By Nathaniel G. Moore

Simulated party atmosphere at the Coach House Books event at the Dance Cave (529 Bloor St. W.), a change from the norm for the popular publishing house. Courtesy Evan Munday.

The fall is a maelstrom of literary frenzy: the International Festival of Authors, Giller and Governor General Award nominations, Word on the Street, and a flood of book launches. But where in this vast city do publishers tend to roll the dice with their new heady wares?

The Gladstone Hotel, Supermarket, Garrison, Parts & Labour and Dora Keogh are among favourites with publishers. This fall, however, the ever-radical Annex-area publisher Coach House Books, known for their well-attended and it-status seasonal launches, have switched things up from their usual location.

Instead of having their new books and authors showcased at Revival (783 College St.), they have moved their fall launch to the heart of the Annex and the most unlikely of venues: the Dance Cave (529 Bloor St. W.).

So what will happen on Wednesday, October 5 when worlds collide?

The literary community was aghast at first, because it’s such a dark and seemingly contrary space to your average, meek book launch crowd. When the news hit Facebook, the comments went flying: “So who is DJing the new-wave hits after the readings?” or “Book dance party? Hells yes!” and “Well spin my head sideways. Coach House launch at ol’ Dance Cave? I remember being in University, working at a bar near Brunswick and afterwards, writing poetry in an old notebook, heading over to the Cave for a drink and dance, blacking out to high heaven, met my wife Deborah there too,” wrote Ray MacClaghlan, a poet.

The announcement caused a minor ruckus within the book community as they teleported themselves to the dank dance floor. “I can’t wait to dance to “The Book of Love” by The Monotones, and other such literary hits at the Coach House fall book dance party,” said Laurie Fuhr, a poet and editor from Calgary.

“Not only will we have readings from all our fabulous fall authors, it will be in the Dance Cave, so you can relive the glory days of your youth—if you’re not currently still living them,” said Evan Munday, Coach House’s publicist. “Also, we’ll have a mini photo booth. It will be like the best wedding ever, but with fantastic readings instead of the usual boring speeches and vows.”

Munday says he is confident that the space is right for two reasons: size and emotional impact. “For a lot of people, this is the first club they went to and actually enjoyed. A lot of people have fond memories of The Dance Cave.”

With six books launching, the night should be a full dose of literary bravado and excitement, plus the temptation of stealing a few dances with the wallflower book community. According to Munday, some authors are making a trek to attend. “Leigh Kotsilids from Colorado, Hughes is coming in from Wales, and Sina and David are coming in from Montreal,” he said.

Former longtime Annex resident Jenny Sampirisi, (who also works as managing editor of Book Thug) will take the TTC from her new digs in Bloor West Village to read from her new book of poetry Croak.

“I am absolutely nervous. This is my second book, but it’s my first book of poetry. After so many years in the poetry scene watching some phenomenal books enter and exit the spotlight, I know how little time a book has to make an impression. I’m also honest with myself about the content of the book. I know not everyone will have encountered something like it before and so I feel the pressure of giving life to the pages through my readings and performances of the book. I’m working right now to create an onstage Frogirl persona.”

There will be a musical element to the night as well. Comedian, poet and musician Dave McGimpsey, and Rob Benvie from the band the Dears will launch Li’l Bastard and Maintenance, respectively.

“I can’t believe it’s been seven years. In my defense, I’ve been busy, even if the results only trickle out. I tend to keep multiple things on the go at the same time, which leaves some on the back burner in the meantime,” Benvie explains. “While working on this book I’ve also been working on a bunch of other things, which might be an inefficient process but it keeps the coals fuming, if you know what I mean. I also tend to aim ambitiously with writing projects and make more work for myself than I should.”

Nathaniel G. Moore is the author of Wrong Bar a finalist for the 2010 Relit award. canadiansadcore.tumblr.com

By Jonathan Lee

Courtesy Deb Wiles

Annex painter and art instructor Deb Wiles had been looking at photos of a lake out in rural Nova Scotia, taken by her friend Tim Young, when she drew in her breath in response to the beauty in front of her.

