Swollening
War. Pandemic. Environmental collapse. How is a poet supposed to make beauty out of all the ugliness? Edmonton poet Jason Purcell, in their debut poetry collection, Swollening, has found an [...]
Briefly Noted: September 2022
New Alberta books
Should We Rename Institutions?
A dialogue between Kristopher Wells and Mathew Preston
The Annual Migration of Clouds
The Annual Migration of Clouds imagines the University of Alberta as the site of a self-sustaining community in a dystopic near-future: the labyrinthine BioSci building is now living quarters and [...]
The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird
Essays on the Common and Extraordinary
The Shade Tree
Some histories bear revisiting, and the world of the southern States under Jim Crow laws comes sharply into focus in Theresa Shea’s The Shade Tree, recent winner of Canada’s Guernica Literary [...]
People Change
Our species has a complex relationship with change. From the moment we depart the womb (arguably our first major encounter with change), each new crossroads comes with a slew of anxieties and [...]
Blowing the Whistle
Speaking up must be protected.
A Kid Called Chatter
A child of mysterious provenance is born with supernatural powers. He has “followers” that he loves unconditionally. He provides his followers passage—shepherds them, if you will—from the earthly [...]
Flying Ant Buffet
In praise of dead trees.