TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY Sneabra Y U K U N S Noweria Zhang, Age 16
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YOUNG VOICES 2007 TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY SNEabra Y U K U N S NOWERIA ZHANG, AGE 16 WELCOME TO YOUNG VOICES 2007 This year is the beginning of something new and exciting for Young Voices: the stories and artwork in this edition of Toronto Public Library’s magazine for teen writing and art were selected by editorial teams consisting of teens working with Toronto writers Hadley Dyer, Emily Pohl-Weary, Karen Krossing, Dwayne Morgan, Jay MillAr and Angela Rawlings and Toronto artist Michael Brown. Thanks to members of the Editorial Youth Advisory Group who selected the works you are about to enjoy: Jinesh Bhatt Mandy Che Otiena Ellwand Guia Gali Patricia Gali Patrycja Khucznik Anna Li Justin Moga Jessica Paczuski Kirsten Parucha Aruna Raghuraman Sula Sidnell-Greene Simli Srivastava Deanne Vincent Jenney Wang Shawna Wang Stephanie Zhou Our biggest thanks, however, goes to everyone who submitted to Young Voices this year. Just the fact that you put yourself out there is a good thing. If you didn’t get published, don’t give up – try again this year. There’s an entry form at the back of the magazine. Congratulations to all those whose work is contained in these pages. You are all talented, creative individuals enriching the cultural landscape of Toronto. Keep creating! 2 YOUNG VOICES 2007 ContEnts AR T WORK P ROSE I Wish Arriane Lo cover The Sun Rises in the West Yukun Snoweria Zhang 5 Sneabra Yukun Snoweria Zhang 2 Complexity of Dating Andrew Antinicci 7 Camouflaged Dragons Max Mak 4 The Fundamentals of Eyeliner and Burns Gothica Sandy Escobar 6 Jennifer Lamb 9 Living in Harmony Philip Mak 7 A Day in the Life Augustin Petre 11 The Mask We Hide Under Sai Paranjape 10 Surrender Ksenia Stassiouk 13 Frost Kimia Moozeh 12 A Contribution Althea Gorospe 13 The Nightingale and the Rose Performance of a Lifetime Lynn Tay 14 Da Eun Kim 15 A Soul Set Free Sara Vladusic 17 Protection Elena Wu 16 The Magician’s Apprentice Tiffany Chan 17 Bottom of Death Valley Salome Siktanc 19 Behind the Curtain Prerana Das 18 Leosaurus Ka Wai Leung 21 Long Time Coming Tina Long 18 Behind Those Hazel Eyes Shamera Sathiaruban 22 Midnight Memories Michelle Huang 20 Coast Watchers Hongjin Yan 25 Just Another Story About a Teen with a Depressing If This is What We Look Like on the Outside Take on the World Nihaal Silk 23 Tina Saul-Nurse 26 Happiness Stephanie Yip 23 Angel of Darkness Robin Skinner 29 The Ericsson Dinah McKay 24 Sleeping Angel Jonoel Macaraeg Alegria 30 ‘Round We Sit Shelly Luu 31 Success Muzhda Hakime 33 Confessions of the Modest Gina Nigro 32 The Pencil Did It Grace Liang 35 Rats Jack Feng 34 The Easy Part of Life Danyang (Sunny) Lin 39 My Little Hearts Tina Hang 36 Mahatma Ghandi Ramya Rajagopal back cover P OE T R Y Sunrise Sabrina Scott 5 The Stupidest Animals Justine Shackleton 6 The Ballad of an Outlaw Tamara Thompson 8 Karamchand Aneesha Chopra 9 I Nuwan Tilakaratna 10 Silence of the Abyss Minnie Kong 11 Winter Madeleine Cummings 12 Rain Dew Emily Bruce 14 The Wilting Rose: A Sonnet Keren Ginzberg 15 When I Look at the Sky at Night Maria Yancheva 17 Illusions Anonymous 18 Fairytale Childhood: A sonnet Paige Laframboise 18 Ode to Cheerios Aletheia Chiang 18 Poem for the Day in Between Birth and Death Schirin Rachel Oeding 23 The Anti-Socialite Stephanie Santiago 23 Lament of a Student Trapped in a Particularly Dull Philosophy Class Isabel Zaw-Tun 23 Heaven Mary Elizabeth Campo 24 Midnight Storms Shannon Clarke 24 Reversing Unspoken Sound Gabriela Naces 27 We Are Not those Silent Creatures Mathusha Senthilmurugan 27 I Am Julia Goyal 27 Silence Keisha Toney 27 After Life David Zada 28 ‘Dirty’ Cindy Huang 28 ...No More Asma Khalil 28 I Want Martha Porado 28 Through It All Jabari Tamkeen 31 Why? Christi-Anne Nazareth 32 The Force of Nature – Winter Rumman Khondker 34 I’ve Formed Myself an Allen Ginsberg Cover Band Nevena Martinovic 34 I WisH A R R I A N E L O , A G E 1 8 YOUNG VOICES 2007 3 CAMouFlaGED DraGons MAX MAK, AGE 14 4 YOUNG VOICES 2007 SunrisE THE Sun RisES in THE WEst long walks home; i “… And that concludes my presentation.” I finish presenting my sipped a beer, with chips artwork and go back to my seat amid my peers’ languid applause. possibly the best conversation i have ever had Art classes on Friday afternoons are always listless. Every Friday with myself. Ms. Tinkerbell