I hope you are all well. Starting today, January 31st we are pleased to welcome you back to dine at Massey and for select in person events. Please join us for cafeteria style meals at the College – and our first formal dinner will take place on February 23rd. Our weekly menu is here. If you are planning to come and dine with us, please make reservations with the Porter.
I also would like to note that Junior Fellow applications are now live for the 2022-2023 academic year. Please help us to spread the word!
- Junior Fellow Applications
- Returning Junior Fellow Applications
Please join me in welcoming two new members to Massey College
Journalist Jalal Nazari (above, left),was born in a remote area of Ghazni province, Afghanistan, has a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from Balkh University. He is a translator/interpreter and also worked for the Kabul bureau of the Wall Street Journal as a reporter. He has been writing Persian poetry for seven years and has won prizes at literary festivals in Tehran and Kabul. He participated in the 2020 and 2021 Sydney Festival as a poet and visual artist/calligrapher. He fled Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban in August, 2021, and arrived in Canada last month.
Mujtaba Haris (above, right) is an Afghan researcher, journalist, and youth advocate. He holds an MBA from Cumbria University, London. He has written for Al Jazeera English, TRT World, One Young World as well as 8 AM, Afghanistan’s largest private newspaper. He is the founder of the organization for Afghanistan Local studies as well as a co-founder of Generation Positive, a non-profit organization that focuses on ending extremism, advocating for fundamental human rights, and empowering youth through research and dialogue. He has extensive experience in the public sector and previously worked as the Senior Communication Consultant & PR adviser in the Ministry of Energy & Water.
Both Jalal and Mujtaba will join in the activities of the William Southam Journalism Fellowship this term.
Make sure to join us this evening, for the virtual launch of Quadrangle Society Member, and former Mayor of Toronto, John Sewell’s Book Crisis in Canada’s Policing. John will be joined by Abby Deshman Interim Executive Director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Massey College Alum Alex Luscombe and Journalism Fellow Jonathan Montpetit, 4:00pm ET.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkoL0Xh4NMU
On Wednesday, February 2nd at 4:00pm ET we have a Massey Dialogues that will explore moving beyond ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing to creating a better impact in the process. Join Senior Fellow Anita McGahan, Adam Jagelewski, Managing Partner at TwinRiver Captial, Inbal Marcovitch – former Special Advisor to the CEO of SCC and Junior Fellow Leting Liu.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_tJzjL-GbE
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The Massey Music Salon is also taking place on February 2nd. Join us virtually for an exploration of a new piece by Métis composer Ian Cusson, Five Orchestral Songs on Poems by Marilyn Dumont. Mr. Cusson will be joined by mezzo soprano Rebecca Cuddy, the piece’s first interpreter, for an evening moderated by Junior Fellow and music historian Rena Roussin.
Join us at 7:45pm for We are Still Here: Métis art music in Canada
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q10anumiJJA
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Throughout the month of February and beyond we will be celebrating arts, culture, community and more of the Africa, Caribbean and diasporic communities of African descent. Join us.
We will discuss Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta at the next instalment of the Massey College Book Club 7:45-9:00pm ET on Monday, February 7th.
RSVP Here https://masseycollege.ca/events/book-club-frying-plantain-by-zalika-reid-benta/
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Watch the Massey Dialogues – Sugar, Codfish, Enslaved Africans, and the Founding of a Canadian University on Wednesday, Feb 9th from 4:00-5:00pm ET with writer, dub poet and professor of sociology at Dalhousie University, Dr. Afua Cooper.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM https://masseycollege.ca/events/massey-dialogues-sugar-codfish-enslaved-africans-and-the-founding-of-a-canadian-university-%EF%BF%BC/
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Join in the for the next instalment of our Filmmaker-in-Residence series with Peter Raymont. We will be screening Nurse.Fighter.Boy by Charles Officer at 7:00pm ET with a panel discussion on themes from the film to follow.
RSVP HERE https://masseycollege.ca/events/filmmaker-in-residence/
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Our High Table to Celebrate Black History Month, is taking place on Friday, February 25th at 6:00pm ET. RSVP Here https://masseycollege.ca/events/black-history-month-high-table/
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The Massey Dialogues on March 2nd will address anti-Black racism in the criminal justice system with Senior Fellow Annamaria Enenajor. Save the date, more information coming soon.
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OTHER ONLINE EVENTS
Jack McClelland Writer in Residence Souvankham Thammavongsa for a virtual reading and reception, 4:00-5:00pm ET on Tuesday, February 8th.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGWFrUlV8J4
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PRINTING WORKSHOP AT MASSEY
The Bibliography Room is excited to present a Valentine’s Day Printing Workshop in the Junior Common Room on Friday, February 11th from 12:00-2:00 PM. Join the College Printer and the Bib Room Apprentices in making hand-printed letterpress cards and ephemera on several of our mid-century presses.
This will be a very informal workshop – no previous experience or registration needed. Feel free to drop in before or after lunch to print, decorate, or simply watch! We ask that participants please observe the latest guidelines for social distancing.
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Join us, February 25th from 11:45am to 2pm for the Senior Fellow Luncheon with Alum and former Canadian Ambassador to Cuba Mark Entwistle. Mark will provide insights to understanding what is happening in Cuba today.
To attend in person, registration is required.
RSVP https://masseycollege.ca/events/senior-fellow-luncheon-with-mark-entwistle/
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Thinking Beyond Grad School: on February 18th from 2:00-3:00pm ET, join alum Phil De Luna in conversation with Junior Fellow Chukwunonso Nwabufo for a conversation on strategies for planning a robust 21st career path.
WATCH THE LIVESTREAM https://youtu.be/zfcU3qknHWc
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SAVE THE DATE
- Book Club – Monday, March 7 at 7:45pm, we will discuss Divided Loyalties by Nilofar Shidmehr
- High Table: International Women’s Day – Friday, March 11 at 6:00pm
- Alumni Dinner for the 1963-1979 cohort – March 23. Tickets are available here.
- Alumni Dinner for the 1980-1990 cohort – April 13.
- 60th Anniversary Celebration of the William Southam Journalism Fellowships – Saturday, April 23 (If you’d like to attend please join the waiting list – more tickets will be released this week)
- Massey College Book Club Gala with Lawrence Hill – Friday, May 6
COMMUNITY NEWS
I would like to issue a warm welcome to CITA Fellow Sean Ressler, who will be residing at Massey. Sean is a Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) Fellow in theoretical astrophysics at UC Santa Barbara.
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It is with great sadness we have learned of the passing of Robert R. Reid (1927-2022) on Friday, January 21st. Reid was a beloved member of the book arts community in Canada. He was a great friend of the founding Massey Quadrats and spent his life studying private presses. Most of his professional life was spent in Montreal at the McGill University Press where he published many books and several broadsides. In 2007, the Alcuin Society presented the first Robert R. Reid Award for Lifetime Achievement in Books Arts in Canada in his honour. In 2018, CAUSA collaborated with the Robertson Davies Library at Massey to celebrate Robert R. Reid’s digital ephemera and his many years of designing and printing. He passed at the age of 94 at peace and surrounded by loved ones. His work in the book arts will continue to be treasured by the Massey community.
Warmest wishes,
Nathalie
