Who are we?
Here are some of the folks who bring you the Draft reading series …
Ron Edding was born in Montreal. He was educated at Dawson College, Concordia University and the University of Western Ontario. Ron has exhibited artwork and presented performances in Canada, England, Chile, Serbia and Mexico. Along with a lifelong individual art practice, Ron has always had strong collaborative relationships with other artists and writers. His latest collaborative venture is in the area of graphic novels. For over a decade, Ron has been involved, at a variety of levels (from board room to bake sales) in Toronto’s lively world of artist run culture. His work with the Draft Collective is the latest example.
Yas Hassanzadeh was born in Iran and immigrated to Canada and currently lives in Toronto. She is a student at OCAD University studying graphic design. Yas was originally very interested in the medical field but chose the creative field as it was her passion. She has worked as a book designer and has volunteered for many arts-related events ranging from within the school and outside.
Janet Macmillan is a Chartered Professional Accountant who has worked and volunteered in her children’s schools, dance companies, TIFF, animation studios and non-profit organizations. Janet is exploring an interest in literary art.
Maria Meindl is the author of The Work (Stonehouse) and Outside the Box (McGill Queen’s). Her essays have appeared in numerous anthologies and periodicals including The Literary Review of Canada, Descant, The New Quarterly and The Temz Review. A recent PhD grad, she teaches movement classes in downtown Toronto.
Rolf Meindl was raised in rural Nova Scotia and has lived and worked in downtown Toronto for the last 30 years. He works in the IT field for Diabetes Canada and has a background in Programming, Project Management, Urban Planning and Cartography. Previously he has spent time in Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the Middle East. You will usually find him cruising the streets of Toronto on his bike, sailing in the outer harbour on a Laser or in studious concentration over a Go Board.
Joshua P’ng lives in Ottawa, Canada and has honourable mentions from the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) writing competition. His work has appeared in the filling station, Dead Beats, untethered and the Great Lakes Review. While he is not writing he enjoys sketching people on the TTC, learning how to play the guitar and volunteering to stave off boredom.