July 30, 2010
Fiction: He Wishes This Were Something Else by Eva Moran
Carson couldn’t stand being at parties with Nikki. Nikki flirted. But Carson stuck through it. When Carson was a kid, his brother and he played Alice in Wonderland. One of them had to wear their sister’s communion dress and tap shoes to play Alice the whole way through. Carson hated being Alice. Not because of the itchy ruffle dress or the tight patent leather squeaky shoes but because of... [More >>]
May 28, 2010
Fiction: “Away and Home” by Jonathan Bennett
They gathered, encircling the freshly opened earth where Danny Douglas would soon rest. Who could believe it gone, that smart-alecky grin? Over in the field beyond the yellow-brick church, corn swayed. The sky was a deep gold with wisps of mauve and the mourners’ eyes were downcast. They all wore black. When the formal part ended they could talk. At first, no one much did. “Hey, Al,” whispered... [More >>]
April 16, 2010
Great Canadian Literary Hunt 2009: Dear Dave Bidini by Janette Platana
Editor’s note: We’re posting the winners of the 2009 Great Canadian Literary Hunt to promote the 2010 contest. Look for one new poem and short story each day the rest of this week. Enter today and you could be published in This Magazine, and win a cash prize of $750! Dear Dave Bidini, I hate hockey, but can we still be friends? As you can tell, I am a 15-year-old boy, and this is true. I lie on... [More >>]
April 15, 2010
Great Canadian Literary Hunt 2009: Dear Monsters, Be Patient by Kyle Greenwood
Editor’s note: We’re posting the winners of the 2009 Great Canadian Literary Hunt to promote the 2010 contest. Look for one new poem and short story each day the rest of this week. Enter today and you could be published in This Magazine, and win a cash prize of $750! The news of your birth disturbed and excited the city. For weeks afterward, the grainy surveillance featured on local and national... [More >>]
April 14, 2010
Great Canadian Literary Hunt 2009: Unleashed by Sarah Fletcher
Editor’s note: We’re posting the winners of the 2009 Great Canadian Literary Hunt to promote the 2010 contest. Look for one new poem and short story each day the rest of this week. Enter today and you could be published in This Magazine, and win a cash prize of $750! Georgia says her mom put her on a leash when she was four and three quarters, and Georgia never let her forget it. Red leash—four... [More >>]
October 2, 2009
Fiction: Ten surprises and a Hippo
Happy Hippo “You ate my Happy Hippo,” Dave says. “I can’t believe you ate my Happy Hippo.” There is nothing else to say so he leaves. Outside Becca’s flat, snow is rain pretending to be frozen. Susicoyote “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Becca said. She showed them a female coyote-mechanic wearing overalls, holding a wrench. “I want something to put together!” “Then you’d be whinging... [More >>]
August 28, 2009
Fiction: “Accidental Ponds” by Elisabeth de Mariaffi
I met you in a hostel in Rennes. The weather was humid and this made the door stick: I threw my weight against it and fell into the room. Your pink sandals and your pack were lying in a corner and you were there, too: asleep. Eyes turned toward the window. I had to walk around in my socks so as not to wake you, run the tap on low when I washed my face. I had come into town earlier in the evening and... [More >>]
July 27, 2009
Creative writing courses: cash cows of the humanities
Can creative writing be taught? It's complicated. Illustration by Dave Donald. While a degree in creative writing may not top your career counsellor’s advice for a quick professional turnaround, the formal study of writing was a North American growth industry even before the recession sent more people back to school (or kept them there longer). In an anguished and incredulous Harper’s article,... [More >>]
June 18, 2009
Dear CBC: Review more books
Professional book reviewing is dead in this country. The CBC could revive it. The CBC could be a force for CanLit. Why isn't it? Illustration by Dushan Milic If Clive Owen were a Canadian author, maybe the CBC would finally review books. Katrina Onstad, a film columnist for CBC.ca, begins a recent review: “The International opens with a long, extended close-up of Clive Owen’s face, following... [More >>]
