Articles
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FictionLike a jigsaw puzzle, novel’s series of stories follows theme of broken parental relationships
Katie Bickell’s debut novel, Always Brave, Sometimes Kind, is a series of stories reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle, with pieces that interlock and build into an extraordinary, complex picture of Alberta through two decades. -
FictionLa Betty bows before the altar of materialism in satirical tale
Jeanne Randolph’s latest book, My Claustrophobic Happiness, is a satire that, in keeping with her ongoing artistic and intellectual projects, skewers capitalism and “mock[s] consumerism whenever possible.” -
FictionBringing the ‘lost rich culture of Lahore’ to life through short stories
Rife with loss, yearning, and betrayal, Zubair Ahmad’s thought-provoking stories delineate the lingering effects of the 1947 Partition. Not only did it leave Punjab divided between India and Pakistan, but it also forced many of its inhabitants to migrate, his parents among them. -
FictionShape-shifters and Sky Spirits come together in novel incorporating Dene language
The layered and poignant novel Land – Water – Sky / Ndè – Ti – Yat’a weaves through time and space, introducing characters – some human, some spirit – from periods as far back as time immemorial into the future. Author Katłįà, from the Yellowknives Dene First Nation in the Northwest Territories, beautifully blends English with the languages of her Dene roots. -
FictionCrisis leads to a crash course in parenting, a decade into a child’s life
Allison Winter, radio/podcast celebrity with the Public Broadcasting Corporation and curator of cutting-edge talent and punk trends, arrives in Winnipeg from Toronto in response to a grisly family tragedy involving her estranged 11-year-old daughter, Hanna. Claudia and Ethan, Hanna’s adoptive parents, were murdered by Claudia’s son who then took his own life – all while Hanna was in the basement listening to music on her headphones. -
PoetryCollection comes together through staying with poems, letting themes reveal themselves
For Manitoba poet Sarah Klassen, writing poems is an exercise in waiting. The process she went through for her newest collection of poetry, The Tree of Life, was no different. -
PoetrySelf-declared trickster poet now leading quieter life, with more energy for his own work
Over the 40 years of his career, Winnipeg’s Dennis Cooley has been a professor of English at the University of Manitoba and a publisher/editor at Turnstone Press, among many other titles. But the role he most identifies with is trickster poet. -
PoetryDuncan Mercredi’s ‘weird way of looking at life and land’ collected in retrospective
Duncan Mercredi’s biography is straightforward. He’s a Cree/Métis writer and storyteller originally from Misipawistik (Grand Rapids), Manitoba, and the current Poet Laureate of Winnipeg. But these lines, taken from the poetic afterword to Mercredi’s upcoming new and selected, mahikan ka onot: The Poetry of Duncan Mercredi, are a much better introduction ... -
DramaNon-linear memory play explores addiction as a ‘wild-eyed, howling beast’
In her play Pretty Goblins, Edmonton-based playwright and actor Beth Graham explores themes of sisterhood, addiction, and the overwhelming effects of trauma. The play’s title, and her initial inspiration, came from the text of Christina Rossetti’s poem, “Goblin Market,” which also explores sisterly love and addiction. -
FeaturesHomage to Phillis Wheatley casts poet, who was enslaved, as historical role model
A poet, a slave. An ode to freedom. In Alison Clarke’s first poetry collection, Phillis, the award-winning YA author of The Sisterhood series draws from her work as a spoken word artist and member of Alberta’s Stroll of Poets to craft an homage to Phillis Wheatley, the first African-American woman to publish a book of poetry, who, remarkably, did so while enslaved.
