Tanaz Bhathena's shoes & essay in the Bata Shoe Museum

Tanaz reading at CJ's

Some of you will have had the pleasure of being in a class with Tanaz Bhathena. Others may have heard her read her work at CJ's Cafe. Well, now Tanaz is in a museum. Or at least her shoes are. They're part of an exhibit at the Bata Shoe Museum of twelve pairs of shoes and twelve personal essays by twelve women writers, all immigrants to Canada.
Read more about The Shoe Project here. Or better yet, go and see the exhibit. I recently toured the museum with my nine-year-old and my thirteen-year-old, and we all found plenty to interest us!

Here's the start of Tanaz's essay, "The Wind Beneath My Feet" ...
My mother always wanted me to be a lady. To defy her, after moving to Canada from Saudi Arabia, I bought shoes that were flat, round-toed and black – not the least bit ladylike. I wore these shoes to my high school award ceremony, my job interview, to driving lessons, to convocation.

As the years passed, I bought new shoes, including strappy, dainty, high-heels. But my unladylike black boots are the ones I return to when my feet are sore. They are the shoes that accompanied me on my journey to becoming Canadian – a woman free to fly as she wished ... more

See Brian Henry's schedule here, including writing workshops and creative writing courses in Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Georgetown, Oakville, Burlington, St. Catharines, Hamilton, Dundas, Kitchener, Guelph, London, Woodstock, Orangeville, Newmarket, Barrie, Gravenhurst, Sudbury, Muskoka, Peel, Halton, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.