Monia Mazigh and daughter Baraa read at Kogawa House

Last evening Historic Joy Kogawa House hosted a reading featuring current Writer-in-residence Monia Mazigh (left) and her poetic daughter. Dr. Mazigh read from her fiction, and from the memoir Hope and Despair, which describes the shocking arrest of her husband Maher Arar, his imprisonment in Syria, and her efforts to clear his name.

Baraa Azar discovered spoken word poetry at Carleton University. "A poem begins as a lump in the throat," she began, continuing, "This poem is not about politics, but about people;" it "transcends caste, color, and religion." Another spoken poem juxtaposed two historic events that took place in 1776. As Jefferson penned The Declaration of Independence, a slave fort was built in Africa. Slaves dropped through the door of no return, and "bare feet wrinkled the sand for the last time."

Baraa's poignant meditation on home ended: "My polaroid picture of home is fading on the back of my eyelids."

Surrounded by lit candles as evening fell, an appreciative audience listened to the work of this remarkable mother and daughter in Kogawa House garden.

Afterwards, we chatted over refreshments that included cherry juice and Monia Mazigh's homemade cake.

Having heard the author read from her novel Hope has Two Daughters, I came away with a copy of this book, which takes place in Canada and Tunisia.

Left: Short story writer Cynthia Flood, Baraa Azar and others relax in the garden.