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September-October 2017

REVIEW: New poetry collection draws from found documents from the 19th century

Inside Better Nature by Fenn Stewart

Lauren Matera

Better Nature By Fenn Stewart BookThug, $18 Better Nature is the first book of poetry by writer and University of British Columbia lecturer Fenn Stewart. She brings together found documents (mainly drawing from an 1880 diary detailing Walt Whitman’s travels through Canada) in a radical effort to “unsettle” Canadian colonial foundations. Stewart’s poems are rife […]

REVIEW: New novel draws on elements of Chinese mythology and magic

Inside Lydia Kwa's Oracle Bone

Ryan B. Patrick

Oracle Bone By Lydia Kwa Arsenal Pulp Press, $19.95 Oracle Bone is Vancouver-based poet and author Lydia Kwa’s latest foray into magic-realist fiction. Drawing on elements of Chinese mythology, the novel centres on an oracle bone, a mystical artifact used for divination purposes. Kwa’s unadorned prose maintains a rich, cinematic vigor, leaning on historical literary […]

REVIEW: Collection of ghoulish short stories perfect for your Halloween night

Inside Coach House Books' The Doll's Alphabet

Marisa Iacobucci

The Doll’s Alphabet By Camilla Grudova Coach House Books, $19.95 Pick up The Doll’s Alphabet, a spellbinding collection of short stories by Camilla Grudova, and prepare to have your day and night dreams forever and delightfully altered by Grudova’s uncertain universe. In it, meet exceptionally original, gorgeously dark, grotesque, and utterly fantastical characters conjured up […]

REVIEW: New book details the origins of the women’s shelter movement

Inside Margo Goodhand's Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists

Ophelie Zalcmanis-Lai

Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists: The Origins of the Women’s Shelter Movement By Margo Goodhand Fernwood Publishing, $20 Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists by journalist Margo Goodhand is a detailed account of the start of the women’s shelter movement across Canada. Featuring many first-hand accounts, Goodhand’s storytelling quickly enthralls readers in a dark history in […]

Ode to Northern Alberta

Poetry by Billy-Ray Belcourt

Billy-Ray Belcourt@BillyRayB

after joshua jennifer espinoza here, no one is birthed only pieced together. i tire myself out pretending to have a body. everyone worships feelings they don’t have names for but no one is talking about it. love is a burning house we built from scratch. love keeps us busy while the smoke clears. history lays […]

REVIEW: New short novel captures loss, dark humour set in small-town Nova Scotia

Inside ECW's Malagash

Jemicah Colleen Marasigan

Malagash  By Joey Comeau ECW Press, $15.95 If you’re in need of a book that puts grief into words, look no further than Malagash by Joey Comeau. This quick read is a witty and poignant look inside the mind of a girl who copes with her father’s death by creating a computer virus that utilizes […]

Toronto’s VideoCabaret brings your history textbook to life with wit and charm

Behind the scenes of the city's historically inspired stage shows

Allyson Aritcheta@ariCheddar

Walking into a small room, I am greeted by an usher as songs about Louis Riel and Canadian identity foreshadow the upcoming play. I take my seat across from the centre of what I assume is the stage. Scarlet curtains frame a black window made to look almost as if you are peering into a […]

REVIEW: New anthology inspires young Indigenous women to find their way

Inside #NotYourPrincess

Alicia Elliott@WordsandGuitar

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale Annick Press, $19.95 “I am escaping into Indigenous freedom. I am escaping into Indigenous land and my Indigenous body.” As soon as I read that quote from Leanne Simpson, which opens this diverse, imaginative collection, I knew there was no way […]

Who the f&%$ is Andrew Scheer?

He’s been called Harper 2.0. He’s served as the Speaker of the House for years. But if he wants to be the next PM, the new leader of the Conservative Party has a long way to go

Hadiya Roderique

As the results of the 13th ballot of the Conservative Party of Canada’s leadership race were read on May 27, 2017, Maxime Bernier faced the podium stoically, waiting to hear his name called. The Quebec MP was a longtime frontrunner in the race, and as ballots rolled in that afternoon, his chances of becoming the […]

Breaking down Bill C-59, Canada’s latest attempt to fine-tune national security

It's considered the answer to Harper's 2015 anti-terrorism legislation

Kevin Philipupillai@DearOtherPeople

Just before Parliament adjourned for the summer, Justin Trudeau’s government introduced its answer to the Harper government’s hugely controversial 2015 anti-terrorism legislation. The old law, Bill C-51, sparked protests across the country from people who said it trampled on civil liberties and privacy rights. It gave Canada’s intelligence agencies enormous surveillance powers, to be held […]

Redefining femininity with Vivek Shraya’s newest album

Inside Part-Time Woman

Michael Pereira

Part-Time Woman, the new album by multidisciplinary trans artist Vivek Shraya and the Queer Songbook Orchestra, boldly asks: What defines woman? After eight years of trying to find mainstream and indie success through music, the Toronto-based artist took to other mediums for refuge. Since then, she has published five books and released the moving short film […]