From that moment, the Trident International Artists’ Retreat in Nova Scotia was born.

Wiles will offer week-long training at the retreat for any novices who sign up, as well as space for established artists. It will also act as a summer camp for students at her Annex-based arts school, Marks of Perception (69 Olive Ave.).

While Wiles remains tight lipped about the exact whereabouts of the retreat, it is a small cabin surrounded by several bucolic acres of land. There is lots of forest space and it sits by a lake.

“We spend most of our lives playing roles, being for others, the retreat is a place to just be who you are, for yourself,” she said.

The Trident International Artists’ Retreat is still a budding idea. Construction began in early August. Electricity is up and so is the plumbing, but there are still gas tanks to be replaced, a deck to be designed and built, and a multitude of other tasks.  “I feel like I’m nurturing the growth of the project.” Wiles said.

Courtesy Deb Wiles.

There is still a lot of growing to do. Wiles is looking to  raise $20,000 to aid in the construction, so she’s been drumming up support and fundraising where she can.

One fundraising method is through something Wiles calls “clowning.” Those who request to be clowned can email Wiles a photo of themselves and, for a fee of $50, she will doll it up and send it back to you—clown style.

Wiles has clowned many people, including Gleaner alum Nadja Sayej, who now writes for the New York Times and “leads the new wave of art criticism” as the host and producer of the online show ArtStars*.

“It’s true, Deb clowned me,” wrote Sayej from Berlin. “Far more strange than a caricature artist, she took a photo of me, revved it up in her Willy Wonka technicolor palette and splashed her signature in the bottom corner. Funny, rude and explosive, I couldn’t believe my eyes. She goes where most of would never dare to go in terms of portraits—so many people are afraid to insult, to ridicule, to even have fun with a person’s features. Not Deb. She left me laughing. On the floor.”

To contact Wiles about the retreat or to get “clowned,” visit Wiles’ blog.

Compiled by Emina Gamulin, Perry King, and Rebecca Payne

Check out the links below about our Q & A with candidates for the Parkdale-High Park riding.

The riding

The candidates

Question One: The state of health care in PHP
Question Two: Poverty
Question Three: Clean trains
Question Four: Energy inflation
Question Five: the Ontario Arts Council

The riding:

Parkdale-High Park is composed of seven neighbourhoods: Swansea, High Park North, the south half of The Junction, Runnymede-Bloor West Village, Lambton-Baby Point, Roncesvalles, and Parkdale directly to the south.

The statistics:
Population = 102,142 *
Electoral = 71,954
Political History
2007 = New Democrat **
2003 = Liberal **
1999 = Liberal **
* Cited from StatsCan 2006 Census
** Cited from Elections Ontario

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The candidates:

Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo is the Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale-High Park and the Deputy Speaker on the Ontario Legislative Assembly. DiNovo was first elected into the legislature in 2006 in a by-election and re-elected in 2007. An award winning author, DiNovo is an outspoken social justice activist and a former United Church Minister who was voted Best MPP by NOW magazine. In addition to being described by the Toronto Star as a “spark plug” at Queen’s Park and a leader who “personifies an emerging consensus,” Cheri DiNovo was named “Favourite Politician” by the Parkdale Liberty for her ongoing pledge to donate her monthly MPP salary raise to local organizations and charities.

Having devoted his career to technology innovation, Progressive Conservative candidate Joe Ganetakos and his wife Mary are now looking to give back to their community through public service. Used to working under tight deadlines while helping to design some of Ontario’s most advanced electronic games, he’s remained steady under pressure, never shirking away from challenges. Joe pledges to work passionately on any efforts he’s involved with on behalf of the residents of Parkdale-High Park. Joe believes that the taxpayers of Parkdale-High Park deserve a strong voice in government, and this has led him to commit to helping Tim Hudak giveback to Ontarians the strong economy that he believes they have always had with Progressive Conservative governments.

Liberal Party candidate Cortney Pasternak is a professional broadcast journalist. She also teaches journalism at the university and college level. She served as both the Global TV Queen’s Park Bureau Chief and CTV’s National Parliamentary Correspondent reporting from around the globe on a range of topics including politics, health care, education, human rights, environment, poverty, and crime. She currently runs a small, home-based business. Cortney is married with two young children and shares her home with three cats with great personalities.

