Friday Special Blend
Friday April 17th, 2026 with Susan Johnston. Gianluca Petti. Micah Petti. Tala Abuali. Brendon Poste
Books. Music. Comedy. Conversations with Andrea Gunraj, Laurie D. Graham, Andrew Balfour and Andrew McAnerney, and the Phoenix Players.

We'll start our morning with Susan and Tala Abuali in conversation with Andrea Gunraj, author of Go-Between Girl and just out this week. About Andrea Gunraj: In Go-Between Girl, Andrea Gunraj delves into the under-told legacy of indentured labour and its lasting impacts on descendants across diasporas, from the Caribbean and Latin America to Canada, the United States, and beyond. She captures the complexities of belonging and the challenges of navigating dichotomies. Through the concept of “go-betweenness,” Gunraj illustrates her path from the intersections of race, class, and identity to a broader understanding of colonial histories. Andrea has a Toronto launch confirmed. Details are here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/go-between-girl-launch-celebration-tickets-1985737852371. Special thanks to Mandela Gabay for his audio production work. Next up, Susan speaks with poet and publisher Laurie D. Graham about Calling it Back to Me. About Laurie D. Graham: Laurie grew up in Treaty 6 Territory, near amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta), and she has lived in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, in the Territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg, since 2018, where she is a poet, an editor, and the publisher of Brick magazine, a journal of literary non-fiction based in Toronto. Her first book, Rove, was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for the best first book of poetry in Canada. Her second and third books, Settler Education and Fast Commute, were both nominated for Ontario’s Trillium Book Award for Poetry. Calling It Back to Me is Laurie's fourth collection. She'll be reading at Amina's Cafe on Saturday at 2pm, alongside Liz Johnston and Aga Maksimowska. More info and tickets are available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/graham-johnston-maksimowska-ottawa-book-launch-tickets-1984137715318. Special thanks to Griffin Cribb for his audio production work. Kateri: Prophecies and the Sacred Woman is being performed Friday April 17 as part of a collabouration between the Studio de Musique ancienne de Montreal and Ottawa's Notre Dame Basilica. Performed by the combined choirs of SMAM and Notre Dame Cathedral, this concert weaves together western music traditions and living indigenous themes and language. The programme celebrates the lives and works of sacred women including the Virgin Mary, the prophecies of the Sybil at Cumae, and a new work by indigenous composer Andrew Balfour inspired by the life of Kateri Tekakwitha. Music featured includes the extraordinary Gloria from the Earthquake Mass by Antoine Brumel, a new Mohawk text setting of the mesmerising Deo Gratia with by works by Johannes Ockeghem, and pieces by Hildegard von Bingen, Isaac, Josquin, Lassus, and Stopford. Andrew Balfour will join us, along with Andrew McAnerney, Artistic Director of SMAM and who will be conducting the performance. Details are here: https://smamontreal.ca/en/kateri-prophecies-and-the-sacred-woman/ About the Phoenix Players: The Phoenix Players will be presenting a Comedy Double Bill ("Crackers" and "Debate Debacle") at the Gladstone Theatre from April 24-May 2. We're thrilled to have David Hoffman and a gaggle of actors join us bright and early tomorrow. Details are here: https://www.phoenixplayers.ca/. Tickets: https://thegladstone.ca/shows/comedy-double-bill/