Gratitude with Subhanya Sivajothy

We’re excited to partner with Friends of Allan Gardens for this year’s fall programming!

Gratitude is the recognition of our vulnerability and dependence on others. It reminds us of the threads that connect us. When these threads—so often taken for granted—fray, gratitude becomes an attempt to symbolically repair them. However, as a public discourse, gratitude can easily slip into something more troubling: an acceptance of the systems that exploit us and perpetuate harm. Behind its warm edges lies the moralizing and silencing accusation of being ungrateful. What does it mean when gratitude is no longer a spontaneous emotional response, but something that is asked or expected of us?

In this session of , we will explore gratitude as solidarity, rather than as an acceptance of the world as it is. We will examine the risks we take and the care we give to each other in the fight for the world as it could be. In its purest form, gratitude is generative and transformative, possessing a spiritual quality that creates possibilities for growth and change. Like poetry, it can be expressed in many ways—through subtle gestures, quiet moments, or grand declarations. Through readings and discussions, we will reflect on how gratitude appears in our lives, how it can inspire and sustain us, and how it can be subversive—offering new ways to understand and appreciate the world around us.

This session will be facilitated by featured poet Subhanya Sivajothy and Tender Possibilities’ founder, Farhia Tato.

Subhanya Sivajothy is a poet and librarian living in Tkarón:to. She uses poetry to think about ecologies, archives, and resistance and is the author of the chapbook Singing Fish Notation. She completed her MFA at University of Guelph. She has been published in magazines such as Adi Magazine, The Ex-Puritan and Filling Station.

Light refreshments will be provided by Krish (@cookeduntiltender)

Host or Publisher Tender Possibilities