Inspiring Canada’s dialogue through literature
In its 28th year, Toronto’s annual book festival The Word On The Street has put our country’s identity and cultural inclusiveness on the agenda
“As a tourist event, the festival reaches an international audience.” HEATHER KANABE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
It’s a celebration of Canadians and the words they write at Toronto’s famous literary affair, The Word On The Street.
The free annual festival, now in its 28th year, returns Sept. 24 and attracts more than 200,000 book aficionados to Harbourfront Centre ( 235 Queens Quay W.), its home since 2015 where the peaceful waterfront backdrop enhances the leisurely atmosphere of the day.
This year, The Word On The Street is delivering a strong presence of acclaimed Canadian guests, with David Suzuki, Emma Donoghue, Anne Michaels and Ron Sexsmith among them. Putting homegrown talent in the spotlight is part of Word’s overall mission — one that aims to build a narrative around Canuck writers, bring them exposure, and champion their works, explains festival director, Heather Kanabe.
“Canadian authors do not have the marketing budgets of their American contemporaries, and local touch points like bookstores are fewer than in the past,” says Kanabe. “We have a unique opportunity to platform Canadian authors and expand their reach, beyond niche literary audiences … As a tourist event, the festival reaches an international audience.”
This year Kanabe had the opportunity to interview a number of recent immigrants for internship positions. She says a common theme that arose from those conversations was how locally penned works helped deepen an understanding of Canada and “what it means to be Canadian.”
“It is a time where people are trying to understand what it is we share that makes it such a great place to live,” she says.
“This year we made a huge effort to bring people in from around the country representing our diversity of origin, languages, and culture.”
Between strolling the vast open-air marketplace, where vendors sell everything from indie zines, a myriad of genres, popular bestsellers and small press releases, attendees can take a break from filling up their book bags and enjoy author talks, children’s activities, panel discussions, writing workshops, and French and Cree language lessons.
With exceptional fanfare surround- ing Canada’s 150th this past July, expanding programming to include the Indigenous Voices and TFO Franco Stages are timely additions.
“These stages reflect our desire to build inclusivity and diversity into the festival’s programming,” Kanabe says. “We cannot live on Indigenous land or in a bilingual country and not create a platform for these communities’ important stories. This is a time we have become keenly aware of our need for reconciliation in Canada and we hope the dialogue inspired through the Indigenous Voices stage guides us on a pathway to bridge relationships between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous nations on Turtle Island.”
The TFO Franco Stage highlights Franco-Ontarian authors and Fran- cophone writing across the nation. Authors will appear on both stages to share stories, languages, and cultures.
No matter the root of the words, within Canada or beyond, the festival is a rare and special space for book lovers. For all of the fest’s evergrowing versatility, there is one unwavering goal at its centre: the hope of passing the magic and power of reading onto others, big and small.
“The love of reading is something that needs to reach the whole family,” says Kanabe. “It needs to start in the schools, which is why we encourage teachers and parents alike to become engaged with the festival.”