Reading at the Writers from the Underground event
On Saturday, May 24, I read an excerpt from a banned book and an excerpt from my novel Shade for Doors Open Toronto. Hosted in the Heritage Room of the Metropolitan United Church, the event titled Writers from the Underground featured writing that was banned or “driven underground” in a quite literally underground space.
It was thrilling to read amongst a lineup of authors such as Farzana Doctor – who I had interviewed for a feature article just three short years ago – and Karen Connelly – who had provided both writing insight and guidance to me more than five years ago, when she was Writer-in-Residence at the University of Toronto and I was still trying to figure out where to go after graduation. Even more amazing was hearing from my talented fellow mentees – Deepa Shanakaran and James Papoutsis, among so many others.
The room, though tiny, had great ambiance. And now I can say that I’ve read at an event with standing room only!
For the censored book, I chose Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal. It was surreal reading my work – set in the Philippines – right after one of the most defining Filipino texts of all time. As I mentioned during the reading, no matter how much time has passed or how much space is between Canada and the Philippines, some things remain quintessentially Filipino – the big families, vibrant conversations, and meddlesome nature of everyone who loves each other and is involved in each other’s business!
After the reading, a woman approached me outside and said she really liked the excerpt from my novel. She browsed through the piles of books available on the table and asked where mine was. I had to tell her it wasn’t there… yet! Hopefully it will be soon.
My parents and my brother attended as well, and that was perhaps the best and most terrifying part of the afternoon. I read a quote from Rita Mae Brown that said, “Writers will happen in the best of families.” Somehow I happened to mine and, while it may not always make sense, it’s nice to know I have people rooting for me in the crowd.
Thanks once again to DD for organizing an amazing event.