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Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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In Review: The Week of March 2nd
This week we talked accessibility in the writing community, got a peek into a publishing intern’s experience at a small press, considered a philosophical take on writer’s block, celebrated women and body positivity in advance of International Women’s Day, and more.
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Reflections from the contributors of BIG: Stories about Life in Plus-Sized Bodies
Of all the subjects a writer can tackle, our own lives are both the most intimidating and the most rewarding. It requires a unique vulnerability to share our private moments, joys, traumas, and memories. Talking about our own bodies, in particular, can be overwhelming – but also transformative. In creating BIG: Stories about Life in…
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In House: Journey Into The Realm Of Bookselling
Cambrian College student Cory Gaudette gives us a peek into his personal and working experience with books—first as a book seller for his favourite local bookstore and then as publicity intern for the Northern Ontario-based publisher Latitude 46 Publishing, where he learned the ropes on the process of making books and getting them into readers’…
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Kept Out is Kept Down: Writing Retreats and the Indefensible Retreat of Canlit
Would you patronize a bakery with this sign in the window: “No wedding cakes for same sex couples”? Would you like, share and retweet any artist who participated in and praised an event advertised as “TERF proud”? Would you support arts councils using tax-payer money to fund literary events openly advertised as, “For and by…
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Writer’s Block: Tyler Enfield
We electronically chatted with multiple-award-winner Tyler Enfield, author of Like Rum-Drunk Angels (Goose Lane Editions)—a Coen Brothers meets Kurt Vonnegut retelling of Aladdin as an American western—about a book that changed his writing, a philosophical take on creativity, and what he’s working on now.
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In Review: The Week of February 24th
This week included fairy tales and feminism, B.C.’s Okanagan as a place of freedom and confinement, books for Pink Shirt Day, another Read Harder Challenge, and more.
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Weekend Reads: 3 Picks for Black History Month
This weekend we’re bringing you three reads that perfectly fit this year’s Black History Month theme: Going Forward, Guided by the Past. In these books, the past serves many different purposes—as inspiration from the leaders that came before, as a path to discovering ones identity through the deep-roots of culture and ancestry, and as a…
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Read Harder Challenge #4: Read a debut novel by a queer author
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!
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Where in Canada: Little Fortress
In Laisha Rosnau’s Little Fortress (Wolsak and Wynn), the widow of an Italian Duke, her daughter and the family secretary take refuge from the grips of Mussolini’s reign in Vernon, B.C.– locking themselves away for 25 years. What follows is a story of friendship, class, betrayal and love. Laisha takes us deeper into the book’s…
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Wearing Tiaras: On Fairy Tales, Community, and Happiness
It is winter 2012. I am walking across campus with fellow students from my poetry workshop to the bus loop, where I’ll catch a 99 back to the apartment with the leaky solarium I share with my partner. It’s a miserable day—cold, grey, with very little colour outside except the leaves that fell in autumn…
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In Review: The Week of February 17th
This week included freaky gems for Women in Horror Month, advice for writer’s block, a conversation about gender equality and inclusivity, #IReadCanadianDay, and more!
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Under the Cover: Dear Twin
In this Under the Cover, we chat with Montréal-based publisher Metonymy Press about the story behind acquiring Addie Tsai’s debut novel Dear Twin and how the book took shape by working with Toronto-based designer Keet Geniza, who jumped at the chance to work on the design for this life-affirming, queer YA novel about one sister’s…
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On gender equality and inclusivity: An interview with Gemma Hickey
Influential social activist Gemma Hickey is a force for change and tireless advocate for the LGBTQ2+ community: in 2005 they co-led the movement that legalized same-sex marriage in Canada, and in 2017 their request for a gender-neutral birth certificate spurred Newfoundland and Labrador to change its law, making Gemma the first person in Canada to receive…
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Writers Block: Marion Agnew
Author Marion Agnew shares her wonderfully art-filled techniques for avoiding or breaking through the dreaded writer’s block and more about her novel Reverberations (Signature Editions), which she says is more than a book about Alzheimer’s – it’s a testament to the bonds of love.
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Off/Kilter: 3 Books for Women In Horror Month
If we asked you to name a few well-known horror writers, what are some of the first names that come to mind? Poe, King, Barker, Gaiman?…the list goes on. But make no mistake: women write horror too! With February marking Women in Horror Month, we’re celebrating by highlighting a few freaky gems, new and old,…
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