Staceyann Chin

Acclaimed performance artist Staceyann Chin brings her passionate lyricism to the page in a powerful memoir chronicling the resilience of one woman faced with a lifetime of struggle. Born on Christmas Day in Lottery, Jamaica, Staceyann was thrust into the arms of a mother who did not want her. It was ... (more)her grandmother who stepped in to nurture and provide for her and her older brother, but when the three are separated, Staceyann was again left to survive in an unfamiliar and unwelcome home in Paradise, Jamaica. The Other Side of Paradise is an unforgettable story told with grace, humour and strength. AND StaceyAnn will be here in Toronto in all her glory to launch this wonderful book with the Toronto Women's Bookstore and give all of us hungry Toronto fans a LIVE reading!

Acclaimed performance artist Staceyann Chin brings her extraordinary talents to the page in a brave, lyrical, and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica, coming out as a lesbian, and finding the man she believes to be her father and ultimately her voice. Hers is an unforgettable story told ... (more)with grace, humor, and courage.

From the iconic and charismatic star of “Russel Simmons Def Poetry Jam” comes this brave and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica. Staceyann Chin is a performer, activist and writer. She has performed her poems around the world and has been published in many publications, including ... (more)the New York Times. WU-Slam, Washington University’s slam/spoken word performance team will open for her.
Mad Art Gallery will also provide a cash bar at this event.

Staceyann Chin is the
author of The Other Side of Paradise: A Memoir (Scribner’s, $24 hb, less 10% in the store).No one knew Staceyann's mother was pregnant until a dangerously small baby was born on the floor of her grandmother's house in Lottery, Jamaica, on Christmas Day. Staceyann's mother did ... (more)not want her, and her father was not present. No one, except her grandmother, thought Staceyann would survive.
It was her grandmother who nurtured and protected and provided for Staceyann and her older brother in the early years. But when the three were separated, Staceyann was thrust, alone, into an unfamiliar and dysfunctional home in Paradise, Jamaica. There, she faced far greater troubles than absent parents. So, armed with a fierce determination and uncommon intelligence, she discovered a way to break out of this harshly unforgiving world.
Staceyann Chin, acclaimed and iconic performance artist, now brings her extraordinary talents to the page in a brave, lyrical, and fiercely candid memoir about growing up in Jamaica. She plumbs tender and unsettling memories as she writes about drifting from one home to the next, coming out as a lesbian, and finding the man she believes to be her father and ultimately her voice. Hers is an unforgettable story told with grace, humor, and courage.This event is sponsored by