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Voices of the Street

At Megaphone, we amplify the voices of people marginalized by poverty. This year, our annual literary anthology features the work of writers exploring the theme of Bread, Roses & Safe Supply. Read their insightful interpretations and ask yourself: What do these things mean to you?

September 5, 2024

What are the necessities of life? There are certainly the basics, which are non-negotiable: air, water, food and shelter.

But there’s more than that, isn’t there, in this business of living?

In order to be truly alive as a human being, one must consider what’s required to feel not only safe, warm and fed, but also spiritually satiated, socially connected, creatively inspired, loved, playful and content.

Perhaps a better question is what do you need to be free? 

It’s a concept succinctly summed up by women’s suffrage activist Helen Todd during a 1910 rallying speech demanding better working conditions for women. She used the phrase “bread and roses” — with bread being the basics of home, shelter and security, and roses referring to beauty in life, such as art, music, nature and literature.

In addition to women’s fight for the right to vote, the years of the early 20th century were marked by great labour unrest in the U.S. “Bread for all, and roses, too!” soon became a rallying cry for both the suffrage movement and trade union action.

Todd’s slogan was also echoed in a poem by James Oppenheim, Bread and Roses, which was published in 1911. Over the years, “bread and roses” became linked with the struggle for social justice and equality.

Fast forward to the summer of 2023, in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver, B.C.  A bright yellow hand-lettered sign is affixed to a construction fence at one of the city’s many development sites, the building that once stood behind the gate — housing? — now demolished.

The sign is bold and colourful, and features a familiar refrain… with an additional demand: “Bread & Roses & Safe Supply.”

In a province that saw a record 2,511 known deaths from toxic drugs last year, a country that is gripped in the worst affordable housing crisis in history and a city derided for its “no fun” status, the poster is apropos. 

It was captured on film by community member Ken Martin, who was participating in Megaphone’s annual Hope in Shadows calendar contest last May when he came across the sign.

“I thought it kind of represents the neighbourhood,” Martin said, referring to how the DTES looks after its own with many community support systems.

 But it’s also a rallying cry for the times. Now, more than ever, citizens at the lower end of the income scale are fighting for survival: safe, permanent homes; living wages; healthy, affordable food; connection and belonging; dignified and timely health care; and a point to it all — a reason to go on.

Struggles both large and small occur daily in the DTES, and Megaphone writers wrestle with them on the pages of the 2024 Voices of the Street, the 14th edition of Megaphone’s annual literary anthology. This year, the authors’ writing is brimming with resilience, rage and whimsy.

Along with contributors’ own remarkable talent, writing in Voices of the Street is fostered through workshops at Megaphone and Onsite, a detox and transitional housing program located above Insite’s supervised injection facility.

Workshop facilitators Katie Czenczek, Surya Govender and Joanna Reid provide a welcoming space for many emerging writers who go on to be published in Megaphone magazine and Voices of the Street. 

Also in this year’s Voices of the Street, peer photographers Bacilia “Cia” Ramirez and Eva Takakanew, along with professional visual journalist Amy Romer, have captured a selection of images to accompany the prose.

Voices of the Street is available now for purchase from one of our vendors in Vancouver. Visit megaphonemagazine.com to find out how you can buy yours.

In the meantime, we’re thrilled to share a sneak peek at the type of writing you’ll find in this year’s anthology. The following pages spotlight pieces of writing by authors published in the book and are a small sampling of what you’ll find in the anthology. You’ll want to purchase the edition for $15.

Also, consider supporting our writers by coming to a special launch event on Friday, May 17 from 6-8 p.m. at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, featuring live readings from writers published in Voices of the Street.

Find more details on how to buy tickets on page 26 of this issue. And thank you for supporting Voices of the Street.