“Reconciliation is a process, and that process must begin with an honest assessment of our history,” (Sniderman and Sanderson, xiii). The small town of Rossburn and Waywayseecappo reserve have neighboured one another for nearly as long as Canada has been a country. The two communities are divided by a beautiful valley and years of racism. In …
“I truly believe there is value in learning about blindness for everyone, because making our world more accessible benefits all its citizens, not just the few for whom it is critical,” (Rowell 11). Blind author Maud Rowell challenges readers to rethink blindness and disability, educating readers on blind explorers, artists, scientists, and many more who have …
“Queer life experience is different; queer cultural experience is different. Why not reframe stories using existing tropes rather than cookie-cutter it instead? That’s also what ‘queering’ means: to disrupt, reframe, challenge and question how it’s always been done,” (Garside 21). I always find the popularity of Schitt’s Creek a source of pride and humour on my end. As …
“People love an idea, even if they don’t know what to do with it. Even if they only know how to do exactly the wrong thing,” (Machado 228). In her memoir, Carmen Maria Machado finds the words, after years and difficulty, to articulate what it was like being in an abusive same-sex relationship. Part fairy-tale, horror …
“Self-sacrifice remains the only fate imaginable for women. More precisely, it is a self-sacrifice that operates by way of abandoning one’s own creative potential rather than it’s realization,” (Chollet 83). Feminist writer Mona Chollet explores which type of women were accused of witchcraft in history and how that has adapted to the modern world. Looking particularly at …
“I fear that I’m bitter. I’m too young to be bitter. Especially as a result of a life that people supposedly envy. And I fear that I resent my mother. The person I have lived for. My idol. My role model. My one true love,” (McCurdy 120). Former child actor Jennette McCurdy reveals all about …
“The end of the world has been happening, and subsequently not happening, since people could make shit up,” (Goh 3). Katie Goh’s short book of essays on apocalypse fiction is timely and masterfully executed. Offering insight into many different examples of apocalypse fiction, it’s clear that Goh is passionate about this subject and put all her …
I received this book from The Next Best Book Club in exchange for an honest review. “Language is a cross-cultural love story of chatty merchants, violated verb conjugations, insolvent loan words, and forgotten Latin declensions. Language is a giant swingers party where slang swaps partners with grammar. Language is an hourglass of human culture, a vivid ekphrasis …
“I think it is critical that non-Indigenous Canadians be aware of how deeply the Indian Act penetrated, controlled, and continues to control, most aspects of the lives of First Nations. It is an instrument of oppression,” (Joseph 4). I didn’t learn about residential schools until I was in university and to this day I’m grateful for my …
“These letters, and the people who wrote them, were a lifeline for me, an antidote, a cure for the sudden stillness of the wheels under me,” (Coyote 5). During the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Ivan Coyote found themselves grounded in Ontario after years of performing and speaking around the world. During this time, …
Sarah O'Connor 