Justin Trottier has dedicated his life to balancing his love of science and technology with his interest in public education, community service, and social advocacy. He studied engineering at the University of Toronto and worked in research and development in alternative energy systems. He then founded the national educational charity the Centre for Inquiry. Justin speaks regularly in the media in defence of fundamental freedoms, civil and human rights, and participates in public events bringing together groups from different backgrounds to discuss ethics and social policy. He also volunteers with youth-focused community groups, including Pathways to Education and tutoring at the Parkdale Library.

Also running in PHP are Redmond Weissenberger for the Freedom Party Of Ontario, Thomas Zaugg of the People’s Political Party of Ontario, Rod Rojas of the Ontario Libertarian Party, and four independent candidates: George Babula, Cecilia Luu, Bohdan Ewhen Radejewsky, and Istvan Tar. The Gleaner was unable to reach the remaining candidates in time for this Q & A.

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The Questions

1. What is the most important issue for our health care system? What will you do to improve the health of residents in Parkdale-High Park?
—Perry King, senior editor, Gleaner Community Press

DiNovo: Right now if you visited any of the retirement homes or long-term care facilities in our riding they would tell you the same thing—they don’t get enough from the provincial government to provide quality care. The provincial government actually pays more to feed prisoners right now than it does to pay for long-term care residents. We’ve had a government in Ontario that has chipped away medicare at the edges rather than expand it. We need dental health care, not just for a few, but for many who cannot afford it. Many Ontarians cannot afford dental care, and don’t get it. This is unconscionable.

Ganetakos: I was of another party stripe, and one of the [things] that attracted me to the PCs was the plan to invest heavily in health care. But the difference with what we want to do is  invest it directly into front line care. So if you are a doctor or nurse  we want to basically make sure that the money goes to those direct staff. If you are working with a patient, you are going to be getting our full support. In the pasts it has not gone that way. Our view is that the provincial bureaucracy has been not effective and has acted as a political shield. [We will] invest $6.1 billion into health care, but ensure that it gets front-line staff.

Pasternak: As someone who has used the health care system, who has three family members in and out of St. Joe’s over the last year, there are more problems than I’d like to think. I think that the investments that this government has made have been unbelievable. We’ve lowered wait times, we’ve improved access to family doctors. We have to start treating more people in the community, and the Liberal Party is making investments there. We’re talking about community health centres, places like Runnymede. Aside from covering, as a reporter, many issues around mental health, I’ve also advocated and had to take care of people with mental health issues. These are things that need to be addressed and not in the emergency rooms.

Trottier: Within all the broad priorities of the health care infrastructure, I think the one we’re addressing the least well is mental health. The Canada Health Act and other pieces of legislation haven’t done a very good job to integrate mental health into the rest of its purview. Medicare, when it was set up, was set up to deal mostly with accidents and to keep people having a family doctor. It wasn’t really structured to deal with chronic or acute conditions, and certainly not mental health. We’re very much a party that sees the importance of empowering local communities to make health care decisions, and one way to do that is to make sure that the physical proximity of health care hubs are as close as possible to the neighbourhoods that need them the most.

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DiNovo: You’re talking to the woman who brought in the $10 minimum wage bill. And thanks to that bill, in our riding, a million Ontarians got a twenty-eight per cent raise. So that’s significant, and that was within the first six months of my being elected, and that’s as a member of the Opposition in a ten-person caucus, in a 107-person government. I’m part of the provincial legislature and I sit in Opposition Government primarily because of poverty issues. One in six children in our riding, and in our city, and in our province, live in poverty. We would definitely reassess the ODSP rates and raise them. We’ve also promised that we would be building at least 10,000 new [units] in housing every year. Also, introduce legislation to allow municipalities to call for inclusionary zoning.

