About
Hello, there! Bonsoir! My name is Maya and I am a Montreal Serai old-timer which means I’m young enough to remember – je me souviens – but old enough to know better! Before I begin reading my poem I should like to clarify a few misconceptions. Our masthead says that our name is derived from the Persian word for resting place or place of transience. This etymology is absolutely correct. Many of us came to Montreal to rest from turmoil, to learn, to test the waters (or the proverbial snow) and to consolidate our position before returning home to make a mark there. But Montreal has now become our physical dwelling and Montreal Serai is where our spirit dwells. What is absolutely untrue is that Montreal Serai is a resting place. Just the opposite: it is a space for artistic experimentation, intellectual ferment, political questioning and the creation of a new paradigm for what it means to be human. It is not an exclusive club but rather an inclusive longhouse where we can meet on equal terms and discuss our joint future on this planet earth. The Montreal part of our name has spilled into those corners of the world where there is a cyber-link and the Serai part no longer means transience but endurance. We have endured 23 years and with your help, we shall certainly overcome. ¡Que será …Serai!
Please write to us at talkback@montrealserai.com
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $20.0 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada.
Serai is a Persian word which means ‘resting place’ or a ‘place of transience’ for a traveler. Founded in 1986, Montreal Serai is an arts magazine that publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and reviews of film, music, art, exhibitions, theater and dance.
Its primary focus is to create a social awareness about the existence and growth of newer communities in Quebec, Canada and the world. New Arts, New Communities are about the emerging presence of creative individuals and peoples that do not come from the traditional majority.
Bringing the Margins to the Center is a statement of our intent to counteract exclusion, separation, and marginalization when they occur in the arts and in society at large. Along with our theater group of the same name, the Serai collective strives to promote works that are not exclusively franco, anglo, allo — works that reflect and assert the diverse world we live in.
Contributers |
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| Abou Farmaian Aida Sameer Amir Hodhod Amit Srivastava Amrita Choudhury Andre Gunder Frank Andris Karklins Anna Fuerstenberg Anne Cimon Armen Georgian Ashoke Dasgupta Aziz Choudry Barbara Lefcowitz Blair Ewing Breanna Myles Brian Campbell Brigitte Schulze Bulbul Mankani C D Cunha Carmine Starnino Cheryl Neill Christopher Barnes Cynthia Fuchs Darren Ell David Duchow David Fennario David McNally David Solway Dean Serravalle Deirdre Silverman Dimitri Roussopoulos Dorit Dornier Dr. Pramod Dhakal Dvora Levin Eduardo Galeano Ehab Lotayef Ellen Gabriel Emily Abendroth Emma French Emmanuel Ortiz Endre Farkas Faraz Sarwat Fortner Anderson Freda Guttman Gary Beck Gary Johnson Ghassan Bishara Glynis Humphrey Graham Knight Greg Crockatt Henrick de Pagter Hillel Kagan Homa Hoodfar Hossam Bahgat Howard Karlitz Iain Maloney Ian McDonald Ilona Martonfi Imtiaz Alam Irene Johnson Irene Kon J L Jackson J Loewenstein James D. Cockcroft Janet Lumb Jason Botkin Jaspreet Singh Jeanne Sindic Jeffrey Aarles Jesse Klein John Carter John D Devine John Lacny John Molto Fretz Jooneed Khan Joshua Tanzer Julian Samuel Julie Bruck Kaie Kellough Kane Faucher Kate Browne Ken McGoogan Lawrence Walker Leopold Plotikg Lesley Pasquin Liam Durcan Lisa Foster Louise Drouin Lucien Francoeur Lyne Lapointe M A Qadeer M Chossudovsky M K Ajay Mahmood Mamdani Mahmoud Darwish Maria Al-Masani Maria Cuervo Maria Durana Maria Worton Mark Antony Krupa |
Mark Goldfarb Mark Kingwell Mark Silverman Martha Chaves Mary Ellen Davis Matt Jones Maya Khankhoje Mehdi Naïmi Michael Albert Michael Bryson Michael Little Mick Collins Mike Wozniewki Miles Weinstein Mirella Bontempo Naghmeh Sharifi Naomi Bellos Nelsy Massoud Nicolas Messenger Niranjana Iyer Norman Nawrocki Oleg Dergachov Orissa Arend Orville Lloyd Douglas Parnab Mukherjee Patrick Barnard Patty Lynne Herlevi Paul Hellyer Paul Manly Paul Wilson Paula Friedman Paula Nechak Persheng Vaziri Peter Fourie Peter Martin Peter McEwan Peter Scowen Peter Such Pharaoh Pietra Ferrua Prasun Lala R Bahramitash R.A. Rosenstone Rana Bose Rana Ockaili Rawi Hage Ray McGinnis Raymond Furlotte Rima Banerji Robert Blincoe Robert D. Walker Robert J. Lewis Robert Paquin Robin MacKinnon Rola Haramouche Ruth Conniff Ruwantissa Abeyratne S. Nadja Zajdman Sam Boskey Samia Costandi Samuel Herzoi Sana Khawaja Saeed Saqib Mausoof Sarah Ghazal Khaliqi Scott Hammond Scott Weinstein Sean Dowd Sean Healy Shailja Patel Shane Allison Shane Neilson Sheila Kristinnson Shelley Miller Stan Gray Stella Pace Stephen B. Hawkins Subir Das Suheir Hammad Sundus Abdul Hadi Susan Dubrofsky Sylvia Goldfarb Tania Nesterovsky Tapan Kumar Bose Tara Atluri Terrie Schauer Tisha Srivastav Tobias Rose-Stockwell Urs Steiner Van Jones Waïl S. Hassan Warren Allmand William Blum Y Loyola-Nazareth Yahia Lababidi Yahia Lababidi Yvonne Bird |