have you heard any good poetry, lately?

I was reviewing and vetting creative writings for an anthology recently, a process that left me wondering, wondering what is the purpose of this poem? what is the purpose of this short story? why am I reading this? is this of interest? should it be? So, I thought, to restore my faith, I'd post some inspiring creative work by a young Canadian female spoken word artist that says something, that tells me something, that gives me something to think about, that leaves us with something to think about, as Canadians, as thinkers, as readers, as listeners, as denizens of a shared world of contradictions, of unresolved injustices, of increasing intolerance in Canada, especially of Palestine. Starting with our government.

Rafeef Ziadah Toronto spoken word poet, 3rd generation Palestinian refugee:

"We are encouraged to think that poetry shouldn't make sense and shouldn't move people to action, it's simply self-expression for the sake of art itself. Not to say that artists shouldn't be true to themselves, but when I'm on stage I am not providing a product for consumption, rather a story and a way to connect that story to the audience. It's finding that balance between what's inside you and what message you want to put out and putting it in a way people can relate to and understand."


Shades of Anger: This poem emerged after Rafeef was kicked in the gut by a student at York U in Toronto, who said she deserved to be raped before she birthed her terrorist children.