Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Mawenzi House

All Lit Up @alllitupcanada.bsky.social · 9d

Sasenarine Persaud’s A SCENT OF INDIA (@mawenzihouse.bsky.social) traces India’s influence from the Caribbean to North America through vivid and evocative poetry.

Read two poems from the book here: alllitup.ca/two-poems-a-scent-of-india/

The cover for A Scent of India by Sasenarine Persaud featuring a close-up of a lit incense stick resting on smooth stones, with trails of smoke curling upward. There are three glowing tealight candles in the background.

2 3

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · 10d

Please join us in celebration for the launch of TRACHEA by MAYANK BHATT on Saturday, October 11, at 3:30 pm at Massey College - Junior Common Room.

Books will be on sale, and refreshments will be available.

RSVP here: bit.ly/3WewRnb

1 1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · 11d

Today, we honour the children who never returned home and the survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.

#OrangeShirtDay
#TruthAndReconciliation

1 1

Reposted by Mawenzi House

All Lit Up @alllitupcanada.bsky.social · 16d

"A PHIAL OF PASSING MEMORIES is a literary archive of journeys, passages through the many seasons of life, and the different geographies that delineate them."

James Yékú reads from his new collection w/ @mawenzihouse.bsky.social

alllitup.ca/poetry-in-motion-james-yeku-a-phial-of-passing-memories/

The cover of A Phial of Passing Memories by James Yékú. The design features two hands holding Polaroid-style photographs that dissolve into a cloud of dust and fragments, blending into the background. A group of black birds flies above them.

2 2

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · 24d

Do Not Enter My Soul in Your Shoes by Natasha Kanapé Fontaine reveals herself as a poet and Innu woman. She loves. She weeps. She shouts… to come into the world, again.

Now available wherever you buy books from, or on our website: bit.ly/SoulShoes

Do Not Enter My Soul in Your Shoes

Translated from French by Howard Scott Do not enter my soul in your shoes is a poetry collection of great sensitivity. Above all it is a cry from the heart, as if empathy and poetry were dazzled by t...

bit.ly

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · 26d

Happy publication day to The Alphabet of Aliens by Sabyasachi Nag! The Alphabet of Aliens is now available wherever you buy books from, or on our website: bit.ly/AlphabetofAl...

1 2

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Sep 11

“[A] captivating account—written in [Shah’s] characteristic self-deprecating humorous style—tracing his journey from a small town in Maharashtra, India, to professor of public health at the University of Toronto.”
—Desi News

TO CHANGE THE WORLD by CHANDRAKANT P SHAH is now available: bit.ly/3YNMAdj

To Change the World

The ninth of fifteen children in a small town in Maharashtra, India, Chandrakant Shah managed to attend medical school through diligent study, sometimes under an oil lamp. He arrived in Canada in 1965...

bit.ly

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Sep 9

Happy publication day to A Scent of India by Sasenarine Persaud!

A Scent of India is now available wherever you buy books from, or on our website: bit.ly/AScentofIndia

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 29

Cover reveal for THE ALPHABET OF ALIENS by SABYASACHI NAG!

The dream-like, eerily atmospheric prose poems in this collection interrogate margins and melt points of migrancy.

THE ALPHABET OF ALIENS is out on September 15, and is now available for pre-order: bit.ly/AlphabetofAl...

2

Reposted by Mawenzi House

49th Shelf @49thshelf.bsky.social · Aug 28

Still time to catch up on our August summer reading list! Get reading these titles from @touchwooded.bsky.social @ecwpress.bsky.social @coachhousebooks.bsky.social @mawenzihouse.bsky.social @dundurnpress.bsky.social @wolsakandwynn.bsky.social

49thshelf.com/Lists/Member... #CanLit

Our August Summer Reading List · Lists · 49th Shelf

Books to pack in your beach bag...

49thshelf.com

4 9

Reposted by Mawenzi House

Asian Review of Books @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social · Aug 27

Today in the ARB: Prose poetry from Canada: “An Orange, A Syllable” by Gillian Sze @ecwpress.bsky.social & “The Alphabet of Aliens” by Sabyasachi Nag @mawenzihouse.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/prose-poetry...

Prose poetry from Canada: “An Orange, A Syllable” by Gillian Sze and “The Alphabet of Aliens” by Sabyasachi Nag

Prose poetry can be hard to get a handle on. It is literally oxymoronic, like “documentary fiction”; such terms are perhaps a recognition that most categories are really endpoints on a spectrum. As…

asianreviewofbooks.com

2 1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 26

Join us on Saturday, September 6, from 6 pm to 8 pm at the University of Toronto Scarborough campus to celebrate the Prison of Dreams Quintet by Devakanthan, translated by Nedra Rodrigo.

