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June 18, 2020Sue Macartney on Loving Yourself, Funny Birds, and Her Favourite Writing Partner
Benjamin, the central character in author and illustrator Sue Macartney's new picture book Benjamin's Blue Feet (Pajama Press), is a blue-footed booby — a seabird native to the South Pacific. While ...
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October 26, 2020"I Didn’t Realize How Damaged I Had Become" Firefighter Bryan Ratushniak's Memoir is Powerful, Honest, & Moving
The image of a firefighter is an emotionally charged one: a person who literally exists to save us from one of the most inherently terrifying forces in the world. It's a heavy mantle both figuratively ...
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April 07, 2021"Many Memoirs are Too Careful by Far": Activist, Minister, & Author Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo Shares Raw & Inspiring Truth in Her New Memoir
In Toronto, the name Cheri DiNovo is synonymous with passionate activism. Whether you know her from her time as a champion for the west end when she served as the NDP MPP for Parkdale-High Park or from ...
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June 17, 2021"I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Been More Vulnerable in My Life" Brent LaPorte on His Raw, Moving Memoir & His Father's Difficult Legacy
CW: abuse, suicide, substance abuseSometimes, even questions without answers need to be voiced — to be heard and acknowledged, if only as a cry of the heart. Such is Brent LaPorte's wise, difficult, ...
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June 30, 2021Simon Rolston Examines the Complex History and "Fraught Literary Territory" of Prison Life Writing
Prison life writing—personal nonfiction written by imprisoned people—can be considered a unique genre under the larger umbrella of memoir. Complex, politically and emotionally charged, and at times ...
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July 03, 2019Songwriter Dayna Manning Opens Up About Music, Change, & Connection in Her First Memoir
As a singer, songwriter, producer, and sound engineer, Dayna Manning is a musical talent on several fronts. Honoured with nominations for a Juno Prize and the Polaris Prize (as part of her folk trio, ...
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September 10, 2018On Kindness, and Generosity
The Toronto literary community has recently lost two very bright lights, mourning the deaths of Priscila Uppal and Ann Ireland.Though I didn’t know either Ann or Priscila all that well, I feel fortunate ...
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October 31, 2024Alejandra Diaz Roman Explores the Unique and Powerful Cultural Celebration of Día de los Muertos
Alejandra Diaz Roman was raised with the celebration of El Dia de los Muertos, dressing up as a Catrina (fancy skeleton), and participating in the traditions of this important cultural event. It was ...
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January 08, 2024Shawna Lemay Uses the Still Life Form to Explore Marriage, Beauty, and Time in Her New Essays
The still life is one of visual art's most enduring forms. From Picasso's revolutionary relief constructions to Van Gogh's iconic sunflowers, it is an artistic experiment that has been embraced, reimagined, ...
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July 28, 2023"We Neglect the Arts and Stress the Sciences at Our Peril" Max Wyman on Why Arts Education is Both Beneficial & Necessary
When education is viewed as simply a pipeline to creating a skilled labour force, governments often find excuses to hack and slash at anything that could be considered a "frill", including (or at times, ...
