ArticlesIssue 77, Fall/Winter 2020/21
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FictionMystery tale created as an exercise in writing a book beginning to end, ‘with no skipping about’
When a downsized social worker helps a good friend deal with the murder of a beloved granddaughter, she and her cat are thrust into a gritty world full of sex, lies, and betrayal. She faces these challenges with intelligence and humour, only to discover that what at first appeared to be a simple street killing in a Canadian city is just the surface of a complex and dark set of criminal schemes. -
FictionObsessive nature of artists examined through triangle of characters
Su Croll is an acclaimed poet and now, in her debut novel Seeing Martin, she turns her observant eye on Mira – an art student grieving the death of her father – along with photographer Marie Claire Zorn and Martin Zorn, Marie Claire’s brother. -
Non-FictionAuthor sees hometown through fresh eyes while collecting images of long-gone places
When Winnipeg-based author Christine Hanlon was contemplating what subject matter she would tackle for her third book, she turned to an idea she initially had as an elementary school teacher – a social studies project in which students would research the names of Winnipeg streets. -
FictionOut-running – or out-driving – responsibilities and the past for a sense of freedom
Audrey Cole loves to drive. Where she’s going and what she’s driving never really seem to matter to her, why she’s driving even less so. That exploration of freedom is at the core of Alberta author Andrew Wedderburn’s novel The Crash Palace. -
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. -
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 ...
