-A night of poetry and sharing of life-altering experiences-

This past summer 8 women from across North America embarked on a journey to South Korea to explore the spirit of social justice movements on the peninsula through the Korean Education and Exposure Program (KEEP).

Participants met with a wide range of activists including: Women mobilizing against U.S. imperialism, U.S. base presence and camptown sex work, queer activists, irregular workers, migrant workers, farmers and many more. What they found at the core were life changing experiences, inspiring exchanges of laughter and tears, and incredible growth.

Join us on November 8th as three of these women share their experiences, their poetry and spirits at the Toronto Women’s Bookstore for ‘Experiences to KEEP’. Event is hosted by Jindap, a korean-canadian non-profit community organization. For more info: http://www.jindap.com

Light refreshments will be provided!

TIME AND PLACE: Saturday, November 8, 2008 7:00pm – 10:00pm

LOCATION: Toronto Women’s Book Store

ADDRESS: 73 Harbord Street Toronto, ON

CONTACT: 6472625836 artistsun@gmail.com

THE WOMEN:

Jennifer Kwon Dobbs was born in Won Ju Si, South Korea. Her debut collection, Paper Pavilion, received the White Pine Press Poetry Prize and was published in 2007. Previously her poems appeared widely in anthologies, film, and journals and on radio, and have been translated into Greek, Korean, and Turkish.

She holds a Ph.D. in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Southern California. As a fellow, she served as founding director of the SummerTIME Writing Program, a college access program for Los Angeles inner-city high school students, sponsored by The Rossier School of Education´s Center for Higher Education and Policy Analysis. Currently, she is assistant professor of creative writing at St. Olaf College and lives in Minneapolis. For more on Jennifer please visit http://www.jkwondobbs.com

Michelle Cho is a Toronto based community organizer and researcher. Currently she works at the Urban Alliance on Race Relations, primarily focusing on systemic racism in public education and youth mobilizing. She was also a co-host on Frequency Feminisms (CKLN 88.1), has done tenant organizing and organized political leadership trainings for youth and women of colour. Most recently, Michelle was a participant in a life altering experience as a participant in the Korean Education and Exposure Program.

sun (장선미) is a strong advocate for positive progressions, equality and humanitarianism. She has two passions: (1) arts/music and (2) building positive change. She has worked with many community organizations in the Jane-Finch, York, and Corean Communities in Toronto.

As an artist she is known as “sun”: a poet, singer/ songwriter, and visual artist who expresses her soul through the arts. She has just finished her debut album titled RISE. As a person dedicated to building solidarity and community, she currently works with Lost Lyrics, Youth In Charge, and Nomanzland, which are all art-based youth programs in the Jane-Finch community in Toronto. sun has recently returned from a breath-taking experience traveling to Corea and California and building with other progressive movement makers in the Corean communities across the globe. Please visit: http://www.myspace.com/therealsun

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