Joanne Tookenay & Aleisha Parr – The Garden and the Unicorn

Joanne Tookenay is an Anishinaabe Elder, a survivor who grew up in a traumatizing childhood, sexually abused by several men in the community. As a student in adult learning school she was encouraged by a teacher to write a story. What ended up on the paper served as the beginning of a long journey to coping with her past and to preserve her present. All these years later, Joanne has written her story to publish, to put the horrors she had to live out in the open, to speak truth, and to help similar others go through the mental health challenges they may be facing.

Aleisha A. Parr is a writer, artist and entrepreneur who calls both Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto home. She holds a Specialised Honours BFA from York University in Theatre (Devised Ensemble Creation; Playwriting) with a double minor in Psychology and Cultural Studies. She is also the Founder and Managing Editor of Type A Media.

Visit: typeamedia.ca

Type A Media is a small press and indie literary publisher in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, established with an aim to publish fresh, diverse voices in poetry, creative non-fiction, flash fiction, visual arts, cultural thinkpieces, and hybrid creative works from Northern Ontario and beyond.

We prioritise supporting voices from our northern communities because they are underrepresented in the publishing world. While our shared geography has definitely helped inform and inspire these voices, we know it certainly does not – and should not – limit them. We are interested in promoting those works which both celebrate our diversity and explore our shared experiences.

** *** **