Podcasts about Mordecai Richler

Welcome to the Instant Trivia podcast episode 1226, where we ask the best trivia on the Internet. Round 1. Category: To The Mountaintop! 1: The Gouter Route is the most popular path from Chamonix up this "roof of Europe". Mont Blanc. 2: Washington State Route 706 will take you to the national park for your climb to the 14,410-foot top of this. Mount Rainier. 3: It takes about 6 hours to hike up this via the Yoshida Trail from the Subaru Line 5th Station. Mount Fuji. 4: The West Buttress Route is the standard way up this North American one of the 7 Summits. Denali. 5: The nearby village of Cevirme is a good place to start your ascent of this 16,900-foot Turkish peak. Ararat. Round 2. Category: February 1: As of Feb. 7, 1943, these were rationed to a limit of 3 leather pairs per civilian per year. shoes. 2: His Feb. 11, 1990 release from a South African jail after some 27 years made world headlines. (Nelson) Mandela. 3: Date of the next leap year day. February 29, 1992. 4: On February 23, 1863, Captains Speke and Grant announced they had found the source of this river. the Nile. 5: Congress established this National Park in Arizona February 26, 1919. the Grand Canyon. Round 3. Category: Track 1: On August 16, 1995 this country's Haile Gebrselassie set the world record in the 5,000-meter run at 12:44:39. Ethiopia. 2: The "anchor" for this type of event is no dead weight; he's usually the team's fastest runner. Relay race. 3: This track star's authorized hats and T-shirts sold in Europe and Asia proclaim him to be "King Carl". Carl Lewis. 4: This 3,000-meter event consists of 28 3-foot-high hurdles and 7 12-foot-long water jumps. steeplechase. 5: On June 1, 1997 Donovan Bailey defeated this sprinter in a special 150-meter match race to win $1.5 million. Michael Johnson. Round 4. Category: Cover Me 1: A bandage covering a wound, or a preparation covering a salad. dressing. 2: Used to prevent soil erosion, rye and buckwheat are alliteratively planted as "cover" these. crops. 3: "Easy, breezy, beautiful..." is a pitch of this makeup brand. Cover Girl. 4: An independent record label of yore, or a pupal covering for butterflies. a chrysalis. 5: In military slang, your "cover" refers to this article of clothing. a helmet (or hat). Round 5. Category: Hope You'Re Well Read... 1: In this 1903 book, Buck, a dog in California, is stolen and taken to the Klondike. The Call of the Wild. 2: In 1798 he wrote several poems, including "France: An Ode" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Coleridge. 3: Gloria Naylor took home a 1983 National Book Award for "The Women of" this "Place". Brewster Place. 4: A 1980 Mordecai Richler novel told about this character "Then and Now". Joshua. 5: With his Mommy Dearest, this Frances Hodgson Burnett title character moves to England and inherits a title. Little Lord Fauntleroy. Thanks for listening! Come back tomorrow for more exciting trivia!Special thanks to https://blog.feedspot.com/trivia_podcasts/ AI Voices used

Rob has broken his arm, leading to an extremely trippy hospital experience. Meanwhile Theo has been watching the D-Day commemorations and has some thoughts. Other talking points range from Canadian writer Mordecai Richler to the Lambeth Country Show. Play along: https://www.theguardian.com/crosswords/quick/16875 Follow us: https://x.com/twoacrosspod/

"Atuk" is a fabled Hollywood script that has gained notoriety for its purported curse. The screenplay, based on the novel "The Incomparable Atuk" by Mordecai Richler, tells the story of an Eskimo who moves to the big city and experiences culture shock. Despite its comedic potential, the project has been plagued by tragedy, with several actors and filmmakers associated with the script meeting untimely deaths. From John Belushi and Sam Kinison to John Candy and Chris Farley, a string of talented comedians who were attached to the project have all passed away before production could commence, leading to the eerie legend of the cursed "Atuk" script haunting Hollywood. ----------------- Head to the Strange Places home website, asylum817.com to keep up with all things Strange Places, as well as the host. Billie Dean Shoemate III is an author with over 40 novels published, a master-trained painter, host of the No Disclosure Podcast, and multi-instrumentalist musician with multiple albums released. To check out Billie's books, albums, paintings and other artistic ventures, head to asylum817.com. ----------------- This podcast can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora, and wherever you get your Podcast listening experience. ----------------- to support the show, check us out on Patreon- http://www.patreon.com/asylum817 ----------------- DISTROKID AFFILIATE LINK: https://www.distrokid.com/vip/seven/3128872 ----------------- Want to promote your brand, YouTube channel, Etsy page, charity, event or podcast on the show? I am selling the show's ad space! Mid roll ads, beginning ads, bottom of the show ads, all of it. Click the link below to get yourself some of that sweet, sweet ad space on the fastest growing paranormal podcast on the planet. If you want to advertise here, click the LINK BELOW! https://www.fiverr.com/share/mgzw1R ----------------- This episode is brought to you by the 13TH Destiny with Magnum Podcast! LINK BELOW: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Kh2Y6J0plsi7n5lGlhb4X --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/strangeplacespod/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/strangeplacespod/support

When does a book transcend from contemporary literature to a classic? Does someone have to confirm its classic status? And can all Booker Prize novels be considered classics just by being part of the Booker canon? This, and more, is what Jo and James are trying to get to the heart of in this week's episode. Listen in as they discuss what makes a classic novel and chat about which Booker books should be known as classics. In this episode Jo and James: Consider what makes a classic Each pick three novels from the Booker Library that are – or should be – considered classics Discuss the plots of their chosen novels and why they are deserving of classic status Reading list: Something to Answer For by P.H. Newby: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/something-to-answer-for A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-month-in-the-country How Late It Was, How Late by James Kelman: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/how-late-it-was-how-late St. Urbain's Horseman by Mordecai Richler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/st-urbains-horseman Atonement by Ian McEwan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/atonement The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-remains-of-the-day The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-handmaids-tale Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/shuggie-bain Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/schindlers-ark The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-english-patient Autobiography by Morrisey The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/midnights-children The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-siege-of-krishnapur The Conservationist by Nadine Gordimer: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-conservationist Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/oscar-and-lucinda The Ghost Road by Pat Barker: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-ghost-road Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/disgrace Staying On by Paul Scott: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/staying-on The Famished Road by Ben Okri: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-famished-road Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/cloud-atlas The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-line-of-beauty Autumn by Ali Smith: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/autumn Crudo by Olivia Laing No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/no-one-is-talking-about-this Waterland by Graham Swift: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/waterland G. by John Berger: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/g Read Alex Clark's piece, “Which novels in the Booker Prize archives should be considered classics?”: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/which-booker-prize-novels-should-be-considered-classics A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-33-what-makes-a-classic-novel Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A.S. Byatt's Possession is a blockbuster of a novel, loved by both critics and readers. If you haven't already read it, you've probably heard of it. (And if you haven't heard of it, well, we're here to fill you in.) Possession won the 1990 Booker Prize and it's a romp of a novel that's part detective thriller and part romance. It also happens to be the subject of our first Monthly Spotlight of 2024 – formerly known as Book of the Month – so tune in as we delve into the book and the life of its author. In this episode Jo and James: Share a brief biography of A.S. Byatt Explore Byatt's literary rivalry with her writer sister, Margaret Drabble Summarise the plot of Possession Hear a clip of Byatt reading from the book at the 1990 Booker Prize ceremony Discuss their thoughts on the novel Reading list: Possession by A.S. Byatt: https://thebookerprizes.com/archive/books/possession An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/an-awfully-big-adventure The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-gate-of-angels Lies of Silence by Brian Moore: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/lies-of-silence Amongst Women by John McGahern: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/amongst-women Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/solomon-gursky-was-here The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt The Biographer's Tale The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-childrens-book A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-28-possession-by-as-byatt Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spoilers time tags: 3:04 - 7:30 where we spoil one of the big moments in the movie. On this special Christmas episode, we're incredibly excited to chat with Jenn Wexler and Sean Redlitz, the filmmakers behind the new Christmas horror film The Sacrifice Game, currently streaming on Shudder! We chat about the inspiration for The Sacrifice Game, demonic summoning (Terry has an epiphany) and dig into their horror histories before exploring an apparent Canadian classic. Jenn brought with her Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang (1978) a fever dream of a movie based on a book series by the amazingly named Mordecai Richler. Slime Squads, monstrous humans, Child Power!, musical numbers, the prison industrial complex...this movie has it all. It's not readily available in the states, but there is a copy on YouTube if you want to experience the lunacy and see for yourself why this movie has lingered in Jenn's brain for decades.Follow Jenn and Sean on Instagram. You can also follow the movie on Instagram.Follow Mary Beth, Terry and the Podcast on Twitter. We also have a Letterboxd HQ account, so follow us there, too! We're also on Bluesky with the same usernames. Support us on Patreon!If you want to support our podcast, please please take a moment to go rate us on Spotify and give us a rating and review on iTunes. It really helps us out with the algorithms. We also have a YouTube channel! Ask us for our Discord server!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

TVO Superstar Steve Paikin talks about his 5 shows over 31 years [and counting] at Ontario's public television channel, starting his broadcasting career alongside Michael Landsberg at UofT Radio, chasing ambulances at The Hamilton Spectator, why he agrees with the host that Boston is the City of Champions, why Mikhail Gorbachev [impactful!] & Mordecai Richler [prickly!] were notable interviewees, his interactions with Elwy Yost/Scotty Bowman/Ken Dryden/Hugh Heron/Kenny Stabler/Doug Ford, his Dad's creative note explaining Steve's school absence to attend the inaugural Toronto Blue Jays game in 1977, he provides an update on the currently ongoing labour dispute at TVO, and he sidesteps the mysterious question of why you NEVER see him AND Polkaroo in the same room at the same time! For everything Steve Paikin, please go to https://www.tvo.org/theagenda TORONTO LEGENDS is hosted by Andrew Applebaum at andrew.applebaum@gmail.com All episodes available at https://www.torontolegends.ca/episodes/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From his debut as a novelist, Mordecai Richler challenged, provoked, enraged, entertained, and surprised readers. Criticizing him for his portrayals of Canada and accusing him of being anti-Jewish, many found his mix of progressive sympathies and illiberal satire confounding but hard to ignore. His novels were too engaging: their subjects crackled with contemporary relevance, and their humour was irresistible. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) is an investigation into Richler's novels and the conflicting reactions they provoked.  Taking into consideration the most prevalent and voluble responses to his novels, Shana Mauer examines the texts themselves and assesses how they stand up to these reactions. She asks whether the backlash was justified, and whether these novels savaged Canada, maligned the Jewish community, disparaged women, mocked gays, and generally despaired of modern life and contemporary culture. As the first study of Richler's entire corpus, this book considers these issues in the context of a long career - one as consistent as it was varied - in which an ideological discourse often, but not always, evolved. Turning away from impressions, assumptions, and generalizations, many informed by Richler's non-fiction and on-record comments, Mauer focuses instead on the substance of the novels themselves, finding there a restless search for lasting moral value. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values explores the construction of literary texts that have made Richler one of the most intriguing and successful modern writers, as well as an essential voice in Canadian and Jewish literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

From his debut as a novelist, Mordecai Richler challenged, provoked, enraged, entertained, and surprised readers. Criticizing him for his portrayals of Canada and accusing him of being anti-Jewish, many found his mix of progressive sympathies and illiberal satire confounding but hard to ignore. His novels were too engaging: their subjects crackled with contemporary relevance, and their humour was irresistible. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) is an investigation into Richler's novels and the conflicting reactions they provoked.  Taking into consideration the most prevalent and voluble responses to his novels, Shana Mauer examines the texts themselves and assesses how they stand up to these reactions. She asks whether the backlash was justified, and whether these novels savaged Canada, maligned the Jewish community, disparaged women, mocked gays, and generally despaired of modern life and contemporary culture. As the first study of Richler's entire corpus, this book considers these issues in the context of a long career - one as consistent as it was varied - in which an ideological discourse often, but not always, evolved. Turning away from impressions, assumptions, and generalizations, many informed by Richler's non-fiction and on-record comments, Mauer focuses instead on the substance of the novels themselves, finding there a restless search for lasting moral value. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values explores the construction of literary texts that have made Richler one of the most intriguing and successful modern writers, as well as an essential voice in Canadian and Jewish literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

From his debut as a novelist, Mordecai Richler challenged, provoked, enraged, entertained, and surprised readers. Criticizing him for his portrayals of Canada and accusing him of being anti-Jewish, many found his mix of progressive sympathies and illiberal satire confounding but hard to ignore. His novels were too engaging: their subjects crackled with contemporary relevance, and their humour was irresistible. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) is an investigation into Richler's novels and the conflicting reactions they provoked.  Taking into consideration the most prevalent and voluble responses to his novels, Shana Mauer examines the texts themselves and assesses how they stand up to these reactions. She asks whether the backlash was justified, and whether these novels savaged Canada, maligned the Jewish community, disparaged women, mocked gays, and generally despaired of modern life and contemporary culture. As the first study of Richler's entire corpus, this book considers these issues in the context of a long career - one as consistent as it was varied - in which an ideological discourse often, but not always, evolved. Turning away from impressions, assumptions, and generalizations, many informed by Richler's non-fiction and on-record comments, Mauer focuses instead on the substance of the novels themselves, finding there a restless search for lasting moral value. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values explores the construction of literary texts that have made Richler one of the most intriguing and successful modern writers, as well as an essential voice in Canadian and Jewish literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

From his debut as a novelist, Mordecai Richler challenged, provoked, enraged, entertained, and surprised readers. Criticizing him for his portrayals of Canada and accusing him of being anti-Jewish, many found his mix of progressive sympathies and illiberal satire confounding but hard to ignore. His novels were too engaging: their subjects crackled with contemporary relevance, and their humour was irresistible. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) is an investigation into Richler's novels and the conflicting reactions they provoked.  Taking into consideration the most prevalent and voluble responses to his novels, Shana Mauer examines the texts themselves and assesses how they stand up to these reactions. She asks whether the backlash was justified, and whether these novels savaged Canada, maligned the Jewish community, disparaged women, mocked gays, and generally despaired of modern life and contemporary culture. As the first study of Richler's entire corpus, this book considers these issues in the context of a long career - one as consistent as it was varied - in which an ideological discourse often, but not always, evolved. Turning away from impressions, assumptions, and generalizations, many informed by Richler's non-fiction and on-record comments, Mauer focuses instead on the substance of the novels themselves, finding there a restless search for lasting moral value. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values explores the construction of literary texts that have made Richler one of the most intriguing and successful modern writers, as well as an essential voice in Canadian and Jewish literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

