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Author: ALU Editor
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The Great Winfield Chicken Coop Disaster
It was a rainy morning and we hoped the tarp would hold. It was, after all, just a little too small to tuck completely round the giant, so, as we wound along the scenic highway, I kept a weather eye backward, in case the billowing ripped loose the straps, loosening a sail big enough to sweep our truck…
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Under the Cover: Grief and Poetry in Grey All Over
Content warning: mention of suicide attempt, death of a family member, grief Andrea Actis’s Grey All Over (Brick Books) is an autoconceptual study of traumatic grief, white working-class identity, false prophets, and whole seriousness. In her compelling debut, Andrea assembles a decade’s worth of found materials and conversations to examine not only a close and complicated father-daughter…
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Off/Kilter: Interview with Patricia Robertson
Patricia Robertson joins us for another edition of Off/Kilter to discuss her latest short story collection Hour of the Crab (Goose Lane Editions), and some of its dark themes that while seemingly otherworldly are deeply and unsettlingly rooted in the here and now.
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Two Poems from Lullabies in the Real World
Meredith Quartermain’s Lullabies in the Real World (NeWest Press) sets off on a cross-country trip from West to East Coast with the momentum of a train—moving us forward while looking backwards to confront and challenge the colonial histories. Below, we share two poems from the collection.
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Phantompains: An Interview with Therese Estacion
BEST OF THE BLOG 2021We virtually chatted with debut poet Therese Estacion about her new book Phantompains (Book*hug Press), a visceral, dreamlike collection of poems that explores disability, grief, and life. In her early thirties, Therese survived a rare infection that resulted in the loss of both her legs below the knees, several fingers, and reproductive organs. In…
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In House with Brick Books
This month on All Lit Up, we’re putting a spotlight on books by and about women and the people behind them. Today’s publisher in profile is Brick Books, a fiercely independent poetry press now owned exclusively by women, that offers beautifully designed poetry books by established and underrepresented poets from across Canada.Scroll on to read more…
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Five Noteworthy New Books in Translation
These new books in translation from publishers across the All Lit Up canon are ones you don’t want to miss out on this spring—offering up rich stories of obsession, rebellion, intrigue and intimacy that are sure to keep your screen time at a minimum.
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ALU Spring Preview 2021: Staff Picks
BEST OF THE BLOG 2021Book people know spring weather signals new books—and we’re ready for both! Below, we pick some of the books we’re looking forward to digging into this season.
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A City on the Rise: Reflections from the contributors of Reclaiming Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario has been having something of a moment: a mid-size city that combines natural beauty with thriving industry, Hamilton’s recent growth is no surprise. In Reclaiming Hamilton: Essays from the New Ambitious City (Wolsak and Wynn), veteran journalist and Hamiltonian Paul Weinberg collects stories about the city’s lost neighbourhoods, environmental and gentrification battles, the rise…
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In House with Brindle & Glass
This month on All Lit Up, we’re putting a spotlight on books by and about women and the people behind them. Today we celebrate award-winning Victoria-based indie publisher Brindle & Glass that offers a range of diverse and homegrown literature by Western Canadian authors, including a variety of stories by women. Scroll on to read more…
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This Is How It Is: Interview with Sharon King-Campbell
Sharon King-Campbell’s This Is How It Is (Breakwater Books) spans continents and subverts history to show us the interconnectedness of all things. Below, Sharon discusses the wholeness of being human, bound up in our own animal nature but also the inseparable character of our own thoughts, frustrations and passions — and how her poetry evolves out of…
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Poetry in Motion: Leah Horlick
In her third collection of poetry Moldovan Hotel, Leah Horlick invites readers to consider the intergenerational trauma of the Holocaust in Romania and to explore what we think we understand about genocide and displacement. Read on for more about the collection and to hear Leah read “You Are My Hiding Place” from her book, out April 1st…
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Girls Like Me
My mother bought me the first book of my own, the first book I wrote my name in. It cost 39¢ and she bought it from the corner drugstore in our northeast working-class Edmonton neighbourhood. It stated boldly on the bottom right-hand corner of the cover that, “Your child’s life is enriched by beautiful poetry.”…
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Under the Cover: If Tenderness Be Gold
Author Eleanor Albanese takes us under the cover of her debut novel If Tenderness Be Gold (Latitude 46), describing the deep importance of oral history in passing down her family stories. Through these memories, the novel’s characters and its main setting—a tiny Hamlet called Hurkett where her mother grew up—come alive.
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In House with Caitlin Press
While other parts of the world officially observe Women’s History Month, we’re joining in to celebrate amazing women in Canada and beyond.This month, we’re putting a spotlight on books by and about women and the people behind them. First up is BC-based Caitlin Press, a fiercely independent publisher with a commitment to feminist books, LGBTQ+ authors,…