[Editor’s note: To mark the announcement of the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction yesterday, we’re running reviews of the three nominated finalists, contributed by guest bloggers. The first review appeared last week. This is the second of three; look for the final one later this week.] BY CATE SIMPSON Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting The […] More »
[Editor’s note: To mark the announcement of the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction on Monday, we’ll be running reviews of the three nominated finalists, contributed by guest bloggers. This is the first of three; look for the other two next week.] BY JORDAN HEATH-RAWLINGS Like the best of historical narratives, Ana Siljak’s Angel of […] More »
In just a few days, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. He’ll be following George W. Bush, of course: a man that made a distinct impression in a number of ways. Bush’s administration extended the powers of the executive branch to a level unseen in the modern […] More »
The economy is on a lot of people’s minds as Canadian newspapers warn of recession and the United States deals with its subprime mortgage problem. And so this might be the perfect time to read Margaret Atwood’s new book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. Consisting of five essays, each presented during this […] More »
Like many of the contributors to Girls Who Bite Back, I grew up on a steady diet of Saturday morning cartoons, Smurfs and Strawberry Shortcake. When it came to biting back, the only superheroes and ass-kicking role models I had were Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman and Charlie’s Angels (the small-screen version). Thankfully, things have […] More »
When was the last time you read a work of fiction and every single word jumped off the page to slap and tickle you and you, well, liked it, and wanted more and more? Paul Dutton’s latest work, and first novel, Several Women Dancing (The Mercury Press) will do that to no end. I kid […] More »
IDEA MAN It always makes me wild with rage when the complexities of a federal election are idiotically reduced to a single issue for voters. The major parties, and the mainstream media, seem to assume that people have the attention span of three-year-olds. Then along comes Jack Layton’s Speaking Out: Ideas That Work for Canadians, […] More »
Digital technology is making it impossible to control the spread of intellectual property. So, how are artists supposed to make a living from their work? Give it away. More »
In downtown Winnipeg, a group of radicals is trying to create a different kind of café/bookstore. But as David Leibl finds out, even when there are no bosses, some things in the service industry never change. More »