ArticlesPaula E. Kirman
Paula E. Kirman is a writer, editor, photographer, and filmmaker. She lives in Edmonton where she edits community publications and is a singer/songwriter. She is also a community organizer and has been known to drink too much coffee. Her website is wordspicturesmusic.com.
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FeaturesPlay showcasing Viola Desmond’s historical stand grew to span period of four decades
Viola Desmond made history in 1946 when she refused to leave a whites-only area of the Roseland Theatre, a movie house in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She was then convicted of a minor tax violation for the one-cent tax difference between the seat she paid for and the more expensive seat she used. -
Non-FictionInterdisciplinary, holistic approach to Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 6th Call to Action
Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released 94 Calls to Action in June of 2015, urging reform of policies and programs in order to repair harms caused by residential schools. Call to Action 6 addresses repealing Section 43 of Canada’s Criminal Code, which allows the corporal punishment of children. Editors Valerie E. Michaelson and Joan E. Durrant responded to this call by bringing together diverse voices in Decolonizing Discipline: Children, Corporal Punishment, Christian Theologies, and Reconciliation. -
Non-FictionEstablishing a Black Prairie literature tradition, starting with a paddler from 1873
The literary tradition of the Prairies – at least, the way it has often been presented in popular culture and in classrooms – has typically not included Black writers or histories. The Black Prairie Archives: An Anthology radically transforms what Prairie literature looks and sounds like, and establishes a Black Prairie literary tradition. -
FeaturesEditors build broad collection with ‘multiplicity of expression around Indigenous feminisms’
The voices of Indigenous women are often not well represented within mainstream feminism, which has historically been white and middle class. However, over the past three decades, Indigenous feminist literature has addressed how Indigenous women are affected by both colonialism and patriarchy. -
FeaturesLeroy Wolf Collar wants to move government from a model of dystopia to utopia
In this era of reconciliation, the self-determination of Indigenous Peoples in Canada is more important than ever. Some Indigenous communities have signed self-government agreements of various kinds with the federal government, yet there are still many obstacles along the path to true self-determination for Indigenous nations. -
Non-FictionUntangling the promised benefits of public-private partnerships
Public-private partnerships, known as P3s, in which the private sector takes on roles previously carried out by the public sector, are becoming popular in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, especially since the 2008 financial crisis. -
Young Adult/ChildrenAn imagined program for young offenders to work with horses comes to life in teen novel
The teen years are often difficult even under the best of circumstances, but for Eugenia Grimm, whose father died by suicide, whose brothers are drifting away, and whose mother abandoned her, these years are particularly brutal. -
DramaPlay casts Everett Klippert as a resilient and unashamed Queer Elder
Everett Klippert was a beloved Calgary bus driver who, when confronted by police about his sexuality, refused to lie, and as a result became the last Canadian man imprisoned for being gay. In the play Legislating Love: The Everett Klippert Story, Klippert’s real-life story is interwoven with that of fictional present-day Maxine, who discovers him while researching social policy and navigating her own new relationship with Tonya, a Métis comedian. The result is a poignant examination of queer love through different generations. -
Non-FictionOffering a path toward honouring the treaties and empowering First Nations people
In Let the People Speak: Oppression in a Time of Reconciliation, Winnipeg-based, award-winning journalist Sheilla Jones presents social inequities that affect Indigenous communities in disproportionate numbers as the symptoms of institutionalized powerlessness. -
Non-FictionLearning about the feminist movements, and their history, through an Edmonton magazine
Branching Out, Canada’s first national magazine of second-wave feminism, was published in Edmonton, and reached readers from coast to coast – more than any other Canadian second-wave feminist periodical. However, after it ceased publishing in 1980, Branching Out all but completely disappeared from the historical record.