Ganetakos: One of the things we’re offering that I’m really happy about is support for those who are on OW and ODSP. There are those that are working part-time and are trying to improve their quality of life and they are trying to takes steps forward. But the Liberal government claws back moneys from their paycheque. It’s a disincentive to try. Our plan is to let those on OW and ODSP to keep more of their money. It may not be possible for some, and we understand that, but we want them to have more money that they work for so that they can have more dignity in their lives.

Pasternak: Daycare is a huge issue in this riding, and one that I will be championing to make sure we have lots more, we desperately need them in this riding. Full-day kindergarten is a real, measurable investment made by the McGuinty government that helps alleviate the poverty cycle in so many ways. The other thing that we’re doing is, people may not be able to feel it, but the fact is that we just went through one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression, and we’ve come out stronger, we’ve created more jobs than the other provinces combined. The truth is, when the economy is lifted up, everyone gets lifted up.

Trottier: One Green policy area that I really think is important is the idea of taxing resource use and property use, and taxing less income and earned value. For us, we would seek to reduce income tax and one of our policies is to reduce it by a certain percentage dependent on the amount of income a person is bringing in, but in such a way that those with the smallest income, the poorest among us, would benefit the most in income reduction. We would offset [those decreased tax dollars] by increasing the tax on property and on resource use. This has the benefit of encouraging the use of currently vacant property, which is an issue right along Queen Street.

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DiNovo: Absolutely. I’ve been a huge proponent, a member of the Ontario CTC, and the only one at Queen’s Park by the way. The only hurdle standing in our way between electric, clean trains in our neighbourhood and the diesel that they’ve already inked the deal for, is Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal government. Even Rob Ford has come out saying that electric trains are what we need. The Conservatives have said electric trains are what we need. Literally only the Liberals stand between us and electric clean trains.

Pasternak: I’m a mother of a 5-year-old with asthma. Up to two weeks ago, my son couldn’t go out on smoggy days. It’s been very difficult for us. To me, as a mother, I fully support the electrification, but the truth is two things. One, yes, I support electrification, but we do need to do more than just talk about [it]. The fact is that we need to make this area a hub, we need to make it one in order to revitalize the main streets, and we are moving towards that. Electrification is good on so many levels, it’s not just about the environment, it’s about being able to create more than one stop—because the trains can stop here.

Trottier: I was just reviewing the recent news on the airport link and electrification dilemma that we’re in. My understanding is that all the stakeholders involved approve the move to electrification. The question is how to do it in a timely manner. I think we should do that immediately, it would save us money in the long run. I don’t understand why it’s taking, apparently now, a few years to do an environmental assessment on the move to electrification, when it’s taken less time to assess the $1 billion original building plan. We should be able to move a lot faster than we are, it would save us money, save us emissions. I definitely support the Clean Train Coalition.

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4. How does your party plan to protect Ontarians from energy inflation related to home heating and electricity in the near and long-term and why?
—Chris Chopik

DiNovo: We have promised to take the HST off essentials like home heating and hydro. We think the way forward is not nuclear, because it’s expensive. We think the way forward is to really ratchet up our reusable and recyclable programs. We’ve also promised as government we would introduce an extra $5,000 for the retrofitting program per home owner. We’re going to close the coal-firing plants. McGuinty still hasn’t done it and promised to do it in 2007.

Ganetakos: Removing the Ontario portion of the HST on home energy bills and heating, we know will have a positive impact. We’re not anti anything. We’re pro green, pro solar, pro wind—we’re just anti lousy, lousy deals. That’s the honest truth. I come from the private sector and my experience is, if you only have one bidder on the contract, you are not going to get the best price. You’re not even going to get something competitive. This deal stinks and it’s also been very concealed. By getting out of that energy experiment, and just ensuring that we have highly efficient, very safe, very well-regulated nuclear energy, which is the bulk of power by a country mile.

Pasternak: We’re giving a 10 per cent rebate off all electricity bills and hydro bills over the next five years to help people adjust to the increasing costs of energy. The truth is hydro actually went up more under the last provincial government, the Harris Conservatives, than they have under us. We’ve got to recognize that we are some of the biggest consumers in the world for energy. To say that we should just have cheap energy—it’s well-known that we have some of the cheapest energy anywhere in the world. Let’s come back to Ontario Clean Energy Benefit, reductions on all hydro bills for families, for farmers, for seniors and small businesses. That’s about $150 per family, $1,700 for small businesses.