From his debut as a novelist, Mordecai Richler challenged, provoked, enraged, entertained, and surprised readers. Criticizing him for his portrayals of Canada and accusing him of being anti-Jewish, many found his mix of progressive sympathies and illiberal satire confounding but hard to ignore. His novels were too engaging: their subjects crackled with contemporary relevance, and their humour was irresistible. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values (McGill-Queen's UP, 2022) is an investigation into Richler's novels and the conflicting reactions they provoked.  Taking into consideration the most prevalent and voluble responses to his novels, Shana Mauer examines the texts themselves and assesses how they stand up to these reactions. She asks whether the backlash was justified, and whether these novels savaged Canada, maligned the Jewish community, disparaged women, mocked gays, and generally despaired of modern life and contemporary culture. As the first study of Richler's entire corpus, this book considers these issues in the context of a long career - one as consistent as it was varied - in which an ideological discourse often, but not always, evolved. Turning away from impressions, assumptions, and generalizations, many informed by Richler's non-fiction and on-record comments, Mauer focuses instead on the substance of the novels themselves, finding there a restless search for lasting moral value. Mordecai Richler's Imperfect Search for Moral Values explores the construction of literary texts that have made Richler one of the most intriguing and successful modern writers, as well as an essential voice in Canadian and Jewish literature in the second half of the twentieth century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Her guest, Bil Antoniou - Toronto theatre actor and podcast host of Bad Gay Movies and My Criterions - discusses with Linda a series of Canadian and Indigenous novels that have been adapted to the screen, including the most recent Oscar award-winning movie, Women Talking, directed by Sarah Polley (original novel by Miriam Toews).They also discuss the following:Yann Martel's Life of Pi (Knopf)Jane Rule's The Desert of the Heart (Talon)Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient (Penguin Random House)and Mordecai Richler's Barney Version (Penguin Random House)The winner of the adaptation award? Listen to find out! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Linda doesn't care if she has to take less sunscreen when she goes on vacation - if it means she gets to pack an extra couple of books. What five books would she recommend?:Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park (Vintage/Random House, 2.00)Rawi Hage's Stray Dogs (Knopf, 4.11)Neil Smith's Bang Crunch (Vintage, 7.54)Marilyn Dumont's A Really Good Brown Girl (Metis; Brick Books, 10.18)Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Goodmorning Juliet )(Penguin, Random House, 13)Linda also references Mordecai Richler (at 3.43 and 13.20) and Alice Munro (4.36), the production of MacDonald's Fall on Your Knees at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and MacDonald's term as the inaugural Mordecai Richler writer in residence at Concordia University. Check out MacDonald's "Dispatches" from the latter period, which are downright funny, offering welcome critique of Richler's masculinist tendencies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark interviews Canadian author Edo van Belkom about his life in writing, and the January 2023 the Paramount+ TV series adaptation of his Silver Birch Award-Winning Novel WOLF PACK by Jeff Davis and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a brief personal update, welcomes new Patron Dharma Kelleher, and a word about this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your audiobooks distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their conversation, Mark and Edo talk about: An old picture of the two of them at a "Sci-Fi Saturday" multi-author event from the late 90s where Mark was one of the managers (Attendees were David Shrogryn, Edo van Belkom, Carolyn Clink, Robert J. Sawyer, Douglas Smith, Andrew Weiner, Mark Leslie, Sally Tomasevic, Marcel Gagne) Edo's journey as a writer, beginning with his first published short story being published in an annual "Year's Best" anthology Writing about six or seven novels before his first one sold, and writing books that weren't published until more than twenty-five years later Working on gaming-tie-in related novels Landing his agent after having a short story appear in one of Jeff Gelb's "Hot Blood" anthologies Following his wife's advice to write a YA novel, which became the award-winning novel Wolf Pack and how that book was sold over a telephone pitch/proposal Having a couple of his mass market paperback novels (Scream Queen and Blood Road) be optioned for films Some of the silly things that writers hear when speaking to non-writers at parties such as "why don't you write a bestseller?" What being nominated for the Silver Birch Award did for that book Winning the Silverbirch Award Going from selling 10,000 copies of the first book in the series to only about 1,000 or so copies of the 2nd and 3rd books in that series How the greatest part of winning the Silver Biirch Award was the live event at a small stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario Winning the Bram Stoker Award for a short story ("Rat Food") that he co-authored with David Nickle What it was like co-authoring a story well before the days of the internet Edo's short story collection Death Drives a Semi and how, when looking for places to market it, he found a trucker magazine that he ended up writing a series of stories in for fifteen years The "Mark Dalton: Owner, Operator" series of stories Converting a one-day workshop for truckers about fuel efficient driving practices into a novel Details and experiences related to the ice roads in Canada's Northwest Territories. (Ice roads are seasonal winter roads built over frozen bodies of water. The ice roads in Canada are about 400 KM (250 miles) long and are built over 64 frozen lakes The story behind how Wolf Pack got turned into a new Paramount+ television series What it was like seeing a teaser trailer for "Wolf Pack" after a year of hearing nothing about the option deal that had been signed How the book "Wolf Pack" got into the hands of Jeff Davis What it was like to be in Los Angeles for the premiere of the series, including walking the red carpet Seeing his name in the show's opening credits "Based on the novels by Edo van Belkom" Some of what's planned for the home-town showing of the first episode in the series in Brampton, Ontario Why, if he can help it, Edo plans on not doing any more soul-crushing in store book signings any longer And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on three different things.   Links of Interest:   Edo van Belkom (At Jabberwocky Literary Agency) Edo on Twitter Edo on Facebook Edo on TikTok Wolf Pack on Paramount+ Wolf Pack TV Series - IMDB Wolf Pack TV Series - Wikipedia Be a guest on the Stark Reflections Podcast Superstars Writing Seminars (Save $100 with code: STARKSSWS2023 Findaway Voices Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles     Edo van Belkom, a former reporter on the sports and police beats for newspapers in and around Toronto, arrived on the horror scene in 1990. His first short story sale, Baseball Memories, was selected for the prestigious Year's Best Horror Stories edited by Karl Edward Wagner. The story was also nominated for Canada's prestigious Aurora Award and appeared side-by-side with work by authors such as Mordecai Richler and W. P. Kinsella in The Grand Slam Book of Canadian Baseball Writing. Van Belkom hasn't looked back since. Some 150 short stories have sold to a variety of top magazines and anthologies in the sf, fantasy, horror and mystery genres. He has twice won the Aurora Award, taken home the Bram Stoker Award and his YA novel WOLF PACK won Ontario's prestigious Silver Birch Award. In January 2023, that same 2004 novel and the other three books in the series was adapted into an American supernatural teen drama on Paramount+ starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and produced by Jeff Davis, known for creating the drama series Criminal Minds and the TV series "Teen Wolf."     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0     

072 - Summit All Up “Edmonton is not the end of the world, but you can certainly see it from there” - Jack Campbell (actually, Mordecai Richler, but Jack's probably thinking it…) Linc and Andrew ramble about hockey heroes and the Summit 72 documentary, the tiers of fast food pizza, and why expectations should be tempered for anyone thinking about moving from Toronto to Edmonton.  They also recount rehabbing injuries, physiotherapist horror stories, and getting hit on by coworkers. Follow @LADS_Unfiltered on Twitter Follow @LADS_Unfiltered on Instagram

On this episode of The Global Exchange, Colin Robertson speaks to Dr. Andrea Charron and Dr. Clara Portela about sanctions, what they aim to achieve, and their effectiveness. Participants' bios Dr. Andrea Charron is Professor at the University of Manitoba and a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute – https://www.cgai.ca/andrea_charron Dr. Clara Portela is Professor at the University of Valencia and was a Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Canada Visiting Scholar at Carleton University – https://www.ibei.org/en/clara-portela_73014 Host bio Colin Robertson is Senior Adviser and Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute – https://www.cgai.ca/colin_robertson Read Multilateral Sanctions Revisited by Andrea Charron and Clara Portela –https://www.mqup.ca/multilateral-sanctions-revisited-products-9780228011866.php?page_id=73& Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/154019/barneys-version-by-mordecai-richler/9780345812230 The Ones We Let Down by Charlotte Duval-Lantoine – https://www.mqup.ca/ones-we-let-down--the-products-9780228011262.php?page_id=121102& Recording Date: 2 Nov 2022. Give 'The Global Exchange' a review on Apple Podcast! Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on Linkedin. Head over to our website www.cgai.ca for more commentary. Produced by Charlotte Duval-Lantoine. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

John Metcalf is angry that after working in Canada as a "storyteller, editor, novelist, essayist, and critic" for more than fifty years his books still only sell about 500 copies each. Regardless of this, he's made a significant contribution to Canadian literature through his editing, teaching, critiquing, compiling of anthologies, publishing, and promotion generally of Canadian writers and the short story form. His work is known for its satire, intense emotion and imagery. In fact, his whole career can be said - John says it himself in Temerity and Gall, the book we discuss here today - to have been an extended conversation with Ezra Pound's Imagism. In our chronological conversation we examine John's life (he was born in 1938) starting with England and his relationship with his father, clergyman Thomas Metcalf; we talk about John's work with Oberon Press, ECW, Porqupine's Quill, and Biblioasis; about him teaching in the Montreal school system and almost dying of boredom, about publishing textbooks, and drinking with Mordecai Richler; about Michael Macklem (some people think he was a dick); about early catastrophes with Jack David and Robert Lecker, a lack of communication with Tim Inkster, and a love of Dan Wells's ambition. It's not all just juicy Canadian publishing gossip however, we also discuss James Joyce and the advent of film and modernism, Hemingway's first short story and the misspelling of his name, the serious ideas that underpin John's writing and editorial practice, and the success he's enjoyed, over many decades, of getting important books published. And finally, in the end, there's his patient, respectful wife Myrna working in the other room.

Whose Job is it Exactly to Keep my Mom Happy? Tommy Schnurmacher's memoir details the foibles of his tumultuous relationship with his Holocaust survivor Mom who looked like Elizabeth Taylor and sounded like Zsa Zsa Gabor! BIO As a writer, Montreal media icon Schnurmacher is an intense force of nature, a seismic swell of visceral empathy, laser-sharp wit and courageous self-analysis. Now meet Olga. Auschwitz prisoner A-25057, aka Mom, A fearless, dramatic and unpredictable maverick. An original. Exposing the souls of a family for all to see, Make-up Tips from Auschwitz is an addictive page-turner. Schnurmacher's voice resonates with a lyrical cadence all his own and an unsettling candor reminiscent of humorist David Sedaris and essayist Augusten Burroughs. Like the Oscar-winning film, Life is Beautiful, Schnurmacher revisits the Holocaust with rays of light in the darkness. “Makeup Tips from Auschwitz. How Vanity Saved my Mother's Life” is a story of remarkable courage in the face of adversity. It is also a story of one very glamorous mom. Mordecai Richler and Philip Roth detailed how the melting pot Americanized immigrants. This memoir is the story of a Hungarian refugee family whose chutzpah and moxie allowed it to survive and thrive in a strange new environment. It is also the story of the rich threads and struggles that bind a unique mother-son relationship. Meet Olga, Auschwitz prisoner A-25057 , aka Mom. A fearless, dramatic and unpredictable maverick. An original. Exposing the souls of a family for all to see, Makeup Tips from Auschwitz has an unsettling candor reminiscent of humorist David Sedaris and essayist Augusten Burroughs. Like the Oscar-winning film, Life is Beautiful, the memoir revisits the Holocaust with rays of light in the darkness. It is a story of a family's cultural collision and delightful dysfunction. With the growing pains of Shtisel, the earthiness of The Simpsons and the fierce family loyalty of The Sopranos, these newcomers from Hungary defy authority. They figured out early on that conventional values were not enough. It was their moxie that allowed them to succeed. Schmooze with the passing parade that includes John Lennon, Elizabeth Taylor and Crystal Nacht. You will laugh out loud as you meet a cast of supporting characters who redefine eccentric: the 50-minute therapist, the psychic rabbi and a superstitious hypochondriac named Paris. Once you get to know these mutineers from the mainstream, you will want to organize an intervention. Or at least a Passover Seder. The memoir has been described as poignant, addictive and unpredictable by readers who sampled chapters of it on Facebook. In addition to the bookstores in Montreal it is available online around the world in soft cover, hard cover and Kindle on Amazon. Also online at Barnes and Noble. Audiobook read by Tommy Schnurmacher coming soon. Learn more about Tommy and other books he's written here - http://talkradiotommy.com/ Get your copy of Makeup Tips From Auschwitz here - https://amzn.to/3Rg6lWp Learn more about your host, Kim Lengling here - www.kimlenglingauthor.com This episode was brought to you by Creative Edge Publicity - https://www.creative-edge.services/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/kim-lengling1/support

On this week's episode, Chris and Sylvie repeat themselves to emphasize their shared love for the lovely series based on Mordecai Richler's children's book series, Jacob Two-Two. Somehow attempting to articulate why the show's unique visual style holds up tremendously today, the conversation somehow shifts to Canada's dismal media landscape, the distinctive charms of Montreal to tourists, Tegan and Sara concerts, cemetery visits, and Canadian wrestling icon Bret Hart. It's a good chat! It's a good chat! Episode covered is Episode 5 "Jacob Two-Two and the Daily Crown." If you liked what you heard please consider giving us a like, share, follow, and rating on your podcatcher of choice to help us grow and reach a wider audience. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/CartoonNightPod?s=20 Theme song by https://soundcloud.com/hvsyn

Giorgio Van Straten"Una disperata vitalità"Harper & Collinshttps://www.harpercollins.it/Questo, o qualcosa di simile, è quello che pensa Giorgio, alla vigilia del suo sessantesimo compleanno. Che sia arrivato, anche per lui, il tempo dei bilanci? Un'ex moglie, una vita tra Firenze e New York, un buon momento personale e professionale. E la certezza di avere quarant'anni. Certezza che però si deve scontrare con la data impressa sulla carta di identità e con un elenco considerevole di acciacchi e malanni. A sei anni di distanza dal suo precedente libro, Giorgio van Straten torna al romanzo e racconta, con uno sguardo straordinariamente acuto e ironico, un protagonista degno dello Zuckerman di Philip Roth e del Barney di Mordecai Richler. Lo spaesamento di una generazione, i desideri che non invecchiano con l'età, le relazioni, complicate ma inesauribili, con i propri affetti più cari – la donna amata, il migliore amico, la figlia –, gli incontri galanti più o meno occasionali, la crisi politica e sociale del mondo in cui si è vissuti e invecchiati, il ritratto, tratteggiato con sarcastica dolcezza e dolce sarcasmo, degli ambienti intellettuali di sinistra italiani e americani, una riflessione, leggera e profonda, sul tempo che passa. E, ovviamente, una disperata vitalità. Tutto questo è il teatro messo in scena da van Straten nel suo nuovo, indimenticabile romanzo.Giorgio Van Straten è nato nel 1955 a Firenze, dove vive. Nel 1987 ha pubblicato, da Garzanti, il romanzo Generazione e nel 1989, presso lo stesso editore, la raccolta di racconti Hai sbagliato foresta. Tra le sue altre opere: Ritmi per il nostro ballo (Marsilio, 1992), Corruzione (Giunti, 1995), L'impegno spaesato. Decalogo di un uomo di sinistra (Editori Riuniti, 2002) e, per Mondadori, Il mio nome a memoria (2000, Premio Viareggio), La verità non serve a niente (2008), Storia d'amore in tempo di guerra (2014), e il saggio Storie di libri perduti (Laterza, 2016, tradotto in otto lingue). Dal 2015 al 2019 è stato Direttore dell'Istituto Italiano di Cultura a New York.IL POSTO DELLE PAROLEascoltare fa pensarehttps://ilpostodelleparole.it/

Snowy Knife TipsWith the background sound of laundry swirling in the dryer our hosts Marco and Amanda give us a laundry list of tips and their experience with snow, from shovelling to cross-country skiing. This is also an episode where we discuss a whole sleuth of tips.This episode is meant to relax you, calm you and even help you fall asleep. A Sneak-Peek:[2:10] Marco talks about his recent snow shovelling.[3:05] The soothing sounds of the dishwasher are discussed. [5:27] We take a deep dive into knives and knife techniques. [9:00] Chopping onion tips from Amanda and a left turn about Mordecai Richler.[13:00] Marco gets off his apparent snow agenda.[14:49] Ginger talk and Ginger tips. [18:40] Amanda tells some snow stories. [22:50] We go on a cross-country ski trip with Amanda.[27:20] A bit of Bison talk.[30:00] Amanda shares some winter coat tips.Connect with us on:Twitter: @listenandsleepInstagram: @theinsomniaprojectweb: theinsomniaproject.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Linda is delighted to be back for her third season of Getting Lit With Linda!In this first episode of the season, she considers the movie, Don't Look Up (dir. by Adam McKay, 1.13, 2.49), the nature of satire (with reference to Mordecai Richler, 2.00, and Jonathan Swift, 2.11), and the looming environmental crisis. It's a topic that poet, Rita Wong (4.32) has addressed unflinchingly in her work, especially forage (published by Nightwood Editions, winner of the Dorothy Livesay Prize, 6.09). Linda recalls getting in touch with Wong when her former student, Morgan Cohen (5.25), used her work in an independent study (which has since gone on to be published). In so doing, Linda is shocked to discover Wong's legal entanglement (7.44), but, in the process, she realizes and is inspired by Wong, who has made a clear decision to be a land protector.Appropriately, Clayton Thomas-Muller's book, Life in the City of Dirty Water (16.30) came to her attention while working on this episode--his work as an activist emerges from the realization that self-healing is essential to the process. This fascinating book has since been shortlisted for the Canada Reads competition, which includes the following writers this year:Michelle Good's Five Little IndiansCatherine Hernandez's ScarboroughEsi Edugyan's Washington Black andOmar El Akkad's What Strange Paradise Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mordecai Richlers Erzählungsband "Eine Straße in Montreal" erscheint zum ersten Mal in deutscher Übersetzung. Mit diesem Buch lässt sich der kanadische Autor und das jüdische Milieu, in dem er aufwuchs und seine Themen fand, nun noch einmal neu entdecken. Rezension von Ulrich Rüdenauer. von Gottfried Röckelein übersetzt Verlag Ars Vivendi, 190 Seiten, 20 Euro ISBN 978-3-7472-0320-0

Born in Kamloops, British Columbia, Adam currently lives in Saskatoon. He was educated at the University of Northern BC (BA, 2006; MA, 2008) and the University of Saskatchewan (PhD, 2016). He was born deaf in both ears, and sensory calibration helped him become a writer by stoking my imagination and lending me a unique relationship with language. He was inspired by Mordecai Richler, John Steinbeck, Toni Morrison, Elie Wiesel, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Albert Camus, Hunter S. Thompson, Richard Van Camp, Brad Fraser, and Margaret Laurence.

