Tag Archives: Toronto

BTS in Toronto: I’m not freaking out, you are!

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Cover of 2026 album Arirang by BTS.

So, how’s your summer going? Good I hope. And mine? Well, at the time of this publication, the K-Pop boy group BTS will be arriving in Toronto in about a week and a half, from August 22 – 23, performing at Roger’s Stadium. And I’m going to be there. And I’m totally fine about it. Completely chill. Cucumber girl, as in ‘cool as a’.

I’m lying. Completely and utterly. I am not chill. I am so excited I am vibrating. And I’m most definitely not the only one. If you thought the city lost it’s mind over Taylor Swift coming get ready to be awash in purple and red, at least over that weekend if not longer.

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K-Pop! A Librarian’s Love

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Me at the Stray Kids DominATE world tour at Rogers Stadium.

Debut. Bias. Maknae. Leader. Line. Lightstick. Comeback. Aegyo. Visual. Idol.

These words in a row may sound a tad nonsensical to the uninitiated but trust me, they belong together. These are just some of the terms associated with one of the biggest music industries in the world: K-pop.

What is that? Well, the simplest definition is Korean popular music. For a longer answer it’s a music industry that trains pop music stars, or ‘idols’, and mashes up different types of music with pop, like hip hop, rap, rock, electronic, salsa, reggae, etc. The artists perform intricate dance numbers, have fans all over the world, and some music videos get millions, if not billions, of views online. And with the group Stray Kids having made their way through Toronto at the end of June (I was there!) and the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters now on Netflix this seemed like a great time to gush a little bit about one of my favorite sources of music.

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Brother (by David Chariandy)

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Longlisted for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust BrotherFiction Prize, Brother is a short but tight story contains so much emotion and is very intense. It explores masculinity, family, race, and identity as they are played out in a Scarborough housing complex.

Personally, I really connected with the immigrant experience and problems surrounding this community. I love the fact that this book didn’t shy away from sadness. Grieving is a complicated process and ongoing, whether it’s for death, lost love, lost life, or lost memories. Sometimes it will take collected effort to keep the healing going. In addition, I can better understand the disadvantage in the black community after this book, for that’s what happened to Micheal and Francis. Brother is an important and relevant story today.

I read The Sun and Her Flowers (Rupi Kaur) after this book, and I feel that some of the passages in Kaur’s poems really echo with themes in Brother. These connections between the two books are kind of unexpected and serendipitous.

Brother has an ending that satisfied me; without giving anything away, I just want to say that the very last word charged me with power and energy. It’s not the kind of ending where everyone lived happily ever after, but it offers comfort, support, and it acknowledged that it is ok to have scares in your heart. In the end, what really matters is to express, to reach out, and to heal together.

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Also by David Chariandy:

Soucouyant