[We take] nothing for granted, not even the terrible things from which poetry challenges, comforts and sustains us.”

Boothby is a Californian poet based out of Montreal who has been published in carte blanche and PRISM. His poetry makes the effort to confront the consequences of colonialism and the violence communities of colour still face.

His poem, Bleach Mythology, describes images of natural landscapes torn by industrial development and languages protected by elders.

Boothby traces his journey as a poet starting out in Riverside, California to Montreal, Canada. (Harrison Clarke/CanCulture)

With Continent, Boothby continues the experimental structure he demonstrated in his chapbooks Reperspirations, Exhalations, Wrapt Inflections (2016) and Wave Fields (2020). The poems often have wide spaces between words.

“The poems of Continent seek answers in the silence of history,” said Michaels. “The broken lines in the poems search and search again, the spaces within them ask us to save room in our hearts.”

Badour concluded the night by rallying the audience to snap their fingers for her fellow poets and themselves. Her poetry, which works with themes of empowerment and community for people of colour, earned her the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist of the Year award in 2021.

One of Badour’s poems, Bit, eloquently reflects these themes by describing the challenge of keeping passion alive through adversity and the self-love needed to fulfil our ambition.

The triumphant tone of Bit saw Badour describing the act of personal growth as giving her “voice the wingspan of a year” to grow stronger and "making language [her] blood," a metaphor for committing to her writing talents.

‘Yeahs’ and ‘that’s rights’ poured out of the crowd as Badour took the stage, demonstrating her popularity and influence in the Toronto poetry scene.

“I met [Badour] back in 2017. I was a fan of her work and approached her to say ‘you are that girl,’” said Keosha Love, poet and founder of community organizing not-for-profit Our Women’s Voices. “I was more of a youngin’ in the poetry and writing scene and she kind of took me under her wing; I support her work always.”

Another listener and poet, Blossom Paige, saw Badour at a poetry event hosted by Love at Toronto’s Soho House.

“Being a Black woman and hearing her experience, I really connected with that,” said Paige. “Hearing it put down in poetry and to have everyone hum and snap to what the poets are saying connects us in the room. It’s a special gift.”

Badour passionately reads her poems ‘This Tongue’ and ‘Bit’. (Harrison Clarke/CanCulture)

McClelland and Stewart’s future projects will see the reissue of Souvankham Thammavongsa’s first three books, a new poetic memoir from Lorna Crozier and an anthology from Joy Kogawa coming November 2023.

Mickalene Thomas' Femmes Noires highlights Black femininity and inequality in the modern era

By Will Lofsky

Mickalene Thomas, an African American artist from Brooklyn, N.Y., has outdone herself with her first major solo exhibition in Canada, Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires, at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO).

While managing to address the complexity of African femininity, Thomas highlights powerful black celebrities and the struggle for representation and inequality in the modern era.

Known for her multifaceted contemporary work, Mickalene Thomas: Femmes Noires, features collage, silk-screen work, photography, installations and videography pushing the boundaries of modern art. The living rooms are interactive, and art fans can sit down and take in the films and paintings while exploring the exhibit.

Two living room installations at either end of the showcase feature HD videos with silk-screen paintings along the surrounding walls for her Los Angelitos Negros piece and the Groundbreaking Black Women section, which includes many abstract portraits of celebrities and the highlight reel titled Do I Look Like a Lady? (Comedians & Singers).

Los Angelitos Negros combines Eartha Kitt singing her 1953 track of the same name with a collage of Thomas and two other women split into different screens emphasizing eyes and lips to a song about Western Christian art’s lack of black angels throughout history. The 23 minute, 8-channel, coloured short film split between four video monitors is both amazing and painful as Kitt’s passionate voice echoes around the large room in a performance sure to give you chills.

Mickalene Thomas. Los Angelitos Negros, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. © Mickalene Thomas / SOCAN (2018).

Thomas uses 12 minutes worth of discussions on vulnerability, sexuality, femininity and passion in Do I Look Like a Lady? to explore the theme of inequality that exists in and out of the art world. Whoopi Goldberg, Wanda Sykes, Adele Givens, Whitney Houston and Nina Simone are amongst some of the icons Thomas showcases through a combination of monologues, short clips, songs and performances.

On the wall opposite to the short film, the silk screened acrylic mirror work called Diahann Carroll shot with a Polaroid and touched up on Photoshop reflects light around the room as part of a stunning series on black presentation, representation and female identity.  

Mickalene Thomas. Diahann Carroll #2, 2018. Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels. © Mickalene Thomas / SOCAN (2018).

Another long, beautiful silkscreen on an acrylic mirror in the Groundbreaking Black Women area called Naomi Sims mounted on wood is split into multiple pieces and features a large colour spectrum with Sims looking proudly off into the distance.

Mickalene Thomas. Naomi Sims #2, 2016. Courtesy the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul. © Mickalene Thomas / SOCAN (2018).

Spanning the entire fifth floor of the AGO, minutes can turn into hours staring at Thomas’ amazing body of work. The more you look, the more you appreciate the scrupulous attention to detail in every piece.

Fortunately, the breathtaking exhibit will be open until March 24 at the AGO. Do yourself a favour and check it out. You will not be able to find anything like this in Toronto.