 In a world, where the midnight train podcast is at the top of the podcast game, one thing has the power to destroy everything they have worked for. This week their world will come crumbling down as everything they've achieved will be tested and possibly destroyed due to the madness that is (dun dun duuuuuuuunnnnn) cursed Movies!!! Tonight on the midnight train we are combining two of our favorite things…. This podcast and lots and lots of beer…YEAH! Oh wait, we do that every week… Oh, that's right, it's this podcast and….moooovies!! But… In true midnight train fashion, we can't just talk about movies…. We're gonna talk about cursed movies!!! That's right we are going to look at movies that for one reason or another have led to tragedy during and after the movies were made! Everything is on the table from health issues like cancer, accidental deaths while filming, people going crazy after filming, and just about everything else you can think of. Should be a fun and creepy ride discussing all these movies with you passengers and, in case you're wondering, yes we're still going to have a movies list at the end.    Ok so let's get into this and see what we have as far as cursed movies!   We're gonna start it with a big one since we just covered the subject matter of the film! The first cursed movie on our list is the exorcist. The filming of THE EXORCIST was done over nine months. The main set, a reproduction of the Georgetown home, was built in a warehouse in New York. During the filming, several curious incidents and accidents took place on the set and plagued those involved with the production. In addition, the budget of the film rose from $5 million to more than twice that amount. Obviously, any film production that lasts for more than a month or so will see its share of accidents and mishaps, but THE EXORCIST seems to have been particularly affected by unforeseeable calamities. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it left the cast and crew rightfully shaken.    The first incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. one Sunday morning when a fire broke out on the set. There was only one security guard at the Ceco 54th Street Studios when the McNeil house set caught fire and burned. The fire was the result of a bad electrical circuit, but it shut down filming for six weeks while the set was reconstructed from scratch. Ironically, as soon as the new set was ready, the sprinkler system broke down, causing an additional two-week delay.    Few of the actors in the film escaped personal troubles during the shoot. Just as Max Von Sydow (who played Father Merrin) touched down in New York to film his first scenes, he received a phone call saying that his brother died unexpectedly in Sweden. Von Sydow himself later became very ill during the filming. Irish actor Jack MacGowran (who played Burke Dennings) died only one week after his character was killed by the demon in the movie. Jason Miller (who played Father Karras) was stunned when his young son, Jordan, was struck down on an empty beach by a motorcyclist who appeared out of nowhere. The boy ALMOST died. THAT'S GOOD NEWS! Ellen Burstyn (who played Chris McNeill) wrenched her back badly during one scene when she was slapped by the possessed girl. The stunt went badly awry and she was laid up in bed for several weeks afterward, causing more delays in the filming. They had a rig attached to her where a guy offscreen would pull a rope that was tied to her to get that “smacked hard as shit and launched across the room” look the director wanted. Apparently, the director didn't like the first take or two and told the guy with the rope to yoke the living piss out of her. He got his shot. She screwed up her back.    In New York, one of the carpenters accidentally cut off his thumb on the set and one of the lighting technicians lost a toe. This was all over the news at the time due to the mixup at the hospital where they put the wrong appendages on the wrong patients. Yep, they switched the toe for the thumb. And if you believed that, well… I'm not sorry even a little bit. Anyway, The exorcist's location trip to Iraq was delayed from the spring, which is relatively cool, to July, the hottest part of the summer, when the temperature rose to 130 degrees and higher. Out of the eighteen-man crew that was sent there, Friedkin lost the services of nine of them, at one time or another, due to dysentery (which is super shitty) or sunstroke. To make matters worse, the bronze statue of the neo-Assyrian winged demon Pazazu, which was packed in a ten-foot crate, got lost in an air shipment from Los Angeles and ended up in Hong Kong, which caused another two-week delay.    "I don't know if it was a jinx, really," actress Ellen Burstyn later said. "But there were some really strange goings-on during the making of the film. We were dealing with some really heavy material and you don't fool around with that kind of material without it manifesting in some way. There were many deaths in the film. Linda's grandfather died, the assistant cameraman's wife had a baby that died, the man who refrigerated the set died, the janitor who took care of the building was shot and killed … I think overall there were nine deaths during the course of the film, which is an incredible amount… it was scary." Unholy shit, batman!   Things got so bad that William Friedkin took some drastic measures. Father Thomas Bermingham, S.J., from the Jesuit community at Fordham University, had been hired as a technical advisor for the film, along with Father John Nicola, who, while not a Jesuit, had been taught by Jesuit theologians at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois. Friedkin came to Bermingham and asked him to exorcise the set. The priest was unable to perform an actual exorcism, but he did give a solemn blessing in a ceremony that was attended by everyone then on the set, from Max Von Sydow to the technicians and grips. "Nothing else happened on the set after the blessing,” Bermingham stated, "but around that time, there was a fire in the Jesuit residence set in Georgetown." And while nothing else tragic occurred on the set, strange events and odd coincidences were reported during the post-production work on the film. "There were strange images and visions that showed up on film that were never planned," Friedkin later claimed. "There are double exposures in the little girl's face at the end of one reel that are unbelievable."   As we talked about in previous episodes, The film opened on December 26, 1973, to massive crowds. Within weeks of the first public screenings of the film, stories started to make the rounds that audience members were fainting and vomiting in the theaters. There were also reports of disturbing nightmares and reportedly, several theater ushers had to be placed under a doctor's care, or quit their jobs, after experiencing successive showings of the movie. In numerous cities that were checked after THE EXORCIST had run for several weeks, reporters found that every major hospital had been forced to deal with patients who reported, after seeing the film, severe cases of vomiting and hallucinations. There were also reports of people being carried out of theaters in stretchers. What do you think, passengers? Mere publicity stunts, or was this the real thing?    The info for this cursed movie came from a great article on americanhauntingsink.com check them out!   Next up we're gonna dive into a sweet little movie about a tree, a child's toy, and REAL SKELETONS IN THE SWIMMING POOL! Yep, you guessed it, poltergeist! The curse of Poltergeist spawned many theories about why the movie and its sequels were cursed with so much tragedy, with one suggesting the use of real-life human bones in the original film caused the hauntings.   Actress JoBeth Williams - who played the mother, Diane Freeling - is seen dropping into a pool of skeletons in one spooky scene and she later reveals the bones were real. She told TVLand: "In my innocence and naiveté, I assumed that these were not real skeletons.   "I assumed that they were prop skeletons made out of plastic or rubber . . . I found out, as did the crew, that they were using real skeletons, because it's far too expensive to make fake skeletons out of rubber."   Just four months after the film's release, tragedy struck with actress Dominique Dunne, who played the family's eldest daughter Dana, who became the victim of a grisly murder. On the day before Halloween in 1982, the actress, 22, was strangled by her ex-boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney outside their home in West Hollywood. She survived the attack but was left in a coma. She never regained consciousness and died five days later. Sweeney was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and spent three and half years of a six-year sentence behind bars for the killing. He changed his name to John Maura so if you want to let him know what a twat he is, I mean… we can't stop you.   In the years after the film's release movie bosses plowed ahead with plans for a sequel and Poltergeist II: The Other Side hit cinemas in 1986. Among the cast was Will Sampson, best known for playing Chief Bromden in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest opposite Jack Nicholson. The actor - cast as shaman Taylor in the movie - was concerned about the use of real skeletons in the first film and offered to perform a real-life exorcism. He's believed to have conducted the ceremony alone and in the middle of the night, but the cast reportedly felt relieved afterward. However, less than a year after the film's release - the curse had claimed another victim. Sampson had long-term health problems as he suffered from a degenerative condition called scleroderma, which affected his heart and lungs. He underwent a heart and lung transplant in the summer of 1987 but died of post-operative kidney failure on June 3.    Ok, this one is sad and you've probably heard of it. The most famous victim of the Poltergeist curse was Heather O'Rourke. She appeared as Carol Anne in the first two films as well as the third installment, Poltergeist III, which hit cinemas in 1988. She died just four months before the movie's release at only 12 years of age. In January 1988, Heather fell ill with what appeared to be flu-like symptoms. She collapsed at home the following day and was rushed to the hospital. She suffered a cardiac arrest but doctors were able to revive her and they diagnosed her with intestinal stenosis - a partial obstruction of the intestine. She underwent surgery, but went into cardiac arrest again in recovery and doctors were unable to save her. She passed away in February 1988, just weeks after her 12th birthday, and it was later reported she died from congenital stenosis and septic shock. Absolutely heartbreaking.   Character actor Lou Perryman became the second cast member to fall victim to murder. He played Pugsley in the original movie and suffered a brutal end in 1992 when he was hacked to death with an ax aged 67. A convict recently released from prison, Seth Christopher Tatum, confessed he had killed Perryman at his home after coming off his medication and going on a drinking binge. Tatum pleaded guilty to his murder in 2011 and was sentenced to life in prison.   Actor Richard Lawson played one of the parapsychologists, Ryan, in the original film (not the guy who ate the chicken with the maggots… you're welcome) and he came close to becoming another victim of the curse in 1992. He was involved in a terrifying plane crash in 1992 when the USAir Flight 405 crashed into New York City's Flushing Bay on route to guess where? Cleveland friggin Ohio. The crash claimed the lives of 27 of the 51 passengers, but Lawson was among the survivors. He put his lucky escape down to a last-minute seat change that saved his life. Lawson went on to be part of showbiz royalty when he married Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles in 2015.   Info for this movie was taken from mirror.co.uk.    Next up how about… Hmm…. Oh, I know… The omen! The 2976 version of course. Obviously, Moody is a time traveler and saw the upcoming remake, 955 friggin years in the future! No! It was 1976! Of all the world's cursed film productions, The Omen is considered to have one of the worst movie curses of all time. The 1976 film tells the story of a man who accidentally adopts Damien the Antichrist as his son and the movie remains one of horror's most successful franchises. But what was so odious about the set that led producers to believe the devil was punishing them for making the movie? Is The Omen really cursed? The Omen film set haunting includes death, injury, and lots of lightning bolts: after all, the creator himself warned the cast and crew that Satan wasn't going to like what they were doing. Here's what happened behind the scenes of The Omen movie and why, despite its several sequels and a 2006 remake, it remains one of history's movies that indeed may have angered Satan himself!   In June 1975, Gregory Peck's son, Jonathan Peck, killed himself with a bullet to the head, two months before filming was to start. Several strange events then surrounded the production.   For protection on the set of "The Omen," Bernhard wore a Coptic cross. In an interview, Bernhard spoke about the production's eerie events, which included the death of an animal trainer.   Precisely one day after they shot the sequence involving the baboons at the animal center, Bernhard said that a tiger seized the animal trainer by the head, causing his death immediately. Whhhaat the fuuuuuck?   One of the most haunting stories surrounding The Omen didn't happen during the shoot, but during the production of the World War II epic A Bridge Too Far. John Richardson, who did special effects on The Omen, was involved in a head-on collision that beheaded his girlfriend, eerily mirroring the decapitation scene with David Warner. Supposedly, after the crash, Richardson saw a street sign that said, "Ommen, 66.6 km." This accident occurred after The Omen had wrapped production, but many of course linked it to the evil aura of the film.   Several planes were also set ablaze, including the plane carrying Peck and screenwriter David Seltzer. Meanwhile, Bernhard said they had to land in Nova Scotia after flying back from England. He added:   "We had the film on board... Dick [Donner] and I were very, very nervous." IRA bombs ripped through a hotel, in which executive producer Mace Neufeld and his wife stayed, and another in which prominent executives and stars, including Peck, were to have dinner.   Once word got back to Fox about all the terrible incidents that plagued production, the studio saw it as a great way to drum up a ton of publicity and add to the film's ominous aura. They also put a great tagline into the film's ad campaign:                        You have been warned. If something frightening happens to you today, think about it. It may be The Omen.   As Donner recalled in The Omen: Curse or Coincidence, "If we had been making a comedy, you would have recalled all the funny, great, ridiculous, silly moments that happened in that film. if you were doing a love story, you'd remember all the times somebody left their wife, fell in love... You're doing The Omen, anything that happens on that film, you don't tell about the jokes, you don't talk about the love stories, you don't even think about them. You think about things that coincidentally could have been something to do with The Omen. We had lots of them."   Creepy stuff right there my friends.   Next up we have one of my personal all-time favorites, the crow! The Crow began filming in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1993. Cursed Films revealed that before production got underway, a mysterious caller left a voicemail message warning the crew not to shoot the movie because bad things would happen. Eerily, two on-set electricians were involved in an accident in which their truck hit a live wire. One of the men experienced second and third-degree burns and lost both ears.   Disaster also struck the entire production when a hurricane destroyed the movie set. That is when the “curse of The Crow” rumors began circulating in Hollywood. The star of The Crow, Brandon Lee, was the son of martial arts legend, Bruce Lee. The elder Lee died during the production of his final film. Some fans speculated that the Chinese mafia had placed a hit on the actor for betraying martial arts secrets. Others suspected that he had been struck by an insidious death blow at an earlier time.   The most popular theory about The Dragon's death is that he was a victim of the Lee Family Curse. His older brother had died, and Lee's parents believed there was a demon targeting the males in the Lee family.   Like his father, Brandon Lee died before he finished filming The Crow. In a fluke accident, the performer was shot while completing an action sequence, as described in Cursed Films. The crew used what are called ‘dummy rounds,' for the scene, but there was something in the barrel of the gun that acted as a lethal projectile, killing Lee.    To complete the final photography for The Crow, the man who had been working as Lee's stunt double wore a mask in his image.   Crazy stuff!   How about some of our patented quick hitters!    The Conqueror" is a whitewashed 1956 film with John Wayne as Genghis Khan. The film was shot at a location downwind from a nuclear testing site, causing dozens of crew members to eventually die of cancer. so maybe not so much a curse as a poor choice of locations.   Apocalypse Now"   The horror! Francis Ford Coppola was tempting fate when he decided to film "Apocalypse Now" during monsoon season. Big mistake. The monsoon destroyed multiple sets, Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming, and Coppola was so stressed that he suffered a seizure, according to The Independent. "Apocalypse Now" (1979) turned out to be a masterpiece anyway, but the documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" about its making is just as engrossing.    "Fitzcarraldo"    Dysentery. Injuries. Fights among the crew. Nothing seemed to go right during the filming of 1982's "Fitzcarraldo." The story concerns hauling a boat over a hill, which the crew literally accomplished, but not without the same nightmarish difficulty as is depicted in the film. And in the end, director Werner Herzog looked as mad and overly driven as its hero. Check out the documentary "Burden of Dreams" for more.   The Superman Curse    Comic book movie fans may know about the "Superman Curse," which is said to afflict multiple actors involved in Superman films. Christopher Reeve was paralyzed following a horse accident. And Margot Kidder, who played Lois opposite Reeve, suffered from bipolar disorder, according to TCM. Also, the original Superman, George Reeves, supposedly committed suicide. His death at age 45 from a gunshot remains a controversial subject; the official finding was suicide, but some believe that he was murdered or the victim of an accidental shooting.   "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"    Bad luck ran amok in Middle Earth during the filming of 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." DVD interviews revealed that multiple actors and stuntmen suffered injuries while shooting the film's elaborate fight sequences. The worst was Viggo Mortensen, who broke his toe and chipped his tooth while filming.   The Exorcism of Emily rose   Dexter star Jennifer Carpenter reported that during the making of The Exorcism of Emily Rose — in which she played a big-screen version of German woman Anneliese Michel, whose poor health and subsequent death was blamed on a failed exorcism — her radio would mysteriously turn on and off. From an interview with Dread Central:   Q: A common question when making a film like this; did anything weird happen during filming?   JC: I thought about that when it happened, and two or three times when I was going to sleep my radio came on by itself. The only time it scared me was once because it was really loud and it was Pearl Jam's “Alive” (laughs). Laura's TV came on a couple of times.   Q: At 3:00 a.m.?   JC: Mine wasn't 3:00 a.m. I was born at 3:00 a.m. but it hasn't happened to me. I did check.   We'll totally do an episode on Analiese one of these days   Psycho Myra Jones (aka Myra Davis) was the uncredited body double/stand-in for Psycho star Janet Leigh during the making of Hitchcock's 1960 film. A handyman named Kenneth Dean Hunt, who was supposedly a Hitchcock “obsessive,” murdered her.   The Conjuring   Real-life ghost hunters Ed and Lorraine Warren, who aided the real-life Amityville Horror case, investigated the haunting of the Perron family home — a farmhouse plagued by generations of death, disaster, and a possessed doll. The case inspired James Wan's supernatural film, which left some audiences in the Philippines with such a fright there were priests available at screenings to bless viewers and provide counseling. On and off-set paranormal incidents — including strange claw marks on star Vera Farmiga's computer, Wan's tormented dog growling at invisible intruders, a strange wind (that apparently put Carolyn Perron in the hospital), and fire — were reported.   The Innkeepers   Filmed at the reportedly haunted hotel the Yankee Pedlar Inn in Torrington, Connecticut, The Innkeepers director Ti West was skeptical about the strange occurrences during the making of his movie. Still, creepy stories from the set became the focus in the press. From an interview with West:   I'm a skeptic so I don't really buy it. But I've definitely seen doors close by themselves; I've seen a TV turn off and on by itself; lights would always burn out in my room. Everyone on the crew has very vivid dreams every night, which is really strange.   The one story that is the most intriguing to me — In the film, the most haunted room is the Honeymoon Suite. That's where the ghost stuff started in the hotel. The only reason I picked the room that I picked to shoot in, was because it was big enough to do a dolly shot. No more thought went into it other than pure technical reasons. So when we're finishing the movie, I find out that the most haunted room in real life is the room I picked to be the haunted room in the movie. It could be a coincidence. It's weird that it happened that way. . . . [Star] Sara Paxton would wake up in the middle of the night thinking someone was in the room with her. Everyone has stories, but I was too busy saying, “Let's shoot this! We have 17 days!   Atuk"    "Atuk" is a movie so cursed that it never got made. The project, based on a 1963 Mordecai Richler novel about an Eskimo in New York, had four different men attached to play the lead while in development hell through the 1970s and '80s: John Belushi, Sam Kinison, John Candy, and Chris Farley. All four died shortly after entering negotiations to be in the film. Holy shit!    Ok how about twilight zone the movie. The 1983 film 'Twilight Zone: The Movie' directed by John Landis and Steven Spielberg gained publicity pre-release because of the deaths of lead actor Vic Morrow and two child extras during the filming of the helicopter crash scene. The children were illegally hired to play the role in this scene, as Landis would go on to reveal in the subsequent trial. It was also prohibited to make children work after a certain hour in the evening. However, Landis insisted that the scene would have to entail a late-night setting to seem more authentic. This was the last scene in the film. It also included explosions as a helicopter flew over the village while Morrow would run across the street to save the Vietnamese children from the explosion. Testing for the scene sparked concerns when the helicopter seemed to vigorously rock at the explosion but despite this, Landis' need to capture the explosion took priority. He reportedly said, "You think that was big? You ain't seen nothing yet." At the controls of this helicopter was a Vietnam War veteran named Dorcey Wingo, who had just joined the movie business. When the cameras began filming, the pyrotechnic fireball that had been fired as part of the explosion hit the helicopter, engulfing it in flames. The helicopter then crashed into the river where the actors were standing — Morrow, 6-year-old Renee Chen, and 7-year-old Myca Dinh Le. Almost a hundred people were present when the tragedy occurred. The helicopter skidded right onto Renee, crushing her to death and when it toppled over, the main blade sliced through Morrow and Myca.   Rosemary's baby is next up on the list. Over the years, the myth surrounding Roman Polanski's 1968 film Rosemary's Baby has only grown in stature. The film is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by American novelist Ira Levin. He came up with the idea for the book in 1965, drawing inspiration from his wife who was pregnant at the time, his New York apartment, and the anxiety of being a parent.   The struggling writer imagined a world where there was no God and the devil was allowed to reign freely. This is evident in the iconic ending where Rosemary finds out that her husband sold her womb to Satan and that her child is the Antichrist. Levin was catapulted into the highest echelons of the literary world due to the success of his novel and a year later, a European auteur who was looking for his own Hollywood break decided to direct the film adaptation of his novel.   However, not everyone was pleased with Levin's attacks on religion. He faced severe backlash from the Catholic Church for his “blasphemy” and his wife left him the year the film was released. He was never the same man again, growing increasingly paranoid over the years. Levin repeatedly had to make public statements denouncing Satanism and told Dick Cavett that he had become “terrified” as he grew older. 30 years after the release of the film, Levin came up with a sequel titled Son of Rosemary but it tanked.   William Castle was the man who first recognized the potential of Levin's work and secured the rights to make a film adaptation. Best known for his work on B-grade horror films, Castle wanted to direct it initially but Paramount Pictures executive Robert Evans agreed to go ahead with the project only if Castle worked as a producer. In April of 1969, Castle was hospitalized because of severe kidney stones. He was already under a lot of stress due to the sheer volume of hate mail he received, a terrible consequence of being attached to Rosemary's Baby. In his autobiography, he claimed that he began to hallucinate scenes from the film during his surgery and even shouted, “Rosemary, for God's sake drop that knife!” Although Castle recovered, he never reached that level of success again.   Producer Robert Evans was not exempt from this alleged curse either. He had risen to the top with major hits like Rosemary's Baby and The Godfather. However, he was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 1980 and got a suspended prison sentence. As a part of his plea bargain, Evans had to make an anti-drug commercial. Three years later, the producer would get caught up in the high-profile murder of Roy Radin which has come to be known as the “Cotton Club murder”. Despite two witnesses testifying that Evans was involved in the case, he was later cleared of the charges. In 1993, he told The New York Times, “I had 10 years of a horrific life, Kafkaesque. There were nights I cried myself to sleep.”   This is arguably the most renowned story that is related to Rosemary's Baby. In autumn of 1968, composer Krzysztof Komeda, who worked on the film, fell off a rocky escarpment while partying and went into a four-month coma. Coincidentally, this affliction is exactly what the witches in Levin's book subject Rosemary's suspicious friend to. Komeda never came out of the coma and died in Poland the following year.   John Lennon was assassinated outside The Dakota in 1980, the famous building where they filmed Rosemary's Baby. Producer Robert Evans claimed that the whole time he was on set at the apartment building he felt a “distinctly eerie feeling”. Lennon was gunned down by alleged “fan” Mark David Chapman who was influenced by Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye and the loneliness of protagonist Holden Caulfield. However, the fleeting association with the film has led fans of the film to link Lennon's assassination with the “curse” of the film. It can be said that the primary reason why the myth of the curse came about was the brutal murder of Polanski's wife, actress Sharon Tate. Polanski even wanted to cast Tate as Rosemary but Evans was adamant about Mia Farrow's involvement. A year after the film's release, Tate and her friends were stabbed to death by followers of cult leader Charles Manson. Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time of her demise. The members of the Manson Family delivered around 100 stab wounds to the four victims and wrote “Helter Skelter” on the wall in blood.   After his wife and unborn son were killed, Polanski indulged in substance abuse to cope with things but he ended up exemplifying human depravity. While guest editing the French edition of Vogue in 1977, the director preyed upon a 13-year old girl and persuaded her to participate in multiple photoshoots. During the second shoot at Jack Nicholson's house, he incapacitated the minor with champagne and half a Quaalude before sexually violating her multiple times.   Although he was arrested for the felony and spent 42 days in jail, Polanski became a fugitive and fled to France to avoid facing charges. Since then, he has lived the life of a criminal and has avoided traveling to countries where he can be extradited back to the US.   Ok, let's round things out with the wizard of oz. Despite its commercial success, The Wizard of Oz is seen by some as cursed. There were so many serious accidents onset that those Oscar-nominated special effects almost cost cast members their lives, from the two actors playing winged monkeys crashing to the ground when the wires that hoisted them up in the air broke, to the Wicked Witch of the West's stunt double Betty Danko injuring her left leg when the broomstick exploded.   Buddy Ebsen was originally cast in the role of the Tin Woodman, a.k.a. the Tin Man, but he was essentially poisoned by the makeup, which was made of pure aluminum dust. Nine days after filming started he was hospitalized, sitting under an oxygen tent. When he was not getting better fast enough, the filmmakers hired Jack Haley to be the Tin Man instead. This time, instead of applying the aluminum powder, the makeup artists mixed it into a paste and painted it on him. He did develop an infection in his right eye that needed medical attention, but it ended up being treatable.   Margaret Hamilton — who played the Wicked Witch of the West and was the one tipped who Harmetz off to the turmoil on set more than three decades later for her 1977 book — got burns, and the makeup artists had to rush to remove her copper makeup so that it wouldn't seep through her wounds and become toxic. Unlike Ebsen, she didn't get fired because they could live without her on the set for several more weeks.   An actor playing one of the Wicked Witch of the West's soldiers accidentally jumped on top of Dorothy's Toto, Carl Spitz, the dog trainer on set, told Harmetz. The dog (a female Cairn terrier named Terry) sprained its foot, and Spitz had to get a canine double. Terry did recover and returned to the set a few weeks later.   In a memoir by Judy Garland's third husband, Sid Luft, published posthumously in 2017, he writes that, after bar-hopping in Culver City, the actors who played the munchkins “would make Judy's life miserable by putting their hands under her dress.” Harmetz says it's true that the actors would go drinking near the Culver City hotel where they stayed, but she says their interactions with Garland did not rise to the level of what Luft described. “Nobody on the movie ever saw her or heard of a munchkin assaulting her,” said one worker on the film. Garland did say the drinking was annoying in an interview with talk-show host Jack Paar, but experts on Garland's life say that her rant about being scarred by the rowdy behavior on set may have been a deflection from the real damage she suffered during that time, at the hands of the studio. Garland was only 16 when she made The Wizard of Oz, and her struggles with depression and disordered eating started at an early age and continued for the rest of her life. She claimed that the studio executives gave her uppers and sleeping pills so she could keep up with the demanding pace of show business. She struggled with drug addiction and attempted suicide several times before she died of an accidental overdose on June 22, 1969, at just 47 years old.   The film went through four different producers by the time it was through.   Richard Thorpe, the first director, insisted that Judy Garland wear a blonde wig and thick makeup to depict Dorothy. When Buddy Epsen got sick from his Tin Man makeup and filming shut down for two weeks, the studio fired Thorpe and replaced him with George Cukor of My Fair Lady fame. Cukor encouraged Garland to wear natural makeup and play Dorothy less cartoonish and more natural. Cukor later left the film to work on Gone with the Wind instead and Viktor Fleming took his place. However, Cukor came back a few weeks later after getting fired from Gone With the Wind by Clark Gable (supposedly he was fired when Gable found out he was homosexual).   Director King Vidor was responsible for most of the sepia sequences and also helped Mervyn LeRoy with editing in post-production.   Not only did the public think former kindergarten teacher Margaret Hamilton was really evil following the first airing of The Wizard of Oz — she also suffered physically for the role. Hamilton received second and third-degree burns all over her body when the green copper makeup she was wearing got too hot during the fire scene. Her stunt double spent months in the hospital after a prop broom exploded — they were using a double because Hamilton got injured on an earlier take.   Stage makeup and prosthetics in 1939 were nowhere near what they are today. Ray Bolger's Scarecrow makeup left deeply embedded marks in his skin that didn't disappear for more than a year after the movie wrapped up filming. Luckily, this would never happen today.   How bout that hanging munchkin… Well, sorry folks. That seems to be fake. In a scene where Dorothy, the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), and the Tin Man (Jack Haley) are skipping down the Yellow Brick Road, singing “we're off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz,” some think the dark, moving figure hanging from a tree in the background is an actor who hanged himself on set. More likely, it's one of the exotic birds that the filmmakers borrowed from the Los Angeles Zoo to create a wilderness setting. The rumor has been circulating since around 1989, the time of the 50th anniversary of the film's release. Alright, there you have it… Cursed movies!!!  Obscure 90s horror movies you need to see   https://www.ranker.com/list/obscure-1990s-horror-movies/christopher-myers

