The Dept. of Emotional Labour

The Dept. of Emotional Labour

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[021] " 'Who Are Your People?' He Asked."
NEIGHBOURS v4: On one reporter's confrontation with the ways she put her trauma on Indigenous communities, and the sore tiptoe of grief.
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Chris Connolly
[020] "Brothers In The Kitchen"
NEIGHBOURS v3: On 'performing the documentary' between a live storyteller and their audience, and the precarious boundaries of selfhood, overstretched…
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Chris Connolly
[019] "It's Not Just Money."
NEIGHBOURS v2: On the local journalism of resource-sharing between aunties – and the reflections that fall from the sky “when the lake gets still."
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Chris Connolly
[018] "To Be Our Own Media"
NEIGHBOURS v1: On the remaking of local journalism based on listening, and the refrains of longing left behind by Google Autocomplete.
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Chris Connolly

January 2021

[017] "A Place for Those Who Raised Us"
CAREGIVERS v4: On the lessons of multigenerational living, and one poet's uncontainable litany of gratitude: "Praise the rain; it brings more rain."
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Chris Connolly
[016] "I Know Myself As A Whole Person"
CAREGIVERS v3: On "living the conviction that Together We're Better," and the simple dignity of recognizing our own capacity to be kind.
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Chris Connolly
[015] "To Count Him As Our Neighbour."
CAREGIVERS v2: On the passing of a longtime Parkdale tenant organizer named Peter Madaka, and the spacious texture of a life in stormy service.
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Chris Connolly
[014] "The Circle You Managed To Keep"
CAREGIVERS, v1: On the connections gained and lost in 2020, and appreciating our own capacity to “[hold] ourselves until we are ready to come into the…
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Chris Connolly

December 2020

[013] "Everything Is Changeable."
Encampment residents in Toronto, v4: On the Indigenous youth reclaiming land, and the "powerful stranger" called "Here"
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Chris Connolly
[012] "We’ve Been Trying Our Best To Save Lives"
Encampment residents in Toronto, v3: On the unsanctioned sacrifices of drug users and advocates, and the solitary drifting of those we love, "absolved…
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Chris Connolly
[011] "If Something Pops Off, We’re Here Together."
Encampment residents in Toronto, v2: On the relationships that keep Moss Park's Tent Town safe, and one poet's memories of "the old ways" that survived…
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Chris Connolly
[010] "This Country’s Got The Money. Find The Money."
Encampment residents in Toronto, v1: On the collective resilience of encampment communities, and one poet's long night in search of peace.
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Chris Connolly
© 2025 Chris Connolly
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