Megaphone is a monthly magazine sold by homeless and low-income vendors throughout Vancouver.
Photo: Megaphone Magazine Facebook
Once a year Megaphone releases a special literary issue entitled Voices of the Street. The booklets showcases short stories, poems and writing from the Megaphone vendor community, who primarily reside in the DTES.
The featured writing is intensely personal, ranging from whimsical to tear-inducing, offering a unique insight into life in one of Canada's most complicated neighbourhoods.
Here are three absolutely awesome excerpts from this year's edition:
Masks by Joe Carter
Behind my mask I hide my past
afraid someone will see My broken soul, my heart so cold, my inner adversities.
I bear the scars of my inner wars
and my puddle of tears reveal
My inner child has never smiled
and is too afraid to feel.
For his soul's been bruised, he's been abused by the ones who claimed to love him.
The rain in the skies are the tears in his eyes and the little boy has never seen clearly
That love's a treasure and life is a pleasure
for each and everyone to enjoy. Yet I continue to hide behind my disguise of a man who's really a boy.
“I like this book because I like writing in it and the stories that I write are about the past that helps me cope with my life.” – Peter (Megaphone vendor).
Safe by Kevin Bouzane
I hardly ever feel safe that I can say, When my demon of addiction has its way.
A methadone prescription is the price I pay and I can get to fiending in the worst way.
My feelings, I conceal them almost every day. I only take the mask off in my bed where I lay.
In my head I’m screaming and I get the shakes, till I tell myself everything’ll be okay.
Photo: Megaphone Magazine
Hanging On To Hope by Darlene Thomas
The day that I stop holding on is the day I fear the most.
I pride myself on not giving up.
I cherish hope. It's what gives me that twinkle in my eye.
Even in my darkest days my hope looks like only a heated, glowing ball of coal. But it still lives, it burns in me, growing, waiting for that day when it can finally burst into flames, take control and break me out.
To celebrate this year's Voices of the Street, Megaphone is hosting a reading on May 16th at Lost and Found Cafe (33 W Hastings Street). The evening will feature eight writers reading their work published in Voices of the Street, and sharing their stories, what writing means to them, and what it means to be a published author.
It's evening of empowerment, of liberation, of truth-telling and release. Heavy, but far from somber, each reading is underscored by hope, optimism and humour, three traits that to run strong throughout the Megaphone community.
If you're going to take a chance on an event this year, I strongly encourage that it be this. If you're unable to attend, you can purchase your own copy from a Megaphone vendor near you.
Megaphone Magazine: Voices of the Street
When: May 16 (7:00pm - 9:00pm)
Where: Lost and Found Cafe (33 W Hastings Street)
For more info, visit megaphonemagazine.com