In seinen humorvollen Geschichten schildert der vielfach ausgezeichnete kanadische Schriftsteller seine Kindheits- und Jugenderlebnisse in der jüdischen Welt von Montreals St. Urbain Street: von seiner Großmutter, dem Wiener Juden Bambinger und von Benny, dem Nachbarsjungen, der aus dem Krieg in Europa zurückkehrt. Anschließend beschäftigen sich die literarischen Detektive von nemo mit neuen literarischen Fällen. Mit freundlicher Genehmigung des Verlags können wir die Sendung als kostenlosen Podcast anbieten.

Theme song: by Braden Mutch https://www.instagram.com/braden_mutch/www.facebook.com/bradenmutchmusicClosing track by Seint Monet: In line and in love Instagram: www.instagram.com/seintmonet/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/36FUrbueTAg6yUYcJuAkAh     Facebook: www.facebook.com/SeintMonet/Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAYQDcw_V7UWebsite: www.seintmonet.com/mediaSpotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4BWn1zZb6nMgWTcDb6oACdAmazon music playlist: music.amazon.com.au/user-playlists/042b09105bba4cba9c7e1e68e97b549ea0u0?ref=dm_sh_6GpilHGYnF4IQXe9x1ZBJ388RInstagram:  www.instagram.com/justhitplaypodcast/Facebook: www.facebook.com/JusthitplaypodcastEmail: justhitplay7300@gmail.com

Mark interviews writer, director, playwright and actor, Rod Carley and they talk about his new novel Kinmount. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update as well as a word from this episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation, Mark and Rod talk about: How, when he was young, Rod would come home from school every day and work on a picture book Joining a musical as part of the chorus in grade 9 Theater offering a sense of collaboration and inclusion Having Canadian poet bpNichol as a creative writing instructor in university, and how this legendary writer was a huge influence The work Rod did adapting and editing Shakespearean scripts into modern settings by finding more recent historic parallels to moments, themes, and events from the original plays Writing musicals based on the history of Northern Ontario An overview of the premise and setup for Rod's first novel, A Matter of Will Rod's latest novel, Kinmount, which is about a theater director trying to put on a Shakespeare play (Romeo & Juliet) in a small town The common mis-perception of Romeo & Juliet as a romantic story rather than a tragedy How Romeo & Juliet is, in many ways, a tragedy of toxic masculinity Balancing humanity with hilarity in the writing of this book The subtle elements of magic realism in Kinmount and A Matter of Will and how it has to come from an organic place in the story One of the things Rod has done when directing MacBeth ("the Scottish play") to break the curse/spell associated with that play How the first week of July in North Bay there is a massive shadfly infestation Launching a novel during the 2020 Pandemic Pivoting to a virtual book launch, and hiring a small local marketing firm to assist with that One of the pros of having a virtual book launch, which allowed for attendees from afar Getting onto the long-list for the Stephen Leacock Medal and the support Rod received from Terry Fallis Some of Rod's influences that include Robertson Davies, Mordecai Richler, David Sedaris, Kurt Vonnegut, and more How Rod prepares for doing a live (or virtual) reading of his work The way Rod's work in theater has informed his ability to compose dialogue Modern adaptation (what Rod calls "responsible adaption") of Shakespeare's society and how, back in Shakespeare's day, people were used to speaking and listening a lot more rapidly, so a typical Shakespeare play wasn't as long in duration as a modern version And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on the adaptations that can happen with creative work and how authors might consider their own work re-adapted to different formats.   Links of Interest: Rod Carley's Website Instagram Twitter Facebook Kevin Closs Music Episode 29 - Terry Fallis on Writing with Authenticity, Humor, & Passion Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour Patreon for Stark Reflections Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City   Rod's first novel, A Matter of Will, was a finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction. His non-fiction short story, A Farewell to Steam, was featured in the anthology, 150 Years Up North and More. His literary fiction short story, Botox and the Brontosaurus, is featured in Cloud Lake Literary's inaugural online review. Rod is also an award-winning director, playwright and actor, having directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions to date including fifteen adaptations of Shakespeare. He is the Artistic Director of the Acting for Stage and Screen Program for Canadore College and a part-time English professor with Nipissing University. Rod was the 2009 winner of TVO's Big Ideas/Best Lecturer competition. KINMOUNT is his second novel.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF BIG SHINY TAKES! Marino, Eric and Jeremy are joined by the great Nora Loreto to review columns by two incredibly talentless hacks: Konrad Yakabuski and Kelly McParland. Yakabuski covers Quebec in a completely addled column which is both infuriating and disorienting. He manages to jam in references to Mordecai Richler, Matt Green, Amir Attaran, The University of Ottawa, The Bosnian War, and a specific word that he seems particularly annoyed about not being allowed to say, but he doesn't seem to know what point he's trying to make in this column. It's truly terrible and possibly the only memorable thing Konrad has ever managed to do in his whole life. Meanwhile McParland tries to use this pandemic as a vehicle to advocate for all us young people to rely less on the government because someone was sent to the wrong address for a vaccination. It's really stupid and the whole thing really just doesn't go over well. We take the time to talk about Brian Lilley's romantic life (yuck), professional life (also yuck) and where they overlap, We also discuss Dan Marino (no, not that Dan Marino) and how much responsibility he should take for the latest COVID wave hitting Quebec City. Plugs and Rec(ommendations) Take Back The Fight: Organizing Feminism for the Digital Age By Nora Loreto Sandy and Nora Talk Politics Emma Jackson: the Supreme Court's Carbon Tax Ruling Is Hardly A Climate Victory Davide Mastracci: Doug Ford has Turned The Pandemic Into A Game Show We All Lose Evan Millar: Get Acquainted with a Scarily Underrated Gaming Handheld In "Neogeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1" Unrelated but still important: To the CBC Radio guy I met in the park on my walk who patiently listened to me talk about my podcast for much longer than I answered his COVID-related streeters: you better give this a listen Jason, I told you it would be a good episode.

PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF BIG SHINY TAKES! Marino, Eric and Jeremy are joined by the great Nora Loreto to review columns by two incredibly talentless hacks: Konrad Yakabuski and Kelly McParland.Yakabuski covers Quebec in a completely addled column which is both infuriating and disorienting. He manages to jam in references to Mordecai Richler, Matt Green, Amir Attaran, The University of Ottawa, The Bosnian War, and a specific word that he seems particularly annoyed about not being allowed to say, but he doesn't seem to know what point he's trying to make in this column. It's truly terrible and possibly the only memorable thing Konrad has ever managed to do in his whole life. Meanwhile McParland tries to use this pandemic as a vehicle to advocate for all us young people to rely less on the government because someone was sent to the wrong address for a vaccination. It's really stupid and the whole thing really just doesn't go over well.We take the time to talk about Brian Lilley's romantic life (yuck), professional life (also yuck) and where they overlap, We also discuss Dan Marino (no, not that Dan Marino) and how much responsibility he should take for the latest COVID wave hitting Quebec City.Plugs and Rec(ommendations)Take Back The Fight: Organizing Feminism for the Digital AgeBy Nora LoretoSandy and Nora Talk PoliticsEmma Jackson: the Supreme Court's Carbon Tax Ruling Is Hardly A Climate VictoryDavide Mastracci: Doug Ford has Turned The Pandemic Into A Game Show We All LoseEvan Millar: Get Acquainted with a Scarily Underrated Gaming Handheld In "Neogeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1"Unrelated but still important: To the CBC Radio guy I met in the park on my walk who patiently listened to me talk about my podcast for much longer than I answered his COVID-related streeters: you better give this a listen Jason, I told you it would be a good episode.

PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF BIG SHINY TAKES!  Marino, Eric and Jeremy are joined by the great Nora Loreto to review columns by two incredibly talentless hacks: Konrad Yakabuski and Kelly McParland. Yakabuski covers Quebec in a completely addled column which is both infuriating and disorienting. He manages to jam in references to Mordecai Richler, Matt Green, Amir Attaran, The University of Ottawa, The Bosnian War, and a specific word that he seems particularly annoyed about not being allowed to say, but he doesn't seem to know what point he's trying to make in this column. It's truly terrible and possibly the only memorable thing Konrad has ever managed to do in his whole life.  Meanwhile McParland tries to use this pandemic as a vehicle to advocate for all us young people to rely less on the government because someone was sent to the wrong address for a vaccination. It's really stupid and the whole thing really just doesn't go over well.We take the time to talk about Brian Lilley's romantic life (yuck), professional life (also yuck) and where they overlap, We also discuss Dan Marino (no, not that Dan Marino) and how much responsibility he should take for the latest COVID wave hitting Quebec City.Plugs and Rec(ommendations)Take Back The Fight: Organizing Feminism for the Digital AgeBy Nora LoretoSandy and Nora Talk PoliticsEmma Jackson: the Supreme Court's Carbon Tax Ruling Is Hardly A Climate VictoryDavide Mastracci: Doug Ford has Turned The Pandemic Into A Game Show We All Lose Evan Millar: Get Acquainted with a Scarily Underrated Gaming Handheld In "Neogeo Pocket Color Selection Vol. 1"Unrelated but still important: To the CBC Radio guy I met in the park on my walk who patiently listened to me talk about my podcast for much longer than I answered his COVID-related streeters: you better give this a listen Jason, I told you it would be a good episode. 

