By Maurice Mierau
2014 was a weird year for many non-book related reasons, but here in Canuckistan the book world was particularly strange. We witnessed various spectacles: editorials like the one by a well-published Canadian novelist titled “The More You Write the Less You Make,” suggesting once again the ominous lack of any real market for books in this country; the downfall of a major CBC media star with a reputation, at least, as someone who cared about books; the firing of a new editor at a major publisher before any of her acquisitions even saw print, a pre-emptive ejection that would seem to be the opposite of the Leafs firing coach Randy Carlyle earlier this week, though perhaps hot-house Toronto is the only common ingredient in any of these stories.
Here at Winnipeg Review we published more than 80 reviews of books, many of them small press publications, and tried hard to be idealistic about the notion that a readership—if not a market—exists somewhere out there for Canadian writers. In addition, the Review covered some independent Winnipeg theatre, a bit of the local jazz scene, some Canadian poets and YA novelists, and published interviews with working writers across the country, as well as new poems, essays and fiction.
These are some of the pieces that strike me as particularly memorable from the last year:
2014 started with a departure from our standard format, with GMB Chomichuk serving as guest editor for a special issue on graphica. Chomichuk wrote an editorial called “Comics Are Strange,” where among other pithy observations he said “No one can blame you for thinking about these things as ‘funny books.’” Two of the reviews in that issue I’d single out: Toronto writer Nico Mara-McKay’s piece on Julie Maroh, and the journalist and tree-planter Amy Attas on Hubert Aquin. In keeping with the issue theme, Vancouver poet Raymond Hsu did a review-as-graphica on Niki Smith’s work.
This magazine would be nowhere without some of our regular contributors. Book journalism is all about setting your ego aside and being a good observer. I’m lucky to work with many gifted observers at Winnipeg Review. Julienne Isaacs did a fine piece on Angie Abdou’s latest, and Shane Nielson contributed the beginning of his important re-valuation of poet M. Travis Lane. One of our contributing editors, Shawn Syms, did a marvellous interview with Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, among other insightful pieces.
Kicking against the pricks is an established tradition in this space, if that’s possible, and BC’s Josh Rioux proved it with his swimming-against-the-tide reviews of Nathaniel G. Moore and Guillaume Morissette. And speaking of swimming against the tide, Rachel Carlson’s review of Padma Viswanathan’s The Ever After of Ashwin Rao was unique nationally in discussing some of the structural challenges in that novel, and Richard Cumyn put Russell Wangersky’s latest in more of a context than I’ve seen elsewhere. Another regular contributor, Jason Marcus-Freeman, also did a nice job of describing the readerly context for Diane Schoemperlen’s new work.
Since we are the Winnipeg Review, we did the best job in the country on some of the best writers who happen to live in the Peg or come from here; Alison Gillmor had this to say about Miriam Toews, and here is Mark Sampson with a context-rich review of David Bergen. Carlynn Schellenberg, a key contributor, had this to say about Joan Thomas’s novel The Opening Sky, and here is Elin Thordarson on Margaret Sweatman’s Mr. Jones.
Many readers come to us for our columnists. This last year poet and fiction writer Chandra Mayor wrote about Winnipeg theatre, and in her February review of Debbie Patterson’s play Sargent and Victor & Me, she attracted more on-line comments and readers than anything else I’ve published (yes, that includes Shane Nielson’s pieces about the Toronto poetry scene from previous years). Mayor’s review was negative, and much of the reaction was push-back, but folks in the local theatre community tell me that the show sold a lot of seats as a direct result of the controversy.
Lori Cayer contributed an excellent column on the 2014 Griffin prize, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch covered the Canadian YA scene. Marsha’s round-up of recommendations for World War I fiction was one of the highlights of fall at TWR.
As always you’ll see many new writers breaking in with TWR as book reviewers, as well as established voices like our brilliant columnist Jeff Bursey, and the terrific Alberta novelist Thomas Trofimuk.
This year I have the pleasure of welcoming two well-qualified new columnists: Anita Daher on the YA front, and Michelle Palansky on theatre. You can find both their work in this issue, celebrating the 2015 version of what Christina Rossetti called bleak midwinter. Many thanks to the departing Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Chandra Mayor.
If for some reason you missed the excerpt from John Toone’s laugh-out-loud parody of an advice book, Fishin’ For Dumbasses, check it out in our summer 2014 issue.
TWR is proud to publish some of Canada’s finest poets. In the last year we published Marc di Saverio, complete with video of him reading, Brenda Schmidt with a Christmas poem, David Zieroth, and Darren Bifford, among others. This issue features two wonderful young writers, Christine Minnery and Michael Prior.
Here are a few things to look forward to in 2015: in the fall Winnipeg Review will be collaborating on a special co-issue with Contemporary Verse 2, where we will review much more poetry than usual, and even have a print version (!). In the spring I expect to work with Steven Heighton on a special issue focusing on Canada’s rich short fiction scene.
