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July 26, 2016Women's Covers and Male Privilege
The default look for works of literary fiction, especially those written by women, was once this: “A stock image of a woman with her back to the camera, gazing over a shoreline.”(Or a tree. Or a field. ...
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July 25, 2016Service Industry Hell (Part 4): T-Shirts Wet and Dry
A lot of the inspiration for my new book, Congratulations On Everything, came from the things I saw while working in bars, restaurants, and hotels, and from the experiences of friends who did the same. ...
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July 22, 2016A Defence of Plagiarism That I Totally Stole from Kenneth Goldsmith
Avant-garde poet and literary provocateur Kenneth Goldsmith has dedicated himself to what he calls “uncreative writing” – that is, creating art out of found texts he copies out whole. His book Day, ...
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July 21, 2016The Proust Questionnaire, with Robin Leblanc
If there's one public service that is guaranteed to earn a ticket to the Canadian section of heaven, it's promoting good beer. So clearly Robin Leblanc and Jordan St. John are doing the beer gods' work ...
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July 21, 2016Work Lit
Many of the reviews I’ve received for my books so far have made some reference to the idea that I tend to write about people who work for a living. I’m not complaining – honestly, I’m delighted ...
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July 20, 2016Writers on Donald Trump
Some literary smarm and alarm to mark the occasion of the wildest, most Godwin's Law-baiting political nominating convention ever. “Trump is a pugnacious idiot with no real understanding of how government ...
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July 20, 2016The Dirty Dozen, with Adrienne Gruber
"Buoyancy Control is not a book for the faint of heart... Here are poems that burst like fireworks," said Rachel Rose, Poet Laureate of Vancouver, speaking about Adrienne Gruber's raw new collection.Buoyancy ...
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July 19, 2016Art vs Writing, Writing vs Art
On the Ploughshares blog author Annie Weatherwax writes about the connections between visual art and literature, going so far as to say the former gave birth to the latter. Writing and art, she claims, ...
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July 19, 2016The Lucky Seven Interview, with James Bartleman
Former lieutenant governor of Ontario James Bartleman's life has been an inspiration to many. From early childhood poverty to his rapid rise as a diplomat and eventually to the province's highest honour, ...
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July 18, 2016Service Industry Hell (Part 3): Rats in the kitchen and drunk girls on the floor
A lot of the inspiration for my new book, Congratulations On Everything, came from the things I saw while working in bars, restaurants, and hotels, and from the experiences of friends who did the same. ...