makes us spend one hour on critiquing each let me visit you at three in the morning other’s projects. She doesn’t allow anybody to interrupt during not my friend, but the the critique. No one – probably except Ms. Tinkerbell – finds it Room-mate interesting to look at other people’s work and try very hard to pick offers good conversation out the nonexistent highlights and colour schemes. I look around and a lack of being ignored and see that more than half of the students are either nearly asleep at the most inconvenient of times; or biting their nails. too bad it complicates things “The next piece is by Avril, an artist par excellence. Avril, come psychedelic music at five am up and show us your magnus opus.” Ms. Tinkerbell’s overuse of mind drifts from body to symington foreign words reminds me of a witch casting out random spells. apartment b, knock knock knock Avril goes up. She is not really “an artist par excellence.” Ms. no answer, Tinkerbell calls every student that. In fact, Avril is rather shy and goddamn mediocre. She is not a cheerleader, not an athlete, not an artist, i had planned on saying thank not a musician, not even a geek. She is not anything. you give me a hug, let’s be “My artwork is called The Sun Rises in the West,” Avril begins in a friends voice that can hardly be heard. Nobody except Ms. Tinkerbell pays it drowns out the other tenants’ snores attention to her. as i breathe in cold air “Hold on a moment, my dear,” Ms. Tinkerbell interrupts, “what springing into did you say your artwork was called?” More students are listening something i would rather do now. Ms. Tinkerbell just interrupted a presentation – something is sooner than later, like happening. knowing someone like “The Sun Rises in the West,” Avril repeats, looking embarrassed you seem to be. with more people paying attention now. prom is a party of people “OK,” says Ms. Tinkerbell after a long pause, “you know, honey, i don’t like, but still there is the intention of our project is to illustrate our wish. I understand room in this cardboard box that everybody’s wish is going to be a little different, but I expect for you and me to it to be something more than just unrealistic science fiction.” She dance to songs that bleed looks at Avril trenchantly. into each other Avril looks as if she can burst into tears in any moment. She bites in the moon light, her lips really hard and says, “It is about a realistic wish.” Everybody if you were in the class is awake now. We want to hear how a “sunrise in the home west” is realistic. next time i “My mother died of cancer three years ago,” Avril begins, her came a-knocking voice shaking. Every eye in the classroom is staring at her. We don’t on door b, see where this is going. “Before she died, I asked the doctor what made of plywood and could save her. The doctor said, ‘Little girl, if the sun rose in the regretted words and west, your mother is probably going to be saved.’” botched goodbyes, Avril stops and goes back to her seat, not looking at any of us. uttered lies and Silence is devouring the room. This silence is different. It is neither a sense of suspense when stagnant nor listless. It is the retrospection of each of the wishes all you need to do is walk we have illustrated. We wanted to meet the rock star; we wanted thirty minutes to have the best shirt; we wanted to have what everybody doesn’t knock have. Avril’s wish awes us. For the first time we are introduced to and wait for the symphony to end: some wish that is so simple, and yet so powerful. clap once clap twice, the door opens and Y U K U N (SNOWERIA) Z H A N G, watch your palms turn to ice AGE 16 S A B R I N A S CO tt , A G E 1 7 YOUNG VOICES 2007 5 THE StupiDEst AniMals The stupidest animals, We know them very well, We interact with them every day, They’re transforming the earth into hell. They’re ruining this planet, As if it is a game, The world’s future is on their shoulders, But they refuse to take the blame. Continuing with their selfishness, They simply are not caring, All these horrendous conditions, The world must keep on bearing. With their stupidity, They’re destroying this earth, With global warming, The world’s death, they’re giving birth. JUS T I N E S HACKLE T O N , A G E 1 2 GotHica S AND Y ESCOBAR, AGE 15 6 YOUNG VOICES 2007 from expressing our true selves, which is something a girl looks COMplEXity OF DatinG for. So the question here is, are these “expectations” supposed to be broken, or met? I got home from a date tonight.