Looking Back on 2014 and a Bit Forward
Columns
By Maurice Mierau
2014 was a weird year for many non-book related reasons, but here in Canuckistan the book world was particularly strange. We witnessed various spectacles: editorials like the one by a well-published Canadian novelist titled “The More You Write the Less You Make,” suggesting once again the ominous lack of any real market for books in this country; the downfall of a major CBC media star with a reputation, at least, as someone who cared about books; the firing of a new editor at a major publisher before any of her acquisitions even saw print, a pre-emptive ejection that would seem to be the opposite of the Leafs firing coach Randy Carlyle earlier this week, though perhaps hot-house Toronto is the only common ingredient in any of these stories.
Here at Winnipeg Review we published more than 80 reviews of books, many of them small press publications, and tried hard to be idealistic about the notion that a readership—if not a market—exists somewhere out there for Canadian writers. In addition, the Review covered some independent Winnipeg theatre, a bit of the local jazz scene, some Canadian poets and YA novelists, and published interviews with working writers across the country, as well as new poems, essays and fiction.
These are some of the pieces that strike me as particularly memorable from the last year:
2014 started with a departure from our standard format, with GMB Chomichuk serving as guest editor for a special issue on graphica. Chomichuk wrote an editorial called “Comics Are Strange,” where among other pithy observations he said “No one can blame you for thinking about these things as ‘funny books.’” Two of the reviews in that issue I’d single out: Toronto writer Nico Mara-McKay’s piece on Julie Maroh, and the journalist and tree-planter Amy Attas on Hubert Aquin. In keeping with the issue theme, Vancouver poet Raymond Hsu did a review-as-graphica on Niki Smith’s work.
This magazine would be nowhere without some of our regular contributors. Book journalism is all about setting your ego aside and being a good observer. I’m lucky to work with many gifted observers at Winnipeg Review. Julienne Isaacs did a fine piece on Angie Abdou’s latest, and Shane Nielson contributed the beginning of his important re-valuation of poet M. Travis Lane. One of our contributing editors, Shawn Syms, did a marvellous interview with Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, among other insightful pieces.
Kicking against the pricks is an established tradition in this space, if that’s possible, and BC’s Josh Rioux proved it with his swimming-against-the-tide reviews of Nathaniel G. Moore and Guillaume Morissette. And speaking of swimming against the tide, Rachel Carlson’s review of Padma Viswanathan’s The Ever After of Ashwin Rao was unique nationally in discussing some of the structural challenges in that novel, and Richard Cumyn put Russell Wangersky’s latest in more of a context than I’ve seen elsewhere. Another regular contributor, Jason Marcus-Freeman, also did a nice job of describing the readerly context for Diane Schoemperlen’s new work.
Since we are the Winnipeg Review, we did the best job in the country on some of the best writers who happen to live in the Peg or come from here; Alison Gillmor had this to say about Miriam Toews, and here is Mark Sampson with a context-rich review of David Bergen. Carlynn Schellenberg, a key contributor, had this to say about Joan Thomas’s novel The Opening Sky, and here is Elin Thordarson on Margaret Sweatman’s Mr. Jones.
Many readers come to us for our columnists. This last year poet and fiction writer Chandra Mayor wrote about Winnipeg theatre, and in her February review of Debbie Patterson’s play Sargent and Victor & Me, she attracted more on-line comments and readers than anything else I’ve published (yes, that includes Shane Nielson’s pieces about the Toronto poetry scene from previous years). Mayor’s review was negative, and much of the reaction was push-back, but folks in the local theatre community tell me that the show sold a lot of seats as a direct result of the controversy.
Lori Cayer contributed an excellent column on the 2014 Griffin prize, and Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch covered the Canadian YA scene. Marsha’s round-up of recommendations for World War I fiction was one of the highlights of fall at TWR.
As always you’ll see many new writers breaking in with TWR as book reviewers, as well as established voices like our brilliant columnist Jeff Bursey, and the terrific Alberta novelist Thomas Trofimuk.
This year I have the pleasure of welcoming two well-qualified new columnists: Anita Daher on the YA front, and Michelle Palansky on theatre. You can find both their work in this issue, celebrating the 2015 version of what Christina Rossetti called bleak midwinter. Many thanks to the departing Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and Chandra Mayor.
If for some reason you missed the excerpt from John Toone’s laugh-out-loud parody of an advice book, Fishin’ For Dumbasses, check it out in our summer 2014 issue.
TWR is proud to publish some of Canada’s finest poets. In the last year we published Marc di Saverio, complete with video of him reading, Brenda Schmidt with a Christmas poem, David Zieroth, and Darren Bifford, among others. This issue features two wonderful young writers, Christine Minnery and Michael Prior.
Here are a few things to look forward to in 2015: in the fall Winnipeg Review will be collaborating on a special co-issue with Contemporary Verse 2, where we will review much more poetry than usual, and even have a print version (!). In the spring I expect to work with Steven Heighton on a special issue focusing on Canada’s rich short fiction scene.