Canada specializes in a kind of "underhanded racism", which is "as Canadian as maple syrup". This is displayed in B. Denham Jolly's memoir, alongside the story of his life, from early days in Jamaica to his seventieth decade. Life in Jamaica was racialized, too, but more openly and, for
Readers meet a woman up in the air. Literally. She is flying to Athens, where she will teach a course in creative writing. This is Outline. Perhaps partly because she could instruct in the art of outlining, demonstrate for her students the art of constructing a framework on which
Alongside the most recent Mavis Gallant collection, I've been reading a variety of short stories, including a collection of African writers, Opening Spaces, edited by Yvonne Vera. The collection dates to 1999 and includes both well-known and emerging writers: The Girl Who Can - Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana) Deciduous Gazettes
I wasn't expecting to love Zoey Leigh Peterson's Next Year for Sure so much. Aryn Kyle's blurb caught my eye (because I've loved some of her short stories), but the pastel colours made me squint a little. I didn't think I was going to fit into a story with
"No one wants to hear what’s going on in some jailbird’s heart now do they?" It comes near the end of the novel, but I suspect that Joel Thomas Hynes took this idea as a challenge, that that's what inspired his Giller-Prize nominated novel We'll All Be Burnt in