Manuela Olga Maria Trentini Maggi, Head of HR & General Services di Havas Media Group Italia è l'ospite di questa puntata. Da “Opinioni di un clown” di Heinrich Boll, libro che la accompagna dalle scuole superiori, all'ironia de “La versione di Barney” di Mordecai Richler, la manager ripercorre i valori che le hanno insegnato questi testi.La puntata termina con una riflessione sul tema femminile, grazie a delle pietre miliari della narrativa contemporanea: "L'amica geniale" di Elena Ferrante e “The Help” di Kathryn Stockett.

Award-winning writer Michael Posner speaks with Banyen Books & Sound about his new biography, Leonard Cohen: Untold Stories. From his groundbreaking and bestselling novels, The Favourite Game and Beautiful Losers, to timeless songs such as “Suzanne,” “Dance Me to the End of Love,” and “Hallelujah,” Leonard Cohen is a cherished artist. Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories draws on hundreds of interviews to reach beyond the Cohen of myth and reveal the unique, complex, and compelling figure of the real man. Michael Posner is a writer, playwright, journalist, and the author of seven books. These include the Mordecai Richler biography, The Last Honest Man, and the Anne Murray biography, All of Me, both of which were national bestsellers. He was Washington Bureau Chief for Maclean’s magazine, and later served as its national, foreign, and assistant managing editor. He was also managing editor of the Financial Times of Canada for three years. He later spent sixteen years as a senior writer with The Globe and Mail.

Éste es el episodio 122 de 3 Cosas Que Ayer No Sabía, el del martes 3 de marzo de 2020. 01. Guión maldito Hoy leía un reportaje en el país bastante curioso sobre el guión de “Atuk” un proyecto cinematográfico que lleva circulando por Hollywood durante 50 años sin que nunca se haya llevado a cabo. ¿La razón? Pues que cuatro actores e fueron seleccionados para protagonizarla fallecieron de manera que al guión le acabó cayendo la etiqueta de maldito. El guión es la adaptación de l novela The incomparable Atuk escrita por Mordecai Richler. El primer actor seleccionado fue John Belushi que falleció por un cóctel de drogas en 1982. El siguiente elegido fue Sam Kinison que murió en un accidente de coche en 1992. Tras él, seleccionaron a John Candy que falleció por un paro cardíaco en 1994. Y tres años después, en 1997, una sobredosis de cocaína acabó con el último protagonista elegido Chris Farlay. Aquí puedes leer esta sorprendente historia: https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/02/28/icon/1582895956_134058.html?ssm=TW_CC 02. Viajes ¿Sabes que el lunes es el día de la semana en el que se realizan más reservas de viajes? Por contra los sábados son los días que menos se registran. Lo he sabido gracias al tuit publicado por mi amiga Sara De la Peña: https://twitter.com/sarappm/status/1234456679670013957 en el que se hacía eco del informe Travel Trends 2019, que puedes leer aquí: https://www.trekksoft.com/es/recursos/ebooks/tendencias-turisticas-2019 03. Cumpleaños compartido Mi pedanter favorito, Adrián Yánez, me pasa un recurso del INE; del Instituto Nacional de Estadística, bastante curioso: https://twitter.com/adrianyanezes/status/1234822650251415552?s=21. Se trata de una web en la que puedes consultar el numero de personas que nacieron el mismo día que tú en tu mismo año o bien en todo un periodo de tiempo. En mi caso 1.173 personas nacieron en España el 31 de enero de 1982, que es el día de mi cumpleaños. Y entre 1904 y 2018 han sido 107.471 las personas que nacimos ese día. Aquí puedes consultar el tuyo: https://public.tableau.com/views/infografia_cumple/Dashboard12?%3AshowVizHome=no&%3Aembed=true&%3Amobile=true *Recuerda que han vuelto los sorteos de AddPeel. Si quieres participar contacta conmigo y enséñame algún nuevo conocimiento. El viernes 6 de marzo sortearé un pack de 3 vinilos adhesivos para personalizar el cargador de tu móvil. Si no puedes esperar, cómpralos aquí: https://amzn.to/32GBQRa Despedida: Suscríbete a este podcast en cualquier plataforma y no te olvides de dejarme alguna review o comentario, ¡que siempre ayuda! A mí me encuentras en Twitter y Telegram por @almajefi. Escríbeme y cuéntame qué te parece este podcast y, por qué no, enséñame cosas nuevas. Con dió.

Sheila Fischman is a renowned Canadian translator who specializes in translating works of contemporary Quebec literature into English. Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan she was brought up in Ontario, and holds an M.A. from the University of Toronto. She is a former editor of the Montreal Star's book section, as well as a columnist for The Globe and Mail and the Montreal Gazette and a broadcaster for CBC Radio. She's also a founding member of the Literary Translators' Association of Canada and has translated more than 200 Quebec works into English, including novels by such noted authors as Michel Tremblay, Hubert Aquin, Anne Hébert, Marie-Claire Blais, Roch Carrier, Yves Beauchemin, and Kim Thúy. She has won many awards including the Governor General's Award for Translation, and the Molson Prize for the Arts.  We met at her home in Montreal to talk, among other things, about Quebec, her career and role as a translator, Mordecai Richler, the Plateau in Montreal, North Hatley, house parties, booze and poets, the language question, La Guerre, Yes Sir, the church and large families, separatism, names on front covers, obsessiveness, humility, Leonard Cohen, musicality, swear words and the vessels of the alter, capturing 'voice", pure laine and much more.  

Pour ce troisième épisode de la saison, je me suis entretenue avec l’un des visages à deux têtes de la philanthropie au Québec, Yannick Bidunga Prince. Cofondateur du Club d’investissement responsable du Québec, il a participé à croiser la finance et le secteur caritatif pour faire rimer profit et don. Apprendre à rentabiliser des placements de façon saine d’un point de vue social et environnemental, tout en redonnant les fruits de la rentabilité à des causes, est la façon que Yannick et les autres membres du Club ont trouvé pour joindre l’utile à l’agréable selon l’expression consacrée.Nous avons parlé de : finance responsable, consommation responsable, évaluation ESG, finance des solutions, la Fondation McConnell, militantisme des actionnaires, Bill et Melinda Gates, fonds philanthropiques universitaires, décarbonisation de portefeuille, mécanismes d’épargne technologiques, Giving pledge, Mordecai Richler et Hunter Harrison.

Qui è dove inauguriamo i VENTI letterari, ossia i VENTI in cui scegliamo dei bei libri e ve ne leggiamo un po', perché leggere i libri a qualcuno è tra i gesti più amorevoli del mondo e noi vi vogliamo mega bene. Questa è la versione di Barney di Mordecai Richler e racconta di un bellissimo primo appuntamento.

Mordecai: The Life and Times has been called the ‘award-winningest' book in Canadian literary history. I met with its author Charles Foran to talk about its subject Mordecai Richler. The guts, aggression, honesty and pride of the man - a man who did things, who wrote to stimulate conversation, and argument, who was socially engaged, who asked hard, uncomfortable questions. We also discuss Richler's similarities to Pierre Trudeau. His taking on a whole movement over Quebec's sign laws; his desire to write the best novel ever written, least one book that would last; about Montreal, its tensions, and his loyalty to it; and about Canadian culture, digitization and the loss of literary life. This interview was conducted in June, 2012

James King is the author of six novels and nine biographies, including books on David Milne, Margaret Laurence, Jack McClelland, and Lawren Harris. His biography of Herbert Read, The Last Modern, was nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. A fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, James lives in Hamilton, Ontario. And that's where I met him to discuss his biography of Jack McClelland, Jack, A Life with Writers. Among other things we talk of publicizing Canadian authors, happy childhoods, Patrick Crean, Esi Edugyan, magnetic personalities, P.T. Barnum, swearing, multi-national publishing houses, Canadian literature, Gabriel Roy, Margaret Laurence, Mordecai Richler, the New Canadian Library, editing, approbation, publishing poetry, Avie Bennett, the dangers of promoting Canadian culture, Alfred and Blanche Knopf, Bennett Cerf, James Laughlin, curiosity, Alice Munro, Michael Snow, Lauren Harris, The Handover, Dundurn Press, and naming Canada's national library after Jack McClelland. 

Charles Officer and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his new film Invisible Essence, the The Little Prince, the personal and universal, a return to childhood, imagination, mystery, wonder and the contemplation of sunsets. Trailer Synopsis Invisible Essence: The Little Prince explores the global legacy of The Little Prince 75 years after its publication. Weaving the author Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s extraordinary biography with fascinating discussions of key sections of the book, the film explores the ways life and art reflect one another in curious ways. Indeed, the film reveals that St-Ex’s own story – his childhood, his love affair, his friendships, his politics, and his harrowing brushes with death – inform the story at every turn. Working imaginatively with the famous line “what is essential is invisible to the eye”, the film introduces a modern day Little Prince – a seven year-old blind Pakistani-Canadian boy who absorbs the book for the first time – and follows him over the course of a day as he grapples with the meanings of the story he has just read. Throughout, Invisible Essence: The Little Prince captures engaging conversations with an incredible range of individuals such as Mark Osborne (director of the animated film ‘The Little Prince’), Adam Gopnik (Staff Writer at The New Yorker), Rupi Kaur (Poet, New York Times Bestselling Author), Stacy Schiff (Pulitzer-Prize-winning biographer of St-Exupéry), and Olivier and François d'Agay (the great nephew and nephew of Antoine de Saint- Exupéry). Although a fable, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s transcendent story suggests an ethical philosophy about life in its own way, a code of respect for humanity. Biography Charles Officer is the founder and creative director of Canesugar Filmworks. His filmmaking career began with a slate of award-winning short films that premiered at International Film Festivals around the world. He is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre Director Residency where his debut feature Nurse, Fighter, Boy was produced (TIFF ’08, 10 Genie Nominations 2010). Charles followed with the feature documentary Mighty Jerome (4 Leo Awards in 2011, 2012 Emmy Award for Best Historical Documentary).Officer directed Stone Thrower: The Chuck Ealey Story for the eight-episode documentary series Engraved on a Nation (2014 CSA Best Documentary Series). In 2017 he made The Skin We’re In, featuring journalist and activist Desmond Cole and the feature documentary Unarmed Verses (Hot Docs Best Canadian Feature Awards, Vancouver International Film Festival 2017, TIFF Top Ten People’s Choice Award 2018).Charles has also directed multiple episodes of dramatic series such as Rookie Blue, Private Eyes, Netflix Original 21 Thunder and Ransom. He recently completed his third feature documentary Invisible Essence: The Little Prince based on the international best selling novella. His feature crime noir Akilla’s Escape starring Saul Williams begins production spring 2019, and he is developing the series adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s novel Son of a Smaller Hero with Generic Productions and Prospero Pictures. Image Copyright: Charles Officer & Cane Sugar Filmworks. Used with permission. For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here. With thanks to Thom Powers form TIFF and producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michel Tremblay was born in Montreal in 1942. He studied graphic arts and became a linotypist like his father and brother. He wrote his first play Le Train in 1959 and with it won the 1964 Radio Canada Young Author's Competition. But it was his second play Les Belles-Sœurs that established him as an important writer - the first play to use Joual and feature working class women on the stage, the first of a cycle of plays set in the Plateau Mont Royal district of Montreal. He went on to write a series of novels chronicling life in the Plateau. Throughout his work he examines the difficulties and issues facing homosexuals. Over 50 years he has produced some 36 novels, 26 plays, three musical comedies, three books of short stories, seven film scripts and 3000 characters. His plays have been produced all around the world and he has been awarded the title of Chevalier d'l'ordre des Arts et des lettres de France and the Prix David from Quebec for his body of work.  We met in Montreal and talked largely about his play Hosanna, but also about him being Quebec's Balzac, le petit peuple de Montreal, writing dialogue in Joual, the experimental 70s, hating the Quebecois movie Cain, swearing hockey players, the Sheila Fischman, Les Belles-Sœurs, Le Refus Global, incarnating yourself inside your characters, fantastical stories, women's critiques of society, Quebec's identity crisis, Rene Lesveque, Pierre Trudeau, Mordecai Richler, the importance of movies and Fellini's 8 1/2. 

Robert Weaver (1928–2008) was an influential, well-loved Canadian editor and broadcaster. He was born in Niagara Falls and educated at the University of Toronto, and worked at the CBC where he created a series of radio shows that featured then unknown Canadian writers such as Alice Munro, Mordecai Richler, Timothy Findley, Margaret Atwood, and Leonard Cohen.   In 1956 Weaver founded The Tamarack Review, a long-standing Canadian literary magazine.  Over the course of his career, Weaver edited more than a dozen anthologies. In 1979 he launched the annual CBC Literary Prize.   Elaine Kalman Naves is an award-winning Quebec writer, journalist, editor and lecturer. She's the author of Robert Weaver, Godfather of Canadian Literature. In discussing it we talk about, among other things, Niagara Falls, Toronto, spinster aunts, the love of books and reading, bank jobs, the University of Toronto, Northrop Frye, abortion, CBC Radio, 'Canadian Short Stories,' editing Alice Munro, understatement, anthologies, The Tamarack Review, the popularity of the Anthology radio program, Margaret Atwood, pipe rituals, drinking, Robert Fulford, listening, editorial and critical standards, honesty, the CBC Literary Prize and William Notman. 

Adam Gopnik has been writing for The New Yorker since 1986. He is a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award for Essays and for Criticism and of the George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting. In March 2013, Gopnik was awarded the medal of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic.  We met in Montreal at the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival to discuss his book At the Strangers' Gate. Among other things we talk about bookshops, art in the 1980s, the art critic Robert Hughes, George Soros, ambition, Jeff Koons, morality versus mortality, value and money, public and privates selves, monstrous helium balloon personalities, blue rooms and big stores, our sons and daughters and their definition of success, the contradictory impulses of interesting art, the critical calling, Richard Avedon and charismatic mentors, wives, love and Mordecai Richler, Mr. Sensitivo and repertory cinema, married sex and The Civil War, fathers' advice, intellectuals, a benevolent universe, and the secret of writing. 

Adam Abrams joins William Lee to talk about The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. The 1974 movie starring Richard Dreyfuss, directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Mordecai Richler chronicles a young man's efforts to make a name for himself in 1950s Montreal. We recorded on a sunny day and could not resist sitting outside so please excuse the background noise in this episode.Download this episode here. (36 MB) For more about the movie discussed in this episode, follow the IMDb link to The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

Le côté hargneux de Mordecai Richler a si profondément marqué le Québec qu'il est difficile, aujourd'hui encore, d'évoquer le nom de ce célèbre auteur sans soulever de controverse. Si l'on reconnaît généralement à Mordecai Richler le titre d'auteur montréalais incontournable, ses prises de positions politiques continuent encore de lui porter ombrage. La réalisatrice Francine Pelletier nous raconte la vie de l'écrivain polémiste.

