Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
-
Writer’s Block: Bridget Canning
Bridget Canning, author of The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes and the more recently published Some People’s Children(Breakwater Books), chats with us about bike riding to discover new perspectives, getting out of the house on a perfect writing day, finding out what a character carries around in their pockets and more!
-
In Review: The Week of May 11th
This week we shared poems to celebrate Jewish History Month, discovered a Kafkaesque debut novel, cheered on the finalists of the Trillium Book Awards and Indigenous Voices Awards, and much more!
-
First Fiction Friday: The Transaction
Author Guglielmo D’Izzia debuts his Marina Nemat Award-winning novel The Transaction (Guernica Editions), a suspenseful train ride that makes an unscheduled stop in a southern Italian town where a string of unsettling events culminate in a psychological tailspin to the very end.
-
Two Poems From Tablet Fragments
Tamar Rubin grew up immersed in Hebrew, Jewish traditions and texts, in a secular household, the daughter of an immigrant mother. In becoming a physician, she learned yet another language: medicine. All of this history comes together in Rubin’s first published collection, Tablet Fragments (Signature Editions). Weaving between the texts of all her learning, Rubin employs her…
-
Art and Curation in Becoming Our Future
Becoming Our Future: Global Indigenous Curatorial Practice (ARP Books)—edited by Julie Nagam, Carly Lane, and Megan Tamati-Quennell—reflects on international Indigenous methodologies in curatorial practice from Canada, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Australia to assert specific cultural knowledges, protocols, and relationships. Below, we share words from the editors about this work along with images from shows they have…
-
Where in Canada: The Kissing Fence
When Pavel and Nina, 2 of 200 Russian Doukhobors children torn from their families in New Denver, are placed into a residential facility within B.C.’s Koutenay region, they are left struggling to maintain their sense of culture. B.A. Thomas-Peter’s The Kissing Fence (Caitlin Press) juxtaposes this emotional story set in the 1950’s with one set in Vancouver 2018, which…
-
Where in Canada: The Kissing Fence
When Pavel and Nina, 2 of 200 Russian Doukhobors children torn from their families in New Denver, are placed into a residential facility within B.C.’s Koutenay region, they are left struggling to maintain their sense of culture. B.A. Thomas-Peter’s The Kissing Fence juxtaposes this emotional story set in the 1950’s with one set in Vancouver 2018, which…
-
In Review: The Week of May 4th
This week we launched our first-ever Indie Reading Room series with two virtual reading events (keep up with what’s coming up here or on social media) — thanks to all who joined! Read on for what else we got up to on the blog.
-
Books about moms for Mother’s Day
For Mother’s Day this year we’ve rounded up three books that appreciate moms of all kinds—read on for excerpts from an uproariously funny novel, a moving memoir, and a powerful poetry collection.
-
On her mother’s life, politics, and Quebec: A interview with Louise Dupré
Celebrated Québécois author Louise Dupré’s memoir, A Woman of Her Time: Memories of My Mother (Linda Leith Publishing) is an intimate homage to a woman who insisted on living a life on her own terms. It is also political, hard not to be in a province when the Quiet Revolution and the collapse of the domination of…
-
In House: Working from Home with Mawenzi House
The birth of the global pandemic has meant change in almost all industries across Canada and that includes publishing. Maria Zuppardi, marketing assistant at Mawenzi House joins us to share more about what the shift to working from home has meant for her (and her new co-worker!) and how Mawenzi House continues to bring creativity…
-
Read Harder Challenge #6: Rural setting
Throughout 2020, All Lit Up-er Tan Light is participating in BookRiot’s Read Harder Challenge—a reading task designed to expand readerly boundaries—and doing so with an indie twist. Each entry in this series will highlight one of her completed challenges along with a list of books from All Lit Up to have you reading harder, too!
-
Reflections on disability culture and identity from the contributors of the Disabled Voices Anthology
Rebel Mountain Press, publisher of The Disabled Voices Anthology —an unapologetic collection of short fiction, memoir, and poetry by disabled writers and artists across Canada, the US, and the UK—recently asked the contributors of the anthology for their perspectives on disability culture, community, and identity. Read on for their insightful responses that shed light on some of…
-
In Review: The Week of April 27th
We wrapped up National Poetry Month with five author interviews and excerpts, and a thoughtful piece on writing poetry through times of crisis from Natasha Ramoutar.
-
Writer’s Block: Louise Carson
We electronically chatted with Louise Carson—author of eleven books which include the binge-able cozy cat mystery series from Signature Editions—about influential writers, two types of rewarding moments, and what she’s working on now.
Got any book recommendations?