“Autumn” is a beautiful poem by London writer Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) who is known for bringing a lively and magical quality to her works. With…
“Clumsy” by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace is about a friend trying to reach out to someone who is engaging in self-harming behaviours. This individual excuses his self-injuries as being caused by external factors or accidents. The friend tries…
Novelist, poet, and scholar Maya Angelou expresses her deep feelings about the suffering of African Americans due to slavery and racial discrimination in her poem “Caged Bird”. She contrasts…
Singer-songwriter Sia’s 2014 hit Chandelier is darker than the upbeat melody would at first suggest. The song is inspired by hard times in the artist’s life when…
Julien Baker is an American singer-songwriter who never fails to portray raw emotion in her music. Her songs eloquently articulate her personal experiences with mental illness and substance abuse. The song “Hurt…
Born of Russian and Jewish descent, American artist Mark Rothko refused to be categorized and restrained by conventional paradigms; however, one would likely associate him with…
“Elefante” is an award-winning short film written and directed by Barcelonian producer Pablo Larcuen about a man dissatisfied with his life and dealing with a…
From a Basement on the Hill was the final album from the infamous Elliott Smith, released nearly a year after his death. Smith was an Oscar-nominated folk musician…
“Oak Fractured by Lightning” is an oil painting created by Russian landscape artist Maxim Vorobiev in 1842. Most of Vorobiev’s paintings depict peaceful sceneries including countrysides, seasides, rivers and trees. However, this…
In an article in a Canadian daily, The Globe and Mail, Oliver Moore reported that during 2016, 21 suicide attempts occurred on Toronto’s subway system….
