Launch of the Ryerson New Writing Series a Raucous Success

On the recent evening of February 26, the chanting chorus of “Can Lit!” poured through the corridors of the Arts and Letters Club as an appreciative audience joined Kari Maaren in a candidly hip and self-aware song of literary provocation, all accompanied by ukulele. The inaugural event of the Ryerson New Writing series saw a packed room treated to readings and performances by Thomas Heise, Sara Henstra, Monika Lemke, Kari Maaren, and Aaron Tucker. MC for the evening, faculty member Dale Smith, describes the aim of the series as a way to expand communities of writing across institutional and national lines. Hosted by the English Department and the English MA in Literatures of Modernity, the event showcased Ryerson English faculty and students for their creative ingenuity and insight. Along with the White Wall Review, the Department’s literary journal, the Department’s creative writers and performers contribute to the scholarly and creative identity of English at Ryerson.

The Department looks forward to the ongoing evolution of Ryerson New Writing as it unites transnational literary performances, talks, and readings with Toronto-based creative energies to showcase the University’s unique position in the literary and performative spaces of Ontario and beyond.