Margarita Ospian

We are living in an electronic environment. Invisible networks are filling our landscapes and connecting us to one another. The shift into an electronic culture has caused changes in how we perceive, relate to, critically engage with, and retaliate against the structures of power. The communication and control functions of the elite are now fully cyberspatial, and as such, physically imperceptible. We can no longer point to the oppressor. After all, where is he or she? The invisibility of our current power structures is problematic when it comes to activism because it makes it difficult to lock down a specific site of resistance.

So how then do we engage in electronic resistance, using media to subvert political power systems? If privatized information is such a vital commodity in the electronic sphere, then allowing free and open access to that exact information is a form of activism. Yet unlike most forms of activism, this one isn’t disruptive by nature. Instead, resistance here means promotion—of the free flow of information.

As members of a progressive society, we must ask ourselves: what exactly does it mean to have ownership of intellectual property?

A Personal Reflection On Activism by Thalia Felbert

Around the world the gap between the rich and poor is growing. Most activists I’ve met are poor or middle class, with some exceptions. These activists all have fair enough reasons to want to change society. Those begging to see political, social, or psychological changes often face class oppression. I’m positive that some activists are from rich families too, but let’s face it, the majority are not.

Without money how much social change can be done, or, what kind of changes can be done? While rich activists have more time and resources to devote to social change, they are not as effected as the poor and middle class activists as they are the ones living in unjust situations. This being said, injustice can happen across boarders of class. Unfortunately you can be rich, and face sexual abuse by a family member, or experience racism/xenophobia at your private school.

Activist types are as broad as the variety in which clowns come. Clowns expose energy, sorrow, determination, surprise, silliness, militaristic or other human emotions. Activists have gained a negative reputation for being reckless and unreasonable, but really there are many ways of being active. Most activists are not as dangerous as the public is made to believe. Each activist or activist group maintains certain philosophies. On the whole, activism and political protests are one large expression of environmental, animal and human rights.

In North America, the structure of society is determined by government/rich class. When activists have protests, rallies, meetings and the like, the ruling class becomes threatened. Police are then assigned to limit activists from their task of protecting and fighting for their own rights and rights of (non)living others. In a moment of awe, imagine how activists are the police for the poor and middle class.

Activism is a respected occupation, just as policing is usually considered. Police and activists both display peaceful and violent temperaments, but why accept one group just because they can afford a license to kill, professional uniforms and shiny badges? Doesn’t everyone have something to protect?

Erin Vahidi

Freestyle battlers, literary types, and lyricists all over the world, you ain’t got nothin’ on us Toronto Poets. Well- if we come together, at least.
Spoken word in Toronto seems to be a growing vice for creatives, word-lovers and activists in the city. It’s difficult to pinpoint the birth of this scene in Toronto, or the beginning of the art itself for that matter. The world embraced slam poetry after Marc “So What” Smith catered it to a larger audience. However, the art of spoken word has been a traditional custom for many cultures, and is essentially the African art of storytelling with a competitive component.

Although popularity is on the rise, slam poetry has yet to unify its various artists, causes, and scenes. Dwayne Morgan, founder of Up From the Roots and an extraordinarily talented poet, describes the Toronto scene in saying that “there are so many pockets of it right now, a lot of people have found stages and audiences that they’re comfortable with, and kind of live within those circles – as opposed to breaking out of those circles[ …] right now the scene is very fragmented, it’ll be interesting to see if there can be some unity”.

Fragmented, indeed. In my own personal experience I’ve encountered countless spoken word spots that all seem to be geared towards a specific audience.

There’s Leah Lakshmi who began Pink Inc, a spoken word performing youth activist group for queer rights, The Toronto Poetry Slam events started by Dave Silverberg, and of course the Up From the Roots events by Dwayne Morgan. This list goes on and on.
Toronto has two teams that compete in the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word; (Oct. 10th – 13th) the Toronto Poetry Slam Team, and the Up From the Roots Team.

I’d like to say this occurrence can be attributed to Toronto’s endless talent, but I can’t ignore the differences in the two scenes.
My first experience with spoken word happened to be at the Art Bar, located in the Victory Café. I was turned off from reading that night, because I myself had fallen victim to thinking; “How will this predominantly white audience respond to the issues I want to speak on?”

I’ve seen this happen over and over again. Morgan addressed the issue interestingly in saying; “I will and have performed everywhere, in front of every possible audience, and you never know if your work is any good when you stay in the same audience. You have to get out of your comfort zone. […] Your family’s always going to cheer the loudest, but what happens when you go to somebody else’s family’s house?”
This is not to say that in having these different circles, the art cannot grow. It can- and has. It’s very evident that Poets come from all different walks of life, and that it’s easier to express oneself in an environment where the audience will relate to your words.

However, Morgan raises a question that I have also been looking to answer. If you identify with a label, are you still a talented Poet? As artists, should we not try to push beyond the confines of what constitutes a “Political Poet”, “Urban Poet”, “Queer Rights Poet”, “Literary Poet”, “Love-Dwelling Poet” and whatever other stereotype we can be given? Is it a problem that I, as the author of this article am comfortable with using these stereotypes because I know the readers will know exactly what I’m talking about? It’s said that Toronto is a city of endless untapped talent, but it’s also been said that Toronto’s audience is one of the hardest crowds to step up in front of. In whatever form you choose, as an artist, expression with a message is activism.

The importance of this was demonstrated to me while speaking with Toronto Spoken Word Artist Anubis the Necro Nubian.
“At the end of the day of the day a poem is a poem whether it’s told by a black, a jew, an asian- […] poetry is not for the artist.”
Now, with all these Poets, all these scenes, all these messages and all of this activism, why is it that we can’t sit in a room with like-minded individuals and not label one another?

Personally, I would say the Toronto Slam Poets are some of the best- but we’re still sitting in different boxes. It’s not easy to be on the front lines of a battle for change in our society, but it’s even harder if you’re not looking for your allies.
Freestyle battlers, literary types, and lyricists all over the world, don’t worry.

Despite all we have to say, all of our poetic talent, Toronto’s still the screwface capital.