Literature for Life II

Previously we’ve written about the charity Literature for Life, which employs reading and writing initiatives to improve the lives of young mothers from disadvantaged backgrounds in Toronto. One of their members, Amiga Taylor, has recently been featured on our own national radio (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; CBC), producing radio segments about her life.

Amiga’s association with Literature for Life began as a writer for one of their magazines, Solace, dedicated to an open discussion of violence and victimization within families with young mothers as contributors. She began volunteering for the organization after her 11 year-old brother, Ephraim Brown, was killed by a gang-member’s stray bullet. She is now the project manager and Editor-in-Chief of Yo’ Mama magazine, another publication by Literature for Life written by and for young (often teen) parents, and has also run poetry workshops for the organization. Ms. Taylor is now in Ryerson University’s Television and Broadcast Arts program, and worked as an associate producer on two pieces for the program OutFront on CBC Radio.

The first, entitled Nostalgia, is a discussion with her mother about being kicked out of the house onto the streets, where she later found herself pregnant and homeless at 17 years of age. The second, entitled Blue Sapphire, describes her attempt to deal with the violent loss of her young brother. You can listen to both pieces by clicking on the links, and can contribute to Literature for Life by clicking here.