Celebrated since the 1990s, Asian Heritage Month is a time to honour the achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian descent who have brought to the nation a rich cultural heritage representing many languages, ethnicities, and religious traditions.
The Government of Canada has announced the theme for this year as “Continuing a legacy of greatness” and we have taken this opportunity to highlight the books and films of Canadians of Asian descent from our library collections through the curation of a Redpath Exhibition for the month.
To get a brief view of the fantastic writers, artists, and filmmakers featured in the exhibit, check out the SWAY below:
We request that you battle the winds, the rain or the Sun (whatever the MTL weather brings) and come to campus for a view of this special collection!
We would also like to take this opportunity to emphasise that we value any and all feedback that comes our way and are more than happy to consider your comments, given that a primary motive of the Redpath Exhibits and Book Displays is to encourage communal engagement.
For more information or related queries email us at hssl.library@mcgill.ca.
Netflix subscriptions go up every month, HBO is so randomly expensive, and movie theatre tickets are now $15?!? If you’re a student on a budget, or simply want to use the library’s resources for some free movie watching, this is the place to learn more.
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Streaming Services
There are so many audio-visual resources available to you through the the McGill Library collection. You can learn all about them on thissubject guide.
This includes access to seven different platforms filled with awesome content for you to take a little break from your academic reading. If you’re having trouble with accessing them, or want to learn more, check out the McGill Films 101 blog post which goes into the specifics of each platform and how it can be accessed.
You can also check out the Health and Wellness guide for some staff favourite Youtube channelsand podcasts. While not technically free movies, they are resources for you to stream free entertainment while you’re on your lunch break or relaxing before bed!
DVDs
Do you remember redbox?! If want a similar experience and you’re a little more old-school, we have 15,000 DVD is our collection for you! There are some big blockbuster names like The Martian, Joker, or even The Terminatorfor you to choose from and find your next movie night pick.
There’s also some awesome Blu-ray picks, which bring you the best quality and sometimes bonus content! A few of our picks are Moonrise Kingdom, Bladerunner 2049, and the 50th anniversary of the 1961 version of the West Side Story!
If none of these picks are up your alley, you can always go into the advanced search button of the catalogue, choose keywords and type in a few, and then select DVD as the format in the bottom drop-down menu. For “romance” “comedy”, 163 results popped up, a mixed of old and new!
Hope this has been a helpful guide through the ways you find free movies in whichever format you prefer! There are so many options when looking for ways to destress; take advantage of the free library resources you have access to! Happy watching 🙂
If you have any questions feel free to email hssl.library@mcgill.ca.
Celebrated every year on the 21st of March, World Poetry Day was adopted by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999 as a celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity. As an ode to this beautiful art form, McGill’s Department of English launched its Poetry Reading Series for 2022: Fluid Vessels. Showcasing the work of remarkable voices from the British Isles, India, Nigeria, Australia, Jamaica, the U.S., and Canada, this series allows poetry lovers to interact with the artists who are running for The Montreal International Poetry Prize.
In November of 2017, McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE) and the Sustainable Projects Fund (SPF) held a workshop on Poetry as a Tool for Healing and Joy, with Ontario-born poet and spoken word artist Brandon Wint.
This year, we urge you to bring back these echoes from the past, to celebrate poetry not only as a source of individual and cultural expression and diversity but as a tool for comfort and healing. That the past few years have been difficult for all is an understatement, but that they have entwined the global community together through common threads of vulnerability is a plain truth.
Poetry has placed itself front and centre as both our armour and our ointment during the past years. In 2020, We Are the Dream, an HBO documentary about Oakland’s youngest oratorical poets, took home an Emmy. Brandon Leake, a Stockton spoken-word poet, won NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” And poet laureates from California to New York have found a new calling, posting verses to comfort families grappling with pandemic fears and fighting against racial injustice (Jessica Yadegaran, The Mercury News).
Contrary to The Love Poem by Carol Ann Duffy, we believe that everything has not been said by everyone, we have not run out of words. As the hardships of the time change the climate of our surroundings, people, as always, and with a strikingly sincere ability have found novel ways to express love and hope. We have found new ways to heal, and we have made sure to tell the world that it takes more than turbulent times and lockdowns to break us.
Then why read poetry, if one were to ask, we would have a plain but determined answer to give you. Because we need to heal, because there is a part of us that is looking to connect to a world beyond ours, to find comfort in the rustle of pages and answers in the middle of lines. Because all of us have gone through something together, and though it has only brought us closer, and stronger than ever. We deserve to heal.
Immerse yourself within the world of poetry by diving into some of the many pages of verse that exist within the McGill Library.