The business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, returned to the show to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker online, and other publications. The author’s first book, Save the Deli, was an Los Angeles Times bestseller and won the James Beard Award for Writing and Literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, “… looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas, during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all.” It was longlisted for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence. Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine and author of The Inevitable, said of the book, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes….Sax s reporting is eye-opening and mind-changing.” NOTE: This is the last episode of the year for us, due to the impending holiday break, but we will return with more great interviews for you in 2017. Thanks for listening! If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. If you missed the first half you can find it right here. In Part Two of this file David Sax and I discuss: Why you should work regular hours and the author’s ‘Cinderella Clause’ The significance of unplugging for writers How to record your audiobook in the same studio as Drake Why the reward is the work for sustaining your writing Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you’re ready to see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress — the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins — just go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress How Journalist and Bestselling Author of ‘The Revenge of Analog’ David Sax Writes: Part One The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter David Sax books on Amazon What Barnes & Noble Doesn t Get About Bookstores – David Sax for The New Yorker Is the Novel Dead? Part One David Sax on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Journalist and Bestselling Author of The Revenge of Analog David Sax Writes: Part Two Voiceover: Rainmaker FM. Kelton Reid: Welcome back to the Writer Files. I am still your host, Kelton Reid, here to take you on yet another tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of renowned writers to learn their secrets. In part two of this file the business and culture journalist and bestselling author of the recent book, The Revenge of Analog, David Sax, returned to talk about the writing life, the importance of real things in a digital world, and the revenge of paper. David’s a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The New York Times, The New Yorker Online and other publications. The author’s first book, Save The Deli, was an LA Times bestseller and won the James Beard award for writing and literature. His latest, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, looks at the resurgence of analog goods and ideas during a time when we assumed digital would conquer all. It was long-listed for the 2017 Andrew Carnegie medal for excellence. Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Inevitable, said of the book, “The better digital gets, the more important analog becomes. Sax’s reporting is eye opening and mind changing.” In part two of this file David and I discuss why you should work regular hours and the author’s Cinderella clause, the significance of unplugging for writers, how to record your audiobook in the same studio as Drake, and why the reward is the work for sustaining good writing. I should mention that this is the last episode of the year for us due to the impending holiday break, but I will return with more great interviews for you in 2017. Thanks for listening. If you’re a fan of the Writer Files please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews as soon as they’re published. If you missed the first half of this show, you can find it in the archives on iTunes, on WriterFiles.FM, and in the show notes. Just a quick reminder that The Writer Files is brought to you by StudioPress, the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins. Built on the Genesis Framework, StudioPress delivers state of the art SEO tools, beautiful and fully responsive designs, airtight security, instant updates, and much more. If you’re ready to take your WordPress site to the next level, see for yourself why over 194,000 website owners trust StudioPress. Go to Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress now. That’s Rainmaker.FM/StudioPress. Why You Should Work Regular Hours and the Author s Cinderella Clause Kelton Reid: It sounds like you’re a writer who leans into procrastination, you like to take breaks and let your brain do some of that work in the background. Do you have any other best practices for beating the dreaded procrastination? David Sax: Oh God, I’m the last person to ask about that. You know, have children and pay for daycare is one. I think the other thing is, for me, what’s worked is keeping let’s say regular business hours. I think that’s always been something, for me in university I instituted my Cinderella clause, I would never work on something past midnight. I try to work as close to a sort of nine to five, writer version being 10 to four with a two hour lunch, day. That’s because that’s what my wife works at her job and I don’t want to have to be up late at night doing stuff unless I have to. I don’t want to build my life around that, but I have friends who are wonderful writers and also have families, and they have to work at night, middle of the night, or they have to work … Everybody has their own thing. But I do find if something isn’t working, then try to find what that routine is, try to find what’s comfortable for you, and then adapt that and change it. Don’t be afraid that if you’re traveling somewhere, you can’t do it, you can’t adapt it. I’ve written things in coffee shops even though that’s not my preference. I’ve written great stuff on airplanes, there’s nothing else to do, and I’m too cheap to pay for the WiFi. There’s something great about sitting on an airplane, you literally can’t even move once you’ve opened that laptop in that economy seat, and it s just, like, Tic-a-tic-a-tic-a-tic-a-tic-a. This is it, it’ll occupy me for the next hour. The Significance of Unplugging for Writers Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. All right, so how does David Sax unwind at the end of a long writing day? David Sax: Yes, with my snifter of port. You know what, one thing that’s been wonderful about this book is, due to research and the ability to claim certain items for research under Canadian tax codes, I’ve vastly increased my record collection. And I do think there’s something so great about stepping away from that screen and putting on a record and sitting on the couch or the easychair and listening to that music and not having to do anything with my eyes or my fingers, reading a book, reading a novel or magazine or something like that. I think it’s very … Yeah, it’s those things and then of course getting outside, doing something with my kids, skiing when the snow falls, we were talking about before. I was lucky that as I was writing this book over the course of the summer, we’re fortunate that my family has a house on a lake outside Toronto. The paddle board breaks were amazing, or going and jumping in the lake. That’s the ultimate, that’s the best. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. David Sax: Yeah I think the fallback, all too often, which doesn’t actually help me relax and only increases my anxiety is like, “Click, what’s happening on Facebook? Click, what’s happening on Twitter?” Then just the depths of despair. We’re talking pre-election depths of despair. Kelton Reid: Oh, man. David Sax: What’s this person doing? Oh they got a bestseller. God damn them. I’ll never be as good as them. Oh, look at that, Oprah picked their book. Aw. I think it’s not healthy. It’s not healthy at all. Kelton Reid: Yeah, no it can’t be. We all are probably guilty of it in this era. Yeah, like you said, maybe it makes us more human to have everything, you know that prosthetic brain that we all share now is there, and then to be able to just turn it off and go outside. David Sax: Yeah. I think that’s the healthiest thing because again, in those spaces, in those times when you’re outdoors, even if you’re walking to the store to go get milk and whatever, that’s that mental space you need in order for the idea to come to you, whether that’s the thing that’s going to help your paragraph go the place you want it, or reshape the book or even the crumb of the idea that can lead to the next project, that takes you to the next book. Kelton Reid: For sure. Yeah, yeah. That’s that creative process, it’s like you’re putting all that information in there, your brain is doing a lot of that work for you in the background and I think being able to unplug allows your brain to work more efficiently for you, to give you those … David Sax: It needs the space to think. You can’t just click your way to it, to the next idea. I do find that there are moments when I am in desperation doing that. And it never gives me what I want, because again, you’re just looking at what other people have done. There’s no space, it’s occupying all that space in your brain … the screen. I’m talking about the Internet. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. David Sax: For those listeners who just tuned in, which I think is impossible in a podcast, we’re talking about the Internet. Kelton Reid: If you’re just tuning in, I’m here with David Sax. David Sax: If you’re just tuning in you have some sort of technical problem with your phone and you need take it back to the store. Kelton Reid: You can easily rewind with your finger, this is not an analog broadcast, you’re in luck. I’d love to keep talking to you. I don’t know what your time looks like or if you have a time constraint, but I’ve got a few more questions. You tell me if you want to keep going. David Sax: Sure, go ahead. No, I have nothing but leftover Indian food waiting. Kelton Reid: As soon as I hear your stomach grumble over there we’ll shut it down. How to Record your Audiobook in the Same Studio as Drake David Sax: This is not talking about writing but I had the fortune both with this book and the last book to do the audiobook and actually be the one to be able to record it. Kelton Reid: That’s great. David Sax: You’re in a sealed soundproof studio, different than a radio station. This was actually the same recording booth that Drake recorded the vocals of his previous album on. Kelton Reid: Of course. David Sax: Obviously my entourage was attending, but what’s amazing is as it gets towards 11:00, 11:30, you hear every grumble of your stomach being picked up in that soundproof booth. You have to constantly go back and do lines because there’s a stomach grumbling and then it’s like, “All right, let’s just break for lunch.” Then afterward your stomach’s digesting what that was, so by the last day I was like, “Okay, I’m going to eat this, I’m going to have snack at this time, I’m going to have this food, nothing … ” It was this … Every medium has its strange constraints. It was such a funny process. Kelton Reid: Yeah, that’s cool. David Sax: It s so dictated by hunger and what I ate and how much. Kelton Reid: I’ll have to listen for that more carefully. David Sax: It was all edited out, that’s why it takes 20-something hours to record a 10 hour audio book. Kelton Reid: That’s wild. David Sax:It’s just stomach grumbling. Kelton Reid: Was it over a few days then or just … David Sax: Yeah, it was over the course of a week. Kelton Reid: A week, okay. David Sax: It was four and a half days of recording. It’s intense, first of all, to read your book out loud. Kelton Reid: To just one guy in a booth, kind of nodding. David Sax: This time there was a producer over Skype from New York, and then the audio engineer. Actually, it was the same guy who did my last book, who was in the booth, who was manning the mixing board. Kelton Reid: Yeah. David Sax: They’re in the headphones and they’re like, “Go that one again, go back from And last week I did. Read that again because you mispronounced did or whatever.” It’s such a strange process, and yet one that I love. If I could do something else I would happily be an audiobook narrator. So listen up, Audible. You know I think it’s a question of the advantages, I think people want to own … I was talking about this with a friend who is actually the same friend who gave me my turntable. He’s a musician and a UN and human rights lawyer, so put that together. He says he listened to my book on Audible, on his phone in New York City and then he bought a copy of it. He’s like, “Cause I it s like I never But he used to listen to books on tape all the time. He said, “But I never wanted to own them, because you’ll never listen again to a book, but you might read it again. You might pick it up again, you might flip through it gain, you might read a certain thing in there.” You also want to display on your shelf. So there’s a value to the book as an object, but there’s no real value to the audio tape as an object. It’s just purely the conduit to the information. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. Cassette tapes for sure, I remember. Also when you get an audio book, like from back in the days on cassette, it was like eight cassettes in a big … They’re kind of clunky. David Sax: They sent me the audio, it was like a DVD, audio DVD for the last one I did, it was kind of a box of them and I was like, “Okay, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing with these but … ” Kelton Reid: That’s cool. David Sax: That seems to be the physical format of choice, and you know, listen, like libraries I know tons of people who get them from libraries. We’ve gotten them from libraries when we’ve gone on road trips, these days mostly kids books and stuff. There is something good about that, especially for kids books. We had the collected adventures of Curious George in our car going for like seven months straight. Kelton Reid: My God, that’s awesome. David Sax: It was awesomely awful. Every word … It would play in my head around the clock. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yes. Yeah, you get those jingles in those kids songs and shows stuck in your head, don t you? David Sax: God. Yeah. Kelton Reid: I’m trying not to conjure one now. David Sax: Oh no. A Journalist s Perspective on Creativity Kelton Reid: Let’s talk about creativity a little bit. It does seem intrinsic to what you do, but do you have a definition of creativity you could share with writers? David Sax: That’s interesting. I would think creativity … I never really thought of it, but I would say it’s a new approach or perspective to an idea. I don’t think it necessarily involves coming with up with an entirely new idea. As someone who writes non-fiction, as a journalist, all I’m doing is rehashing various other ideas and reframing them. I think, again, it’s providing a new context and a new view on the world. Whether that’s writing a book or an article or something that, again, tells a story or gives insight or a thought in a way that’s different from some other person, then there’s creativity in that. Kelton Reid: Yeah. When do you think you personally feel the most creative? David Sax: I think it is when writing. People ask me what do I like about what I do. I say, “The money is amazing. Tens of hundreds of dollars.” Usually the part of it that I really love is actually the interview, and being able to have conversations with people, especially in person, especially getting to travel places where you normally wouldn’t get to go, like going and touring an abandoned film factory in some random corner of Italy with two guys who are resurrecting it. That’s the part that I’m going to take with me. The sitting down and writing, I know people who are writers and they need to write and it’s their craft or whatever. I’ve never seen it that way. I always thought of it as a means to an end, but that creative reward that comes when I am writing something and it’s flowing and the words are coming out and the ideas are … I feel like I have it down. I don’t even know what I’m writing, but it’s sort of there and I feel like it brings a smile to my face. Those are the moments I guess, when again, the creative process is at its most direct and its most rewarding. It’s a daunting part too, because to get there you have to do the research and prepare yourself and know what you’re going to say and plan it out and then have the gumption to start typing and keep typing and go back and do it. That’s, after lunch, that’s what I have to do, I have to write an op-ed story for someone about something that’s loosely tied into the book. I’ve been procrastinating all morning on social media like an idiot, paying my credit card bills, willingly, and updating travel insurance, anything to get away from that. Then it’ll get to the point where I’ll finally dive into it and then there will hopefully be some point where I will have that feeling of that creative accomplishment in it, or I’ll fake until I get the damn thing done and send it off to the editor. Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. All good stuff. In your estimation what do you think makes a writer great? David Sax: Man, I don’t know. Kelton Reid: Words? David Sax: Words. I would say it’s sparking that same feeling that I just talked about in the person’s who’s reading it, right? The great ones are the ones who are able to do it over and over again. I think that’s a rare talent that even the great writers struggle to continually do because it’s hard. When you think about Robert Caro and the four books he’s written. It’s all there. The amount of work and research and decades that go into crafting each of those things, that is someone who is a great writer. You read that and it sticks with you forever. Yet there are some other writer who can write a great hot take on some website or wherever and it’s hits of the moment, and it might be forgotten in a day, but in that moment it’s also … They capture it. They capture what your thought is. You get it at that moment. I think that’s great too. Kelton Reid: Do you have a couple favorites sittin on your nightstand right now, a couple favorite authors? David Sax: A book? Kelton Reid: Yeah, online or offline, are you following anyone else? David Sax: There’s a couple of great things that I’ve read recently. Virginia Heffernan wrote a really interesting book earlier this year called Magic and Loss, which approaches from a cultural critical perspective the Internet and the feeling we get from it and the sort of reward that it gets from it. It comes out of her writing in New York Times magazine and other places. That’s, again, someone who’s a beautiful writer, writing on a subject that’s very similar to the one that I was writing on, but with a different perspective. Another person that I think … From a more journalist and research perspective, but also really excellent, that I came across, that I read for this book, is Nicholas Carr, who’s another writer on technology. This is an area that I was never really reading on prior to this, and again, really knows how to build an argument and put it through in a very journalistic way, not as cerebral and emotional as Heffernan. Then, after the election, when I was looking for something to take me out of my mind and take me away from current things, I went back to my bookshelf and I pulled a novel by my favorite writer consistently, Mordecai Richler who is one of Canada’s best known novelists. It’s the Canadian Jewish equivalent of Philip Roth, let’s say. Very funny and satirical and politically astute. I’ve been reading that over the past couple weeks, I think one of his better known novels, Solomon Gursky Was Here. Again, that love of a familiar voice, even if I haven’t read it in probably close to 20 years. Kelton Reid: As many writers do, do you have a best loved quote hanging over your desk somewhere or in your peripheral? David Sax: There were a few. Everything that was hanging over my desk actually had to be pulled down due to the office move. There was a great one that I had which came from … There’s an annual city wide art night here in Toronto called Nuit Blanche where there’s art installations around the city. There was this amazing one at the big art gallery museum here, where they had this assembly line of workers making art in this really cool interesting way. What they were churning out were these, I guess, lithographed or screen-printed signs that said, “I’d rather be working.” I picked one up and I have it framed above my desk. Kelton Reid: That’s awesome. David Sax: It’s not true, I’d rather not be working. Kelton Reid: It’s the irony of the … David Sax: Yeah. Kelton Reid: That’s cool, that’s cool. I’d like to see that. David Sax: I think that s as inspirational as it gets. Kelton Reid: That’s awesome. David Sax: Then there’s another great one which is a New Yorker cartoon that I cut out recently. It’s a guy standing in a surfboard shop and he’s like, “What’s the best board for someone who talks about surfing incessantly but only does it once a year?” Kelton Reid: Right, I remember that one. David Sax: That’s pretty much my life. The Elusive Joys to be Found in Writing Kelton Reid: Yeah, yeah. I think we can start to wrap up here. The book, The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter, has a lot to say about … I think things that are important to writers. I think, in part the revenge of print, the revenge of paper, and especially the revenge of retail, where you talk about the resurgence of these independent book stores. I’ll link to that article you did for the New Yorker which was so great, but I do think that writers and listeners of the show should seek out the book for those tidbits and all the other great stuff that’s in there. You’re talking about how print really could be represented as the truly disruptive tech. There are so many great thoughts in there that I think are valuable, probably to everybody, but especially to some of the people who actually write those words. David Sax: There’s two thoughts I want to add to that. One is, I think, to continue to be a writer and to continue to do it; it’s tough, especially in this day and age. The returns, financially, are decreasing as things go online more and more and print slows in most mass market areas, there’s just less money. The web, writing for online, writing for digital things will pay consistently less, that’s the economics of it. So why do this? Why keep writing books? The exploration of the idea and whatever, but I think there is, when you get that first printed book in your hand, that box arrives at your house and you open it up and it’s there. There is something foolishly wonderful and worth it about that. When you see it, when you finally see it in a bookstore for sale somewhere it’s the same thing. But, I will say the opposite, which is I have this horrible stupid habit and terrible luck of going to bookstores and looking for the book, and it not being there, or being buried on a bottom shelf. My low point was last week I was in Brooklyn and I was with my family, we were visiting friends. I went to BookCourt, which is one of the better known independent bookstores in Brooklyn. I was buying a gift for a friend and my daughter was there with her friend playing in the kids area. I was like, “Look for the book, I couldn’t find it.” I was like, “I hate to ask this but I had a book come out recently, The Revenge of Analog came out like two weeks ago. Do you have any copies that you’d want me to sign?” They’re like, click, click, click, “It’s here in the catalog but we don’t have any copies. I don’t think there’s any on order.” Then, of course, I turn around and my daughter is crushing up rice cakes and throwing them on the ground, on the floor. I literally have to go from this point to asking for a broom and sweeping up the bookstore like some horrible Dickens-like moment. It was just … Yeah, those creamy eyes and the awful woes come fast and furious in this business. Take the joy and pleasure where it comes because it’s so fleeting. Why the Reward is the Work for Sustaining Your Writing Kelton Reid: Man, that’s amazing. That’s a good one you can probably take to future readings and future writers and readers alike. Do you have any advice for your fellow scribes to keep going? David Sax: Don’t go to a bookstore and ask if they have copies of your book. Kelton Reid: That’s it, that’s the last one. David Sax: Don’t give your child rice cakes in a book store. Kelton Reid: Absolutely not. David Sax: I think anyone who goes into this with dreams of fame and fortune are in it for the wrong reason. The reward is the work, it’s the ability to express your ideas, in whatever format that is, whether you write kids books or technical manuals or coffee table books or whatever. The ability to do it is the reward that comes from that. As long as you’re able to sustain yourself while doing that, then that’s where you have to find the joy, right? It’s the ability to say, “I have an idea and I’m going to express it and that is out there in the world.” That has to be enough, because even the best selling authors, there’s no guarantee of how it does the next time around. It’s that pursuit of the idea that has to be the driver. Kelton Reid: Love it. Lock, stock, and barrel with author David Sax. Thanks so much for coming on the show. Where can your fellows connect with you out there, find your writing, find your books, et cetera? David Sax: The books are sold wherever I would say books are sold. You can ask your local independent bookstore because those places are important to support for maintaining a community of writers. Without them we’re all sort of wandering in the digital desert. Yes, if you can buy it, if you can ask them if they have it, to special order it while your child crushes up rice cakes in the corner. Kelton Reid: Awesome. David Sax: Almost like, “My child will crush up that rice cake if you don’t order my book.” Kelton Reid: As a threat. David Sax: Yeah, or something even messier, like, “Here’s a bunch of apple sauce.” Kelton Reid: Yeah. David Sax: Then of course Amazon and Barnes & Noble and all other places, you can get it at Audible and various other audiobook forums, libraries, which are extremely important and I support more than wholeheartedly. Kelton Reid: Yes sir. David Sax: Then I am on the Twitter, as the kids like to say, @SaxDavid, S-A-X-D-A-V-I-D. I happily respond to all non-racist grievances. Kelton Reid: Wonderful, wonderful. We really appreciate your time. Best of luck with the next project. You’re always welcome back to drop some writerly wisdom on us. Thanks again. David Sax: My pleasure Kelton, thank you. Kelton Reid: Cheers. Thanks so much for joining me for this half of a tour through the writer’s process. If you enjoy The Writer Files podcast, please subscribe to the show and leave us a rating or a review on iTunes to help other writers find us. For more episodes, or to just leave a comment or a question, you can drop by WriterFiles.FM, and you can always chat with me on Twitter @KeltonReid. Cheers. Talk to you next week.

