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September-October 2009

Postcard from Marfa, Texas: Southern lights

Souvankham Thammavongsa

When you drive into Marfa, Texas, from El Paso the first thing you come across is a tiny Prada store. No one works there and no one shops there—it’s a sculpture, built in situ by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset. Marfa, current population 2,121, became an unlikely modern art destination when the famous minimalist Donald […]

Two poems by Lillian Nećakov

Lillian Nećakov

Strolling on borrowed ankles Tapping stones together means you are not a couch potato memories are dividing themselves into other memories atoms of memory memory of atoms the yellow of beauty the groan of wood under your boots along the boardwalk echoing across the Thursday lake to where Andy can feel your heart unravelling like […]

Interview: Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter

Paul McLaughlinWebsite

On June 9, Nova Scotians elected the province’s first ever NDP government, lead by former Navy public-information-officer-turned-journalist-turned-lawyer Darrell Dexter. This caught up with the new 52-year-old premier about a month later, just after he had attended a Paul McCartney concert in Halifax. This: Did you meet McCartney? Dexter: I did. It was quite a highlight. […]

Four Poems by Sandra Ridley

Sandra Ridley

Paraffin & Palm Spilled Salt A bitter of angelica & artichoke with carbolic strengthens & pacifies her body. Or sixpence spent brings up a blood-sweat & blister pops by tonic & suction cups. She’s not bilious but swollen lymphatic. Cracked bone cage filled with paraffin & palm spilled salt. She’s undressed & under wraps — […]

Hunting waves—and peace—with the Gaza Surf Club

Grant ShillingWebsite

Could surfing really help bring Israelis and Palestinians together? Grant Shilling meets the beach bums, peace activists, and ex-soldiers who believe it’s possible Surf’s up in Ashkelon. So I hop on the train in Tel Aviv bound for the southern Israeli city with my surfboard bag in tow. The bag, stencilled with Boards Not Bombs, […]

5 seafood menu items that are harming the ocean

Emily HunterWebsite

The commercial fishing industry is costing us more than just the price of our seafood platters. With seafood consumption at a record 16.7 kilogram per person, our appetite for fish is putting the entire ocean ecosystem at risk. But the seas aren’t the only thing in danger. We humans depend on those waters for food, […]

Book Review: Who’s Your Daddy? And Other Writings on Queer Parenting

Kelli Korducki

The legalization of gay marriage in Canada has coincided with an era that might be dubbed the first “queer baby boom.” As such, this generation of queer parents and their children have been forced to adopt the ambivalent role of pioneers in a social space in which the model of the “traditional” nuclear family does […]

In the developing world, fledgling queer rights have a long way to go

David Logan

I am on a gay beach, surrounded by half-naked, toned, tanned, Speedo-sporting gay men. Somewhere a random diva is belting out a dance hit. The tropical sun has ensured all bodies are dripping. At the makeshift beach bar, ice is plunked into orange and incarnadine cocktails, and the bartender screams, “Cheers to queers,” kissing each […]

Transitional-program fans give U of T a failing grade

Chris Jai Centeno

The University of Toronto has come under fire by students, community activists, and even former minister of education Zanana Akande over proposed changes to its Transitional Year Program, a specialized academic program that helps students without the usual educational credentials make the leap to university. The 38-year-old program has been particularly successful at recruiting high […]

Remembering Len Dobbin, Montreal’s most important jazz listener

Sarah Colgrove

In early fall of 1950, Len Dobbin stepped out of a listening booth on Rue Ste-Catherine in Montreal to find himself confronted by five New York jazz enthusiasts seeking potential founders for a satellite jazz appreciation society. Only 15 years old at the time, Dobbin had never met enough fans to think the project would […]

How the University of Manitoba revolutionized HIV care in Nairobi

Siena AnstisWebsite

Blended into the colourful storefronts of Nairobi’s River Road area is the Sex Workers Outreach Program (SWOP), a discreet but accessible clinic offering HIV and STD testing and treatment to the estimated 7,000 prostitutes who work in the central business sector of Kenya’s capital city. While the clinic was created in close consultation with Nairobi’s […]