Registration is free. Please RSVP: bit.ly/41VkfVc

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 22

A SCENT OF INDIA by SASENARINE PERSAUD is one of our upcoming Fall 2025 titles! Persaud’s newest poetry collection will be available on September 9, 2025.

Pre-order your copy on our website: bit.ly/AScentofIndia

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 14

Jennifer Palma interviewed KOOM KANKESAN for Palma's Picks on Global News Vancouver: bit.ly/3V4eHUw.

His young adult novel, KILLING SHAKESPEARE, is now available from our website: bit.ly/killingshake... and wherever you buy books from.

Palma’s Picks: Travelling back in time | Watch News Videos Online

Watch Palma’s Picks: Travelling back in time Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

bit.ly

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 12

Daniel will be showcasing his paintings and poems at Arts Etobicoke Storefront Gallery, part of the Dreamlogue: Conversations with the Unconscious.

There will be an Artist Talk on Wednesday, August 20, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The exhibition runs from July 30 to August.

Learn More: bit.ly/45xfFO2

2

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Aug 8

I LEFT YOU BEHIND by NAZNEEN SHEIKH was reviewed by Sumaiya Matin for THE FIDDLEHEAD: thefiddlehead.ca/content/suma...

“I Left You Behind is full of surprise and depth. The prose is at times direct and restrained and, at other times, dreamlike and romantic, patterning the tides of life.”

thefiddlehead.ca

1 1

Reposted by Mawenzi House

All Lit Up @alllitupcanada.bsky.social · Aug 6

Unpublished writers!

If you’re getting ready to submit your manuscript, this guide from our friends at @bookhugpress.bsky.social breaks down what to expect, from pitch to publication.

alllitup.ca/in-house-dem...

A graphic with clouds and illustrated book icons labelled "Demystifying Publishing, How to Submit a Manuscript to a Publishing House"

6 11

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jul 18

Jennifer Palma interviewed KUE YOUNG for Palma's Picks on Global News Vancouver: bit.ly/4lQRUXG

His memoir, JOURNEYS NORTH, JOURNEY'S END, is now available from our website: bit.ly/462NhoS and wherever you buy books from.

Palma’s Picks: Dedication to ensuring health care for all | Watch News Videos Online

Watch Palma’s Picks: Dedication to ensuring health care for all Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

bit.ly

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jul 17

Rabindranath Maharaj was on Palma's Picks, part of Global News Vancouver's Sunday morning program, to talk about his new short story collection, A Quiet Disappearance.

Watch the interview: globalnews.ca/video/112666...

Grab a copy of the book: bit.ly/AQuietDisapp...

A Quiet Disappearance

Beautifully crafted stories in which older men and women from the Caribbean islands confront their pasts, with regrets and wonder as they discover subtle epiphanies. The stories consider the briefness...

bit.ly

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jul 16

A QUIET DISAPPEARANCE by RABINDRANATH MAHARAJ was reviewed in the Quill and Quire:

“Maharaj captures the presence of magic in the suburbs of Toronto, and reveals the magic of words to invoke sensuous realities.”

quillandquire.com/review/a-qui...

A Quiet Disappearance - Quill and Quire

Leila Marshy’s collection of stories, My Thievery of the People, is full of incisive political commentary on people and how we interact with and hide from each other. In this new collection, the story...

quillandquire.com

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jul 10

Join us at Another Story Bookshop for the book launch of Taslīm: We Are the Prophets, Poems on a Coptic Girlhood by Carolyn Ramzy on Monday, July 14 at 7 PM.

Carolyn will be in conversation with Fady Shanouda. RSVP here: buytickets.at/mawenzihouse...

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jul 10

A PHIAL OF PASSING MEMORIES by JAMES YÉKÚ lingers on a poetics of elsewhere, as seen through poems that evoke various memories.

This poetry collection is hot off the press as it was released on June 30!

Grab a copy wherever you buy books from or from our website: bit.ly/4gUoLZy

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jun 23

We're excited to announce our newest title JOURNEYS NORTH, JOURNEY'S END by KUE YOUNG! 🎉

Young came to Canada from Hong Kong to study medicine at McGill University. He devoted his subsequent years working with Northern and Indigenous communities of Canada.

Grab a copy here: bit.ly/462NhoS

1

Mawenzi House @mawenzihouse.bsky.social · Jun 20

THE BLESSED CURSE by SARMAD SEHBAI was reviewed in The Temz Review: www.thetemzreview.com/hussain-31.h...

"Sehbai’s writing and commentary is sharp, ribald and entertaining."

Hussain 31

Reviewed by Salma Hussain

www.thetemzreview.com

2