Blog
Fascism Can Be as Glittery as the Tyrrhenian Sea
Last summer I visited the Amalfi Coast in Italy, the last leg of my first real vacation to Europe. Time didn’t seem to move in Amalfi. I did nothing but gorge myself on pizza and pasta, and roast in the sun on a different beach each afternoon. I turned five shades darker in the span of five days. I ate pistachio gelato until I was sick.
Literary Value and Zadie Smith’s “Tower of Shame”
An interview with Zadie Smith recently appeared in The Guardian, and, in the title, was a quote from Smith herself: “I’ve never finished Proust or even the Brothers Karamazov.” Only in the subtitle is there any information about Smith’s responses to the multitude of dependent-clause prompts that read a little like a feedback form: The book I’m currently reading. The book I wish I’d written. The last book that made me cry. Despite the format of the interview, it still manages to provide plenty of lovely insight into the interests and reading habits of one of the world’s most famous authors.
To Invade or Not to Invade: The Possibility of U.S. Military Intervention in Venezuela and Its Potential Legal Justifications
Amid one of the worst humanitarian crises today, tensions among the world’s greatest military powers are rising. It has become clear that the current U.S. administration is much more committed to the situation in Venezuela than previous administrations. However, so are Russia’s and China’s.
Quid Pro…So?
It’s all so caricaturable. A big, orange-toned president, acting on the advice of his stumpy, loud New York lawyer, barters over the phone with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, offering military aid in exchange for dirt on his political opponent Joe Biden, whose son sat on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The move gets figured out and the walls around the president start to close in. President Trump is now facing an impeachment probe for this quid pro quo, and his chances of survival are looking thinner as the process advances.
Between the Pages: The Authors and Their Inspirations
At the end of October, six authors gathered in Toronto’s Koerner Hall, having been shortlisted for this year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, one of the most notable prizes in Canada. The event was dubbed “Between the Pages.” Shortlisted candidates travel from coast to coast to present excerpts of their nominated works and are offered a chance to discuss their work and creative lives.
Hong Kong Withdraws the Extradition Bill: What Now?
Following 13 weeks of conflict, Carrie Lam – Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, has finally declared the government’s formal withdrawal of its highly controversial extradition bill. “Our foremost priority now is to end violence, to safeguard the rule of law, and to restore order and safety in society,” she states.
Elections in Canada: Same old, same old?
As Canadians made their way to the voting booths on October 21, polls around the country had the Liberals and the Conservatives neck and neck to lead with a minority government. The tension showed that the stark divisions in Western democracies have not evaded our Great White North, with topics like wealth disparity, climate policy, and immigration dominating parties’ policies.
Honey Boy Is *Literal* Therapy.
The immersiveness of Honey Boy goes like this: You imagine playing your own father in an autobiopic. You imagine doing it so well that the audience believes you are not you, that you are your father, and a little boy with a different childhood is you. Maybe this pleases you in some way, because maybe you feel connected to your father only by exploring the pain he might have caused you.
Not Into Politics
Election season in Canada has mercifully come to a close. And after all the mudslinging, the scandal, and the painful-to-watch political ads we have a new prime minister…maybe, I don’t know. I’m writing this ahead of the final vote tally. Maybe your candidate won, maybe they lost. But if you didn’t vote, you definitely lost.