On Sept. 2, Canadian writer, musician, and poet Robyn Sarah released her first new poetry collection in a decade titled We’re Somewhere Else Now. She won both the 2015 Governor General’s Award for poetry and the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for poetry, and in 2025, her work was nominated for[Read More…]
Poetry
Inaugural Palestinian Film Festival celebrates art, heritage, and hope
“I’m nothing without Palestine. Palestine is my everything, all my values are based on being Palestinian.” These words, spoken by a member who wished to remain anonymous of the Palestinian Cultural Club (PCC) at McGill, resonated deeply across the university’s campus on Friday, Nov. 8. That evening, the PCC hosted[Read More…]
Hannah Frances’ ‘Keeper of the Shepherd’ is the most sincere record of the year
Softly strummed chords steadily resound beneath layers of swelling vocals, grief-stricken and tenderly sincere. In her song “Husk,” Hannah Frances explores the glacial vulnerability of death, expounding grief as an absent presence and a manifestation of immortalized love. For sorrow cannot exist without the chances taken by love, and death[Read More…]
Black and Palestinian poets’ aesthetics of solidarity bring us to new worlds
Every February, like clockwork, literary institutions— mega-chain bookstores, Amazon, Oprah, and English departments—advertise the urgent necessity of reading a Black writer. Whether it’s Invisible Man, Omeros, or Things Fall Apart, these institutions commodify and repackage Black writers into a promise to the susceptible and well-intentioned reader. The hope? Upon turning[Read More…]
Rejection, the meaning of art, and Taco Bell
There’s a cartoon on page 62. Sometime in the future, a robot approaches a hipster and proclaims: “Citizen. My sensors indicate that you have not been living mas. Those who do not live sufficiently mas will be taken to the reeducation centre.” A woman gives birth the same day she[Read More…]
‘OPTIMISTA: Amour/Love’ shares the power of love through art
Love is in the air and on people’s minds throughout February, making it the perfect theme for the non-profit arts organization Yellow Pad Sessions’ (YPS) OPTIMISTA event on Feb. 11. OPTIMISTA: Amour/Love was the third iteration in a unique series of multimedia art events that feature keynote speakers, films, and[Read More…]
A penny for your prose
Encapsulating one’s thoughts and emotions into words can be as rewarding as it is daunting. Such rewards are monetary in the case of the bi-annual Montreal International Poetry Prize, a competition for poems of 40 lines or less, where the winning poet receives $20,000 and, along with 54 finalists, gets[Read More…]
Literary theorist Jeff Dolven pays a virtual visit to the English department
On Jan. 19, the McGill English Department held its 2022 Spector Lecture, an annual event that highlights contemporary work in the literary field. This year, the department welcomed Jeff Dolven, a poet, literary critic, and Princeton professor of English. Later, students and faculty had a chance to hear several of[Read More…]
A modern approach to long-form poetry readings
Content Warning: Mention of suicide On Nov. 26, Concordia professors Jason Camlot and John Emil Vincent held a reading of their new poetry books, Vlarf and Bitter in the Belly, respectively. Hosted by English literature professor Katherine McLoed at Concordia’s 4th Space, the long-form reading was inspired by literary events[Read More…]
Looking back on Leonard Cohen’s legacy
Nov. 7 marked the fifth year anniversary of the passing of Leonard Cohen, a beloved singer-songwriter, poet, novelist, Montrealer, and 1955 McGill alum. Known for the depth and profundity of his work, the prestiged artist will continue to be commemorated by Montrealers, McGill students and staff, and fans around the[Read More…]