Mission encre noire Tome 18 Chapitre 237 Voici la deuxième partie des suggestions pour les fêtes: De si jolies petites plages de Jean-claude Charles paru en 2016 aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. Romancier, poète, essayiste et journaliste né en 1949 à Port-au-prince et décédé à Paris en 2008, Jean-claude Charles publie en 1982 un livre/enquête coup de poing qui nous relate la génèse des premiers boat people haïtiens en Amérique. Son écriture ne tremble pas pour nous narrer l'absurde des contraintes imposées aux réfugiés. Un livre/colère dont la pertinence est malheureusement toujours d'une actualité brûlante. Extrait:«Vendredi 4 septembre 1981, 7h30. Un avion d'Air Florida décolle de l'aéroport international de Miami, avec à son bord 120 haïtiens. Provenance des passagers: le camp de Krome. Destination: le pénitencier d'Otisville, prison de haute sécurité dans le nord de l'État de New York. Sept gardes frontaliers d'El Paso, spécialement entraînés à mater les émeutes, et un interprète créolophone accompagnent ces futurs pensionnaires d'un établissement récemment utilisé à incarcérer, à côtés des prisonniers de droit commun pour lequel en principe il est fait, des étudiants iraniens pro-khomeinystes-le symbole est de taille.» Jean Désy publie en 2016 Amériquoisie aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. Jean Désy vous propose une magnifique parole d'Amérique, une amérique d'épinette noire où il n'est pas interdit de rêver. C'est une réflexion sur le fait métis et le nomadisme physique et culturel, rédigée d'une plume désarmante et lyrique. Pour celles et ceux qui ont apprécié le film Québécoisie, un must ! Extrait:«Il me semble qu'il persiste un déchirement détestable qui hante de nombreux québécois francophones et les empêche d'unifier deux grands désirs, soit le désir d'autonomie (si essentiel pour tout peuple digne) associé à l'envie de voir fleurir le fait français en Amérique, avec un autre désir, tout aussi puissant, mais probablement plus caché, qui est celui de n'a pas créer de nouvelles frontières.» Un monde meilleur de Marcus Sakey paru en 2016 aux éditions Série noire chez Gallimard Tome 2 de la trilogie des Brillants s'annonce comme un tourneur de page des plus efficace. Comment faire pour survivre dans un monde qui vous rejette lorsque vous possédez des dons hors du commun ? 1% de la population des USA, les Brillants, font face à ce dilemme depuis les années 1980. La tâche se complique lorsqu'une partie de cette minorité se rebelle et réclame le pouvoir. Nick Cooper est appelé une fois de plus à la rescousse. Dans un univers dystopique qui n'a rien à envier à Blade runner, Marcus Sakey utilise les outils du polar et de la science fiction pour mettre en place un suspense des plus efficace. Extrait:«Clay conserva une expression affable, mais les trois autres échangèrent des regards en consultant leurs notes. Cooper sentait qu'ils adoptaient une attitude de retrait. Peu importe. Puisque tu es là, autant dire la vérité. «Eh bien, prenez maintenant en considération le point de vue des Brillants. Les enfants niveau un sont enlevés de force à leur famille et envoyés dans des académies. Sans procès équitable ni jury, le DAR tue les Brillants qu'il considère comme une menace pour la société. Grâce à l'initiative Surveillance et contrôle, chaque Brillant américain se verra implanter une micropuce dans le cou...» Autres temps, autre moeurs, Le cavalier de Saint-Urbain de Mordecai Richler paru en 2016 aux éditions Boréal. Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné présente une nouvelle fois une copie sans faute, pour une traduction du fameux roman de Mordecai Richler paru initialement en 1971. L'un des grands romans de l'écrivain, Le cavalier de Saint-urbain dépeint la réussite sociale d'un homme, Jack Hersh, qui, par mauvaise fréquentation risque de tout perdre lors d'un procès pour agression sexuelle. Lasser, par une situation si absurde, l'homme se laisse aller à l'autodérision. Le Cavalier de Saint-Urbain est un livre satirique jouissif. Extrait:«En le voyant se diriger d'un pas titubant vers la table basse et saisir la bouteille, elle songea: Oh mon Dieu, pourquoi a-t-il fallu qu'il quitte Montréal, cet idiot? Qui, au lendemain de la guerre, n'aurait pas donné n'importe quoi en échange d'un passeport canadien? Pas un juif ne se serait prosterné à plat ventre pour être admis dans un si bon pays. «Voici», dit jake en chancelant, un livre dans une main, son verre dans l'autre. Il lut à haute voix:«Quand je contemple ma vie passée, je n'y découvre rien qu'une stérile perte de temps, assaisonnée de dérangements du corps et de l'esprit, avoisinant la folie, qui, je l'espère, permettront à mon Créateur de me pardonner mes nombreuses fautes et de m'excuser mes nombreuses imperfections.» Ma terre est un fond d'océan de Serge Lamothe paru en 2016 aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. dans ce troisième recueil de poésie, le poète sort une langue matraque pour répondre à l'âme meurtrie d'une humanité qui souffre. Les mots se chargent de déranger l'universelle bêtise. «Attentif à l'autre, à sa fragilité, le poème fait son nid à l'endroit même où chacun de nous se sait mortel.» Extrait:«le désert de mes mots se peuple de brigands/une traînée d'insultes retient la boue/qui me dévore les lèvres»   Mission encre noire sera de retour le 12 janvier 2017, je vous souhaite de passer de belles fêtes !  

Mission encre noire Tome 18 Chapitre 237 Voici la deuxième partie des suggestions pour les fêtes: De si jolies petites plages de Jean-claude Charles paru en 2016 aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. Romancier, poète, essayiste et journaliste né en 1949 à Port-au-prince et décédé à Paris en 2008, Jean-claude Charles publie en 1982 un livre/enquête coup de poing qui nous relate la génèse des premiers boat people haïtiens en Amérique. Son écriture ne tremble pas pour nous narrer l'absurde des contraintes imposées aux réfugiés. Un livre/colère dont la pertinence est malheureusement toujours d'une actualité brûlante. Extrait:«Vendredi 4 septembre 1981, 7h30. Un avion d'Air Florida décolle de l'aéroport international de Miami, avec à son bord 120 haïtiens. Provenance des passagers: le camp de Krome. Destination: le pénitencier d'Otisville, prison de haute sécurité dans le nord de l'État de New York. Sept gardes frontaliers d'El Paso, spécialement entraînés à mater les émeutes, et un interprète créolophone accompagnent ces futurs pensionnaires d'un établissement récemment utilisé à incarcérer, à côtés des prisonniers de droit commun pour lequel en principe il est fait, des étudiants iraniens pro-khomeinystes-le symbole est de taille.» Jean Désy publie en 2016 Amériquoisie aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. Jean Désy vous propose une magnifique parole d'Amérique, une amérique d'épinette noire où il n'est pas interdit de rêver. C'est une réflexion sur le fait métis et le nomadisme physique et culturel, rédigée d'une plume désarmante et lyrique. Pour celles et ceux qui ont apprécié le film Québécoisie, un must ! Extrait:«Il me semble qu'il persiste un déchirement détestable qui hante de nombreux québécois francophones et les empêche d'unifier deux grands désirs, soit le désir d'autonomie (si essentiel pour tout peuple digne) associé à l'envie de voir fleurir le fait français en Amérique, avec un autre désir, tout aussi puissant, mais probablement plus caché, qui est celui de n'a pas créer de nouvelles frontières.» Un monde meilleur de Marcus Sakey paru en 2016 aux éditions Série noire chez Gallimard Tome 2 de la trilogie des Brillants s'annonce comme un tourneur de page des plus efficace. Comment faire pour survivre dans un monde qui vous rejette lorsque vous possédez des dons hors du commun ? 1% de la population des USA, les Brillants, font face à ce dilemme depuis les années 1980. La tâche se complique lorsqu'une partie de cette minorité se rebelle et réclame le pouvoir. Nick Cooper est appelé une fois de plus à la rescousse. Dans un univers dystopique qui n'a rien à envier à Blade runner, Marcus Sakey utilise les outils du polar et de la science fiction pour mettre en place un suspense des plus efficace. Extrait:«Clay conserva une expression affable, mais les trois autres échangèrent des regards en consultant leurs notes. Cooper sentait qu'ils adoptaient une attitude de retrait. Peu importe. Puisque tu es là, autant dire la vérité. «Eh bien, prenez maintenant en considération le point de vue des Brillants. Les enfants niveau un sont enlevés de force à leur famille et envoyés dans des académies. Sans procès équitable ni jury, le DAR tue les Brillants qu'il considère comme une menace pour la société. Grâce à l'initiative Surveillance et contrôle, chaque Brillant américain se verra implanter une micropuce dans le cou...» Autres temps, autre moeurs, Le cavalier de Saint-Urbain de Mordecai Richler paru en 2016 aux éditions Boréal. Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné présente une nouvelle fois une copie sans faute, pour une traduction du fameux roman de Mordecai Richler paru initialement en 1971. L'un des grands romans de l'écrivain, Le cavalier de Saint-urbain dépeint la réussite sociale d'un homme, Jack Hersh, qui, par mauvaise fréquentation risque de tout perdre lors d'un procès pour agression sexuelle. Lasser, par une situation si absurde, l'homme se laisse aller à l'autodérision. Le Cavalier de Saint-Urbain est un livre satirique jouissif. Extrait:«En le voyant se diriger d'un pas titubant vers la table basse et saisir la bouteille, elle songea: Oh mon Dieu, pourquoi a-t-il fallu qu'il quitte Montréal, cet idiot? Qui, au lendemain de la guerre, n'aurait pas donné n'importe quoi en échange d'un passeport canadien? Pas un juif ne se serait prosterné à plat ventre pour être admis dans un si bon pays. «Voici», dit jake en chancelant, un livre dans une main, son verre dans l'autre. Il lut à haute voix:«Quand je contemple ma vie passée, je n'y découvre rien qu'une stérile perte de temps, assaisonnée de dérangements du corps et de l'esprit, avoisinant la folie, qui, je l'espère, permettront à mon Créateur de me pardonner mes nombreuses fautes et de m'excuser mes nombreuses imperfections.» Ma terre est un fond d'océan de Serge Lamothe paru en 2016 aux éditions Mémoire d'encrier. dans ce troisième recueil de poésie, le poète sort une langue matraque pour répondre à l'âme meurtrie d'une humanité qui souffre. Les mots se chargent de déranger l'universelle bêtise. «Attentif à l'autre, à sa fragilité, le poème fait son nid à l'endroit même où chacun de nous se sait mortel.» Extrait:«le désert de mes mots se peuple de brigands/une traînée d'insultes retient la boue/qui me dévore les lèvres»   Mission encre noire sera de retour le 12 janvier 2017, je vous souhaite de passer de belles fêtes !  

Mission encre noire Tome 17 Chapitre 222 Purity de Jonathan Franzen paru en 2016 aux éditions Boréal est un roman très attendu après le succès international des Corrections (2002, Boréal). Qui est donc Purity ? Purity Tyler est une jeune femme de 23 ans. Elle ignore tout de ses origines, sa mère lui dissimule l'essentiel et en particulier la véritable identité de son père. Au détour d'une rencontre fortuite avec des militants anarchistes allemands, au sein de sa collocation, son destin va prendre une autre tournure. Purity va partir à la recherche de son père. Militantisme, trajectoires amoureuses complexes et contrariées, réseaux sociaux engagés, Pip, comme la surnomme sa mère, va se confronter aux maux de notre époque. Purity est un roman fleuve, captivant qui nous éclaire sur les dérives de nos sociétés modernes post 11 septembre, si connectées et paranoïaques à la fois, à grand renforts d'autodérision et de scénario catastrophe. Extrait: «Leila secoua de nouveau la tête. Chaque fois qu'elle devait vomir, ce n'était pas uniquement l'idée de la nourriture qui l'écoeurait ; c'était l'idée d'avoir envie de quoi que ce soit. La nausée, négation de tout désir. De même, aussi, que la dispute. Elle se souvenait de ce vieil abattement et l'éprouvait à présent encore, la conviction que l'amour était impossible, qu'aussi profond qu'ils enterreraient leur conflit, celui-ci ne disparaitrait jamais. Le problème d'une vie librement choisie chaque jour, une vie de Nouveau Testament, c'était qu'elle pouvait se terminer à tout moment.» L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz de Mordecai Richler paru en 2016 aux éditions du Boréal est une nouvelle réédition avec Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné à la baguette pour la traduction. Leur travail a été salué internationalement, plus précisément en ce qui concerne les romans Joshua et Solomon Gursky du même auteur. Quoi de plus envoûtant que de replonger dans le Montréal d'après guerre, Maurice Richard enflamme le Forum, et Duddy Kravitz fait les 400 coups. Élevé dans les quartiers pauvres de la ville, fatigué de se morfondre dans la médiocrité de ces tristes faubourgs, Duddy a de l'ambition: devenir riche. Il se fiche bien du regard de la communauté juive, et tout les moyens seront bons pour y arriver. Premier roman de Mordecai Richler, je vous invite à découvrir sous un nouveau jour, cet écrivain si contreversé.  Extrait: «Regarde-moi bien, songea-t-il, regarde-moi vraiment bien parce que, d'accord, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, en ce moment. Je ne suis jamais allé à Paris et je sais pas faire la différence entre Picasso et un barbouilleux de clôture. Je sais pas jouer au tennis comme les autres garçons d'ici, mais je passe pas non plus mon temps à verser du Ketchup sur le lit des autres. J'arrache pas de promesses débiles à des types qui sont soûls. Je suis pas non plus une sale langue comme toi. Tu te moques de ton père. Tu l'aimes pas. Ça me fait une belle jambe. Mais il t'envoie en Europe et au Mexique, et qui paie tous les verres que tu siffles l'après-midi? Tu regrettes d'avoir fait de moi le dindon de la farce? Mautadit, mon coeur saigne. Regarde-moi, espèce de salope. Aujourd'hui, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, d'accord. Ce salaud de Cohen, qui fait du marché noir à tour de bras, me donne vingt dollars, me fait la morale sur le jeu et va se sentir bien fier pendant une semaine. Mais écoute-moi bien, petite. Ça va pas toujours être comme ça. Si tu dois parier sur quelqu'un, je te conseille de parier sur moi. Je vais être quelqu'un. Ça c'est sûr.» Agenda Culturel de la semaine: The Thing et James Blood Ulmer le dimanche 16 juin 2016 à la Sala Rossa dans le cadre du festival Suoni per il popolo.

Mission encre noire Tome 17 Chapitre 222 Purity de Jonathan Franzen paru en 2016 aux éditions Boréal est un roman très attendu après le succès international des Corrections (2002, Boréal). Qui est donc Purity ? Purity Tyler est une jeune femme de 23 ans. Elle ignore tout de ses origines, sa mère lui dissimule l'essentiel et en particulier la véritable identité de son père. Au détour d'une rencontre fortuite avec des militants anarchistes allemands, au sein de sa collocation, son destin va prendre une autre tournure. Purity va partir à la recherche de son père. Militantisme, trajectoires amoureuses complexes et contrariées, réseaux sociaux engagés, Pip, comme la surnomme sa mère, va se confronter aux maux de notre époque. Purity est un roman fleuve, captivant qui nous éclaire sur les dérives de nos sociétés modernes post 11 septembre, si connectées et paranoïaques à la fois, à grand renforts d'autodérision et de scénario catastrophe. Extrait: «Leila secoua de nouveau la tête. Chaque fois qu'elle devait vomir, ce n'était pas uniquement l'idée de la nourriture qui l'écoeurait ; c'était l'idée d'avoir envie de quoi que ce soit. La nausée, négation de tout désir. De même, aussi, que la dispute. Elle se souvenait de ce vieil abattement et l'éprouvait à présent encore, la conviction que l'amour était impossible, qu'aussi profond qu'ils enterreraient leur conflit, celui-ci ne disparaitrait jamais. Le problème d'une vie librement choisie chaque jour, une vie de Nouveau Testament, c'était qu'elle pouvait se terminer à tout moment.» L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz de Mordecai Richler paru en 2016 aux éditions du Boréal est une nouvelle réédition avec Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné à la baguette pour la traduction. Leur travail a été salué internationalement, plus précisément en ce qui concerne les romans Joshua et Solomon Gursky du même auteur. Quoi de plus envoûtant que de replonger dans le Montréal d'après guerre, Maurice Richard enflamme le Forum, et Duddy Kravitz fait les 400 coups. Élevé dans les quartiers pauvres de la ville, fatigué de se morfondre dans la médiocrité de ces tristes faubourgs, Duddy a de l'ambition: devenir riche. Il se fiche bien du regard de la communauté juive, et tout les moyens seront bons pour y arriver. Premier roman de Mordecai Richler, je vous invite à découvrir sous un nouveau jour, cet écrivain si contreversé.  Extrait: «Regarde-moi bien, songea-t-il, regarde-moi vraiment bien parce que, d'accord, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, en ce moment. Je ne suis jamais allé à Paris et je sais pas faire la différence entre Picasso et un barbouilleux de clôture. Je sais pas jouer au tennis comme les autres garçons d'ici, mais je passe pas non plus mon temps à verser du Ketchup sur le lit des autres. J'arrache pas de promesses débiles à des types qui sont soûls. Je suis pas non plus une sale langue comme toi. Tu te moques de ton père. Tu l'aimes pas. Ça me fait une belle jambe. Mais il t'envoie en Europe et au Mexique, et qui paie tous les verres que tu siffles l'après-midi? Tu regrettes d'avoir fait de moi le dindon de la farce? Mautadit, mon coeur saigne. Regarde-moi, espèce de salope. Aujourd'hui, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, d'accord. Ce salaud de Cohen, qui fait du marché noir à tour de bras, me donne vingt dollars, me fait la morale sur le jeu et va se sentir bien fier pendant une semaine. Mais écoute-moi bien, petite. Ça va pas toujours être comme ça. Si tu dois parier sur quelqu'un, je te conseille de parier sur moi. Je vais être quelqu'un. Ça c'est sûr.» Agenda Culturel de la semaine: The Thing et James Blood Ulmer le dimanche 16 juin 2016 à la Sala Rossa dans le cadre du festival Suoni per il popolo.

