David Schalkwyk, a professor of Shakespeare Studies at Queen Mary University of London, delivered a lecture on Oct. 23 on William Shakespeare’s sonnets, focusing on the development of Shakespeare’s dramatic voice. The dramaturge is best known for his plays, meaning that his poetry is sometimes overlooked in popular culture. Schalkwyk’s[Read More…]
Books
Survival and solidarity: Roxane Gay reflects on a decade of activism
Cultural critic and best-selling author Dr. Roxane Gay delivered the 64th annual Beatty Memorial Lecture on Oct. 11 to a rapt audience in Pollack Hall. The sold-out lecture drew attendees of various backgrounds, from students to alumni and faculty, all eager to hear Gay’s thoughts on the #MeToo movement, contemporary[Read More…]
NYRB publishes ‘Moderan,’ a delight of poetic science fiction
In the far-future conceptual world of Moderan, master of literary science fiction David R. Bunch forces readers to consider what it would be like to leave mortality behind. Originally published in 1971, and recently reissued by New York Review Books with 11 previously unread tales, Moderan is a refreshing departure from[Read More…]
Stuff we liked this summer
Summer 2018 saw no shortage of consumable content. But while some plebs may have been watching Netflix rom-com To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before on repeat, or blasting Drake’s Scorpion, the A&E team had their ears to the ground. Here’s some stuff for your ears and eyes that we found especially cool.
Montreal’s vibrant zine community
Creative McGill students are building a niche community centred around zines—small-sized, low-circulation publications. Historically used as a tool for marginalized groups to publish content, zines house dialogue that does not ascribe to mainstream rhetoric. Now, groups of university students are using zines to address pertinent social and political issues. On[Read More…]
Red Colored Elegy is the perfect introduction to gekiga manga
Ichiro, the male lead of Red Colored Elegy, repeats a sort of young-male-tortured-artist catch phrase throughout the manga: “I want to draw comics.” Fortunately for readers, Seiichi Hayashi, Red’s author and illustrator, has a more realized sense of vocation. His cornerstone of the gekiga manga–the adult manga, or alternative manga, subgenre–Red,[Read More…]
Nonfiction November—The Tribune’s favourite reads
Short of listening to a podcast, or reading a long article start-to-finish, reading nonfiction literature remains the best way of feeling like an intelligent, contemporary being. As finals season begins to rear its ugly head, and long days turn into longer nights spent in McLennan, pleasure reading can feel like[Read More…]
Chad Norman’s life of poetry
When Nova Scotian poet Chad Norman (Masstown, Learning to Settle Down) was a teenager, he and all his friends wanted to be rock stars. "I bought a Fender bass, and a MusicMaster, a beginning Fender, and a small little amp, and wanted to be a bassist,” Norman said. But the band[Read More…]
“The Violet Hour” provides marginalized voices with a spooky platform
The Violet Hour, founded by Christopher DiRaddio, is a bi-monthly reading series that showcases both established and emerging LGBTQ writers and performers. The reading series gives a platform to otherwise marginalized voices. Hosted in the Montreal Gay Village’s Stock Bar, attendees were also given the option to participate in a[Read More…]
‘How to Murder Your Life’ paints unapologetic portrait of addiction
One can only imagine the relief felt at the Simon and Schuster offices the day Cat Marnell announced she had finished her book. Conspicuously titled How To Murder Your Life, the work in question had cost the company three years and a $500,000 advance—most of which Marnell had reportedly spent[Read More…]