Trottier: I think it’s important to give an honest assessment of what’s actually happening. I don’t think any party can honestly commit to stopping energy inflation, the rise of energy prices. I don’t think that’s realistic. I think there are a lot of things that we can do to conserve better, I think every dollar we invest in conservation is worth much more than the amount of money we would have to spend on expensive nuclear reactors, to offset the increasing energy needs, or coal-fire power plants—that sort of thing. Our party is very much in terms of tax benefits and tax credits, which would promote home retrofitting. We have the Green Energy Building Plan, which would tax credits back to homeowners and business owners for energy audits that would seem to make these kind of retrofits—that we could produce. Thirty per cent is our general proposal.

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5. Please comment on the adequacy of the Ontario Arts Council at its present level of funding.
—David Perlman

DiNovo: The simple answer is one word—it’s inadequate. We need to make Ontario a hub for artists. I used to be the culture critic, and as such I brought in a Status of the Artist legislation, which was not passed. We have no Status of the Artist legislation in Ontario, not for children, not for adults. We need to have income tax averaging for them, because, as most artists know, sometimes you earn a lot of money in one year the other year you earn nothing, and yet you pay a whole lot of taxes one year. We should definitely fund the arts better, including tax credits. Instead of spending their valuable time writing proposals, they should be able to count on a certain amount of money coming from Queen’s Park and it certainly should be more than they get now.

Ganetakos: As a person who is not on the Ontario Arts Council, who is not witnessing its current funding, all I can tell you is that I’m an OCA grad, I’ve worked in the arts on the digital side of things for ten years and I’m raring to go to be champion for the arts. I believe you can make a solid return on investment for the arts, but unfortunately right now, door-to-door, that’s not what people are telling me. I’ll bet you I am more directly connected to the arts than many, many candidates, federally or provincially, and I would fight for it tooth and nail. But right now our priorities are what’s in the Change Book.

Pasternak: The Liberals are known to be very good to the arts community. I come from broadcasting, my husband used to produce documentaries, and they needed to access funding. I know that moving forward, the government is very big on digital media and investing a lot more into digital media. I come from a artists’ background. I think it’s not just about supporting artists, it’s an economy. It brings people here to work, and I’m a huge supporter.

Trottier: I understand competing priorities, and how everybody sort of wants to increase the chunk of the pie for their particular area. I can’t make lofty promises about increasing budgets for any one area. All I can say is that I understand the importance of all of the those different stakeholders, and the Green Party would do what it can to provide all sorts of financial benefits to local community hubs and leave it to those community centres and hubs to decide on allocations into the community like social service projects, artistic brands, that sort of thing.

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All answers have been edited for space. Candidates’ bios are their own.

By Perry King

Alexandra Orlando was the only athlete from the Americas to qualify for the rythmic gymnastics competition at the 2008 Beijing games. Courtesy Alexandra Orlando

When first notified she was receiving an award for her work with kids, Alexandra Orlando immediately thought back to her work with the Pan Am Games bid.

“We did a community outreach summer, and I lead the youth portion of that,” said Orlando, the program coordinator for the bid’s Youth Program. “I set up days where I brought in ten to 15 athletes, and we had a whole day or half-day [where we] went to summer camps and did all different kinds of sports demos, and had athletes speak to [kids]. It was really incredible.”

In June, Orlando was awarded the 2011 Everest Foundation Adult Leadership Award for her work. In an email to the Gleaner, Farell Duclair, the founder of Everest Foundation and a former Calgary Stampeder, says that she received the award “for her ongoing contribution to youth and sports, particularly her active role as an ambassador for Right to Play.

“Alexandra exemplifies how the rigour and diligence of sports develops not only an athlete but also leadership qualities that reach beyond personal achievement,” he wrote.

Orlando, an Annex resident, was more than speechless when she was informed about receiving the award. “It showed me that what I’m doing is actually making a difference, and I’m actually affecting lives and making a change in the lives of youth. They’re our future, and everything I’ve learned I’ve wanted to give back and give to my community,” she said.