Mission encre noire Tome 17 Chapitre 222 Purity de Jonathan Franzen paru en 2016 aux éditions Boréal est un roman très attendu après le succès international des Corrections (2002, Boréal). Qui est donc Purity ? Purity Tyler est une jeune femme de 23 ans. Elle ignore tout de ses origines, sa mère lui dissimule l'essentiel et en particulier la véritable identité de son père. Au détour d'une rencontre fortuite avec des militants anarchistes allemands, au sein de sa collocation, son destin va prendre une autre tournure. Purity va partir à la recherche de son père. Militantisme, trajectoires amoureuses complexes et contrariées, réseaux sociaux engagés, Pip, comme la surnomme sa mère, va se confronter aux maux de notre époque. Purity est un roman fleuve, captivant qui nous éclaire sur les dérives de nos sociétés modernes post 11 septembre, si connectées et paranoïaques à la fois, à grand renforts d'autodérision et de scénario catastrophe. Extrait: «Leila secoua de nouveau la tête. Chaque fois qu'elle devait vomir, ce n'était pas uniquement l'idée de la nourriture qui l'écoeurait ; c'était l'idée d'avoir envie de quoi que ce soit. La nausée, négation de tout désir. De même, aussi, que la dispute. Elle se souvenait de ce vieil abattement et l'éprouvait à présent encore, la conviction que l'amour était impossible, qu'aussi profond qu'ils enterreraient leur conflit, celui-ci ne disparaitrait jamais. Le problème d'une vie librement choisie chaque jour, une vie de Nouveau Testament, c'était qu'elle pouvait se terminer à tout moment.» L'apprentissage de Duddy Kravitz de Mordecai Richler paru en 2016 aux éditions du Boréal est une nouvelle réédition avec Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné à la baguette pour la traduction. Leur travail a été salué internationalement, plus précisément en ce qui concerne les romans Joshua et Solomon Gursky du même auteur. Quoi de plus envoûtant que de replonger dans le Montréal d'après guerre, Maurice Richard enflamme le Forum, et Duddy Kravitz fait les 400 coups. Élevé dans les quartiers pauvres de la ville, fatigué de se morfondre dans la médiocrité de ces tristes faubourgs, Duddy a de l'ambition: devenir riche. Il se fiche bien du regard de la communauté juive, et tout les moyens seront bons pour y arriver. Premier roman de Mordecai Richler, je vous invite à découvrir sous un nouveau jour, cet écrivain si contreversé.  Extrait: «Regarde-moi bien, songea-t-il, regarde-moi vraiment bien parce que, d'accord, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, en ce moment. Je ne suis jamais allé à Paris et je sais pas faire la différence entre Picasso et un barbouilleux de clôture. Je sais pas jouer au tennis comme les autres garçons d'ici, mais je passe pas non plus mon temps à verser du Ketchup sur le lit des autres. J'arrache pas de promesses débiles à des types qui sont soûls. Je suis pas non plus une sale langue comme toi. Tu te moques de ton père. Tu l'aimes pas. Ça me fait une belle jambe. Mais il t'envoie en Europe et au Mexique, et qui paie tous les verres que tu siffles l'après-midi? Tu regrettes d'avoir fait de moi le dindon de la farce? Mautadit, mon coeur saigne. Regarde-moi, espèce de salope. Aujourd'hui, je suis peut-être un moins que rien, d'accord. Ce salaud de Cohen, qui fait du marché noir à tour de bras, me donne vingt dollars, me fait la morale sur le jeu et va se sentir bien fier pendant une semaine. Mais écoute-moi bien, petite. Ça va pas toujours être comme ça. Si tu dois parier sur quelqu'un, je te conseille de parier sur moi. Je vais être quelqu'un. Ça c'est sûr.» Agenda Culturel de la semaine: The Thing et James Blood Ulmer le dimanche 16 juin 2016 à la Sala Rossa dans le cadre du festival Suoni per il popolo.

Mission encre noire Tome 16 Chapitre 211 Attache ta tuque ! Dans leur récent ouvrage, les trois auteurs présentés par Éric, vous parlent de leur Québec. Carl Bergeron Voir le monde avec un chapeau paru en 2016 aux éditions du Boréal prends le parti de nous raconter une année de sa vie, ici, au Québec. Dandy ouvertement déclaré et assumé, l'écrivain met sa plume éloquente et incisive au service d'un ouvrage mi-journal, mi essai, des plus acide et pamphlétaire. Extrait: « Je tombai alors sur un camarade qui, lui, se dirigeait en sens inverse vers l'université. Je m'empressai de lui livrer mon appréciation de Stendhal. Il m'écouta avec amitié et sourit à mon panégyrique, mais pour un temps. Mon excitation étant de toute évidence plus qu'un enthousiasme de passage, son regard se voila d'un nuage noir, puis il me demanda, avec un air de Thomas: « Tant que ça ?» Oui, tant que ça. Je frémissais comme une feuille. Je ne jouais pas la comédie. Si j'appris une chose à l'université, c'est bien la fausseté de l'amitié intellectuelle entre étudiants.» Nous avions déjà présenté Solomon Gursky en 2015, Mordecai Richler est de nouveau traduit par le même duo en charge de la réédition des oeuvres de l'écrivain: Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné. Avec Joshua qui vient de paraître aux éditions du Boréal, nous partons à la rencontre d'un personnage qui a tout pour ne pas réussir dès le départ dans la vie. Malgré un père escroc, une mère qui descend des beaux quartiers pour tenter sa chance dans le strip tease, il saura faire face à l'adversité et sera promis à une brillante carrière de journaliste sportif. L'histoire ne s'arrête pas là, bien sûr. D'autant plus que nous sommes à Montréal avant et après 1976, le Québec n'a déjà plus le même visage. Extrait: « Si je choisis ces gens-là, expliqua Alvaro à un journaliste, ce n'est pas parce que je les crois meilleurs que les autres. C'est parce qu'ils ont des choses à dire. Celui qui se lève tous les matins et se rends à l'usine pour fabriquer des outils ou je ne sais quoi d'autre, que va-t-il m'apprendre de la vie ? Je n'ai rien contre ces pauvres diables, mais on ne peut pas faire la conversation avec eux, à moins de parler de foot ou des femmes.» Les éditions La Peuplade ont publié en 2015 Nirliit de Juliana Léveillé-Trudel, un roman qui se classe parmi les 100 meilleurs livres recommandés par vos libraires sur l'année achevée. Pour ma part, je le range directement avec Panik de Geneviève Drolet, c'est dire ! Une jeune enseignante partage le quotidien des gens du Grand nord du côté de Salluit. Elle converse avec l'esprit d'une amie disparue étrangement quelque part autour du Fjord. Elle nous raconte sans plus de cérémonie, la vie des gens, là haut, leurs drames et leurs passions. Nous fonçons à toute vitesse dans les trous et les crevasses de ce Grand Nord pour prendre des nouvelles d'endroits dont personne n'a entendu parler. La lecture de ce magnifique roman crépite encore longtemps dans les mémoires une fois la dernière page consumée. Extrait: « Vous étiez plusieurs à rêver de la jolie Maata, plusieurs à vouloir goûter sa peau fine, son cou gracieux, la pointe de ses cheveux noirs effleurant délicatement sa nuque. Maata, seize ans à peine, Maata chatouillant vos désirs du bout de ses doigts de petite fée, Maata n'a jamais révélé le nom des hommes qui ont connu son corps, mais les murmures du village ont porté la nouvelle d'une maison à l'autre, puissants comme les vents d'automne. Tout le village parlait de toi, parce qu'on ne peut pas se faire de jardin secret, ici, tu n'as pas pu creuser un trou dans la terre gelée et y cacher ton amour immense, y enterrer ton coeur de guerrier, silencieusement, aux pieds de Maata.»  

Mission encre noire Tome 16 Chapitre 211 Attache ta tuque ! Dans leur récent ouvrage, les trois auteurs présentés par Éric, vous parlent de leur Québec. Carl Bergeron Voir le monde avec un chapeau paru en 2016 aux éditions du Boréal prends le parti de nous raconter une année de sa vie, ici, au Québec. Dandy ouvertement déclaré et assumé, l'écrivain met sa plume éloquente et incisive au service d'un ouvrage mi-journal, mi essai, des plus acide et pamphlétaire. Extrait: « Je tombai alors sur un camarade qui, lui, se dirigeait en sens inverse vers l'université. Je m'empressai de lui livrer mon appréciation de Stendhal. Il m'écouta avec amitié et sourit à mon panégyrique, mais pour un temps. Mon excitation étant de toute évidence plus qu'un enthousiasme de passage, son regard se voila d'un nuage noir, puis il me demanda, avec un air de Thomas: « Tant que ça ?» Oui, tant que ça. Je frémissais comme une feuille. Je ne jouais pas la comédie. Si j'appris une chose à l'université, c'est bien la fausseté de l'amitié intellectuelle entre étudiants.» Nous avions déjà présenté Solomon Gursky en 2015, Mordecai Richler est de nouveau traduit par le même duo en charge de la réédition des oeuvres de l'écrivain: Lori Saint-Martin et Paul Gagné. Avec Joshua qui vient de paraître aux éditions du Boréal, nous partons à la rencontre d'un personnage qui a tout pour ne pas réussir dès le départ dans la vie. Malgré un père escroc, une mère qui descend des beaux quartiers pour tenter sa chance dans le strip tease, il saura faire face à l'adversité et sera promis à une brillante carrière de journaliste sportif. L'histoire ne s'arrête pas là, bien sûr. D'autant plus que nous sommes à Montréal avant et après 1976, le Québec n'a déjà plus le même visage. Extrait: « Si je choisis ces gens-là, expliqua Alvaro à un journaliste, ce n'est pas parce que je les crois meilleurs que les autres. C'est parce qu'ils ont des choses à dire. Celui qui se lève tous les matins et se rends à l'usine pour fabriquer des outils ou je ne sais quoi d'autre, que va-t-il m'apprendre de la vie ? Je n'ai rien contre ces pauvres diables, mais on ne peut pas faire la conversation avec eux, à moins de parler de foot ou des femmes.» Les éditions La Peuplade ont publié en 2015 Nirliit de Juliana Léveillé-Trudel, un roman qui se classe parmi les 100 meilleurs livres recommandés par vos libraires sur l'année achevée. Pour ma part, je le range directement avec Panik de Geneviève Drolet, c'est dire ! Une jeune enseignante partage le quotidien des gens du Grand nord du côté de Salluit. Elle converse avec l'esprit d'une amie disparue étrangement quelque part autour du Fjord. Elle nous raconte sans plus de cérémonie, la vie des gens, là haut, leurs drames et leurs passions. Nous fonçons à toute vitesse dans les trous et les crevasses de ce Grand Nord pour prendre des nouvelles d'endroits dont personne n'a entendu parler. La lecture de ce magnifique roman crépite encore longtemps dans les mémoires une fois la dernière page consumée. Extrait: « Vous étiez plusieurs à rêver de la jolie Maata, plusieurs à vouloir goûter sa peau fine, son cou gracieux, la pointe de ses cheveux noirs effleurant délicatement sa nuque. Maata, seize ans à peine, Maata chatouillant vos désirs du bout de ses doigts de petite fée, Maata n'a jamais révélé le nom des hommes qui ont connu son corps, mais les murmures du village ont porté la nouvelle d'une maison à l'autre, puissants comme les vents d'automne. Tout le village parlait de toi, parce qu'on ne peut pas se faire de jardin secret, ici, tu n'as pas pu creuser un trou dans la terre gelée et y cacher ton amour immense, y enterrer ton coeur de guerrier, silencieusement, aux pieds de Maata.»  

Mission encre noire Tome 14 Chapitre 194 C'est la dernière de la saison ! Pour ne pas vous laisser les mains vides pour vos vacances estivales, voici quelques recommandations de lecture de dernière minute: Douze histoires de plage et une noyade paru en 2015 aux éditions Coups de tête Infidélités de Jossip Novakovitch paru en 2015 aux éditions Boréal Balistique de D.W Wilson paru en 2015 aux éditions de l'Olivier Solomon Gursky de Mordecai Richler paru en 2015 aux éditions Boréal L'île noire de Marco Polo de Aline Apostolska paru en 2015 aux éditions Gallimard  Six minutes de Christine Brouillet paru en 2015 aux éditions Druide Nous vous souhaitons de passer un bel été ! Morgane, Marie-ève, Chloé, Jean-Pierre et Éric vous donnent rendez-vous à la rentrée de septembre.

Mission encre noire Tome 14 Chapitre 194 C'est la dernière de la saison ! Pour ne pas vous laisser les mains vides pour vos vacances estivales, voici quelques recommandations de lecture de dernière minute: Douze histoires de plage et une noyade paru en 2015 aux éditions Coups de tête Infidélités de Jossip Novakovitch paru en 2015 aux éditions Boréal Balistique de D.W Wilson paru en 2015 aux éditions de l'Olivier Solomon Gursky de Mordecai Richler paru en 2015 aux éditions Boréal L'île noire de Marco Polo de Aline Apostolska paru en 2015 aux éditions Gallimard  Six minutes de Christine Brouillet paru en 2015 aux éditions Druide Nous vous souhaitons de passer un bel été ! Morgane, Marie-ève, Chloé, Jean-Pierre et Éric vous donnent rendez-vous à la rentrée de septembre.

Maryse Jobin a demandé à Jean Bernier, directeur de l’édition chez Boréal, de nous expliquer comment ces nouvelles traductions remettent en valeur l’écriture de Mordecai Richler.

Jay's appeared in numerous TV shows but fantasy-action fans recognize him from his appearances on "Stargate Atlantis." He's also an accomplished film actor, with a long list of credits. Mordecai Richler cast Brazeau in "Duddy," a musical based on Richler's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz." He's won a Pittsburgh Press Critic's Award for his performance as Cyrano and critical acclaim for his portrayal of Edna Turnblad in the Toronto and Vancouver productions of "Hairspray." We talk about all of the above but I was particularly interested in Jay's work with the Winnipeg office of The National Film Board. Jay was the male voice in animated short film "The Big Snit," which was nom­i­nated for an Oscar award and voted num­ber 25 of the 50 Great­est Car­toons of all time by ani­ma­tion professionals.

Novelist and critic, Charles Foran, delivers a lecture on Mordecai Richler and Canadian Cultural Nationalism. Mr. Foran recently won the 2011 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction for his book Mordecai: The Life & Times.

Novelist and critic, Charles Foran, delivers a lecture on Mordecai Richler and Canadian Cultural Nationalism. Mr. Foran recently won the 2011 Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction for his book Mordecai: The Life & Times.

M. G. Vassanji was born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania. Before coming to Canada in 1978, he attended MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, where he specialized in theoretical nuclear physics. From 1978-1980 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Atomic Energy of Canada, and from 1980 to 1989 he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he developed a keen interest in medieval Indian literature and history, co-founded and edited a literary magazine (The Toronto South Asian Review, later renamed The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad), and began writing stories and a novel. In 1989, with the publication of his first novel, The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. That year ended his active career in nuclear physics. Vassanji is the author of six novels and two collections of short stories. He has won the Giller Prize, twice; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa); the Bressani Prize and the Order of Canada.   We met at the Blue Met Writers Festival in Montreal to talk about his most brief biography of Mordecai Richler for Penguin's Extraordinary Canadians series.The discussion touches on Richler's outsider status, his struggle with and acceptance of Jewishness, making one person's story everyone's story, cities, streets and communities, mothers and fathers, growing out of groups, humble origins, irony, great novels versus journalism, and honesty.    

In a conversation I had with him, Canadian critic, editor and short story writer John Metcalf hauls off on both the Giller Prize and two-time winner M.G. Vassanji;  the former for boosterism and an inability to distinguish between good and bad literature (for placing two-time winner Alice Munro in the same category as Vassanji), and the latter for being a person who, ‘there's no question,' can't " handle the English language". I met with Vassanji in Montreal at the Blue Met Writers Festival ostensibly to talk about  his new Penguin biography of Mordecai Richler (please stay tuned for the audio); but before commencing, I asked him to respond to Metcalf's attacks. Here's what he had to say: