“It’s affecting us the most”: Gabriel Badejo’s The Sickling brings sickle cell crises to light

Man carries a replica of himself in a hospital gown in his arms. The text says "The Sickling" in all caps.

Growing up as a Nigerian immigrant, my parents were acutely aware of the sickle cell crisis facing Nigeria. So much so that when I turned 17, my dad made sure to tell me that when I start dating, I need to get my blood tested to figure out if I was a carrier. At the time, sickle cell anemia was more of an idea that my parents were fanatical about than an active risk to my health. Going into health research in university, I would learn more and more about how common it was in Nigeria. Sickle cell anemia is…

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PERSPECTIVES: “Beneath Gaza’s Stars” and “Midnight Thoughts in Gaza” rewire my associations with my own memories

This piece is a companion to the article: “I want people to understand”: Writers in Gaza publish zines through volunteer-led Coastal Lines Press I read Coastal Lines Press zines Beneath Gaza’s Stars by Heba Ali and Midnight Thoughts in Gaza by Mohammed Al-Bardawili with a deliberate slowness, trying to build pictures in my mind, trying to open my heart further and further like training a muscle.  I needn’t have tried so hard. Their words surrounded me with their sights, sounds, and thoughts in a way that rewired my associations with my own memories.  Pain, when woven into language, becomes a…

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“I want people to understand”: Writers in Gaza publish zines through volunteer-led Coastal Lines Press

Audio excerpts of interview with Lama Alharazin, including Alharazin reciting her poem “Those who are still here” from her zine “Rain Was Once A Promise”: “During the war, I actually couldn’t find sense of the chaos around me. I was always looking for meaning in every displacement” says 24 year old writer Lama Alharazin over a Zoom call from Gaza City on August 30. “I was missing my home, I was missing my life, but I only found a way to make sense through writing. I started writing. I wrote about my home, my friends, the loss, the beautiful memories,…

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“This is not a landmark”: Downtown London bustles with cheer for cultural festival Nuit Blanche 

London’s downtown core has suffered in the last few years from a bad reputation. Between the many Farhi-shuttered storefronts and an unhoused population neglected by an overloaded shelter system, it’s a sad state of affairs. London’s softest suburbanites quiver in fear at the idea of a casual stroll down Dundas, lest they be faced with the visual evidence of our failing systems.  Nuit Blanche is the answer to our mid-sized Canadian town’s downtown void. A cultural festival pitched annually by the London Society of Architects from 2010 to 2017 and revived in 2025, this year’s theme is This is not…

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Author Sam Demma brings good will to London

On Thursday, Bestselling author and Canadian speaker Sam Demma comes to London as part of his cross-country tour dedicated to his new book Return on Goodwill.  The tour, dubbed Return on Goodwill Live, sees Demma sharing stories and the impacts of the goodwill he has received from others throughout his life, and championing the world he hopes to be part of. One that focuses on “return on goodwill” rather than return on investment. For Demma, the fundamental difference between the two is expectation. “Return on investment, there’s always an expectation. When you give money to a financial advisor, you’re not…

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Open letter: Western University community demands action for colleagues in Gaza

The following is an open letter from hundreds of students, staff, faculty, and alumni addressed to Western University President Alan Shepard demanding support for students in Gaza admitted to Western University. It was provided to Antler River Media Co-op by members of the Western University community. Dear President Shepard, We, the undersigned, are Western University students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are concerned about the plight of students in Gaza admitted to Western University’s graduate programs. These students are passionate, scholarly, highly qualified, and keen to begin their studies after surviving three years of genocide during which they completed, against…

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