Orlando, 24, has been working in the community since she was 16. Early in her career, she developed a passion for working with school-aged children. “I had a unique experience, when I was younger, to work with a lot of older athletes and I saw how even little gestures can go a huge way with kids,” she recalls.

“Whether it’s answering a question or getting water for them, they’re so blown away by someone who actually cares. What’s really important, when you’re working with kids, is that even if you’re tired and had a long day—especially athletes, when they’re doing a million things—you know it’s a great cause and you go and give it your all. They can feel that, and they know that you’re really there for them.”

Describing herself as a “pretty outgoing, fun person,” Orlando wants to etch an identity as a community organizer. “Every time I create a summer camp or help with programming or sports demos within my community, I make sure I really do bring my A game when I go, and I want to make it as fun for them as possible.”

Before she retired as a rhythmic gymnast after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Orlando was a five-time senior National Champion, six-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and a three-time gold medalist at the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil.

Orlando was the only rhythmic gymnast from the Americas to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

Since retiring, Orlando has mentored the Canadian Youth Olympic Team and is an ambassador for the international NGO Right to Play. She also instructs at Havergal College and sits on the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Women in Sport and Youth and Education Committees. “There’s so much that I want to do. My friends describe me as someone who ‘falls off the face of the earth’ a lot, I’m extremely busy,” she chuckled.

“I love to keep myself busy and I always love to learn, so I’m always throwing myself into situations where it will be challenging for me. The world is a huge place, and there’s a tonne of opportunities for me to go. Working in sport now, it opens up all these doors, so I want to see where that takes me.”

By Emina Gamulin

More than a few eyebrows must have been raised in August when Trinity-Spadina residents received a surprise copy of the Women’s Post food and wine issue in their mailboxes.

An image of MPP candidate Sarah Thomson, the same image she uses in her election materials, is found on the cover of the magazine she publishes under the cover line: “Sarah Thomson weighs in on the tough choice facing Ontario voters.”

This was the second time she featured herself on the cover. The first time she more boldly declared herself “Toronto’s next mayor” in advance of the municipal election, provoking one blogger to dub her “Toronto’s queen of all vanity media.”

Whether this move breaks any elections rules seems to be a grey area. Candidates are technically not allowed to spend personal money on their own campaigns exceeding $1,240. They are also not allowed to advertise during the blackout period preceding the election.

However, Thomson said that she checked to make sure she was not breaking any rules. Under the law, it could be argued that this is not technically advertising and that the piece had news value. Having read the editorial where she recounts a supposed dream she had about ships captained by leaders of political parties as she decides on which one to board, the Gleaner  would disagree, but it is unlikely that Elections Ontario will follow-up and penalize Thomson.

Her defense that she graced the cover because there was a lack of suitable subjects is laughable, but to say, as some have, that this move will not give her a political advantage does not hold up in the face of the evidence. Advertising works, the elections laws are in place for a reason, and name recognition is a huge component of how voters make their decisions.

According to a study by political scientists Cindy Kam and Elizabeth Zechmeister, it gives candidates a strong advantage. In their field research, they placed lawn signs for a fictitious candidate by the name Ben Griffin near a local school during an actual election in Nashville, Tennesee. Nearly a quarter of those exposed to the signs placed Griffin in their top three choices.

Of course, Thomson is not the first political candidate in history to use space in a publication to their advantage. Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park) stayed on as an environmental columnist for Eye Weekly (now The Grid) when he ran for city council, a move considered controversial at the time. Frank Stronach put himself on the cover of a publication he owned, Focus on York, in 1988 when he was running for MP. Stronach lost the election, and according to an unofficial biography, he also lost the support of his editorial staff, who walked out in protest to what they saw as his shameless self promotion.

While election legislation could use clarification in dealing with grey areas such as this one, perhaps the best defense against the name recognition effect is an informed voter. Kam and Zechmeister found that recognition became a less prominent decision making factor when more politically relevant information was presented.

In other words, don’t blame us if you vote for Ben Griffin.