Chaudiere Books, 2007
Read by Jesse Ferguson
Everything is Movies is a rollicking and elastic first collection, and it announces Lea as a voice to listen for. (more…)
Everything is Movies by Nicholas Lea
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 77 ]
The Hero Book by Scott Waters
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 77 ]
Cumulus Press, 2006
Read by Lateef Martin
Take your everyday Canadian white dude in his twenties. Mix in a BFA in arts out of Kelowna, BC, a taste of design training at Ontario’s Sheridan College and a splash of York University’s MFA program. Throw in a little resentment at the design world. (more…)
Types of Canadian Women, Volume II by K.I. Press
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 77 ]
Gaspereau Press, 2006
Read by T. K. Murphy
In Types of Canadian Women, Volume II, K.I. Press presents us with a poetic continuation of Henry J. Morgan’s biographical dictionary, Types of Canadian Women, Volume I (originally published in 1903). Reading Press’s work, one wonders about Morgan, what kind of person he was, and why he wrote a catalogue of Canadian women. (more…)
E.C. Segar’s Popeye & Moomin, The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 77 ]
Read by Joe Ollmann
There are watersheds touted by critics in every genre: in old movies, in great literature, in classic television series. Some of these actually live up to their hype. (more…)
Matrix 76 Reviews
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Matrix 76
De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage
Black by George Elliot Clarke
The Men by Lisa Robertson
Stumbling in the Bloom by John Pass
The Future is Queer edited by Richard Labonte and Lawrence Schimel
Social Acupuncture: A guide to suicide, performance and utopia by Darren O’Donnell
Bow Grip by Ivan E. Coyote
Only This Blue by Betsy Warland
North of 9/11 by David Bernans
[one love affair]* by Jenny Boully
(To order a back-issue of Matrix, click here)
De Niro’s Game by Rawi Hage
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Anansi, 2006
Read by Jane Affleck
On the very first page of the novel, the narrator, Bassam, hooks the reader with a statement that also summarizes the narrative drive: “Ten thousand bombs had landed,”says Bassam, “and I was waiting for George. Ten thousand bombs had landed on Beirut, that crowded city”¦ It’s time to leave, I was thinking to myself.” (more…)
Black by George Elliot Clarke
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Polestar Books, 2006
Read by Lateef Martin
George jargon makes you better, wetter, sweating blood. You’re not equipped for this type of English. (more…)
The Men by Lisa Robertson
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
BookThug, 2006
Read by Maria Giuliani
A work in five parts, Lisa Robertson’s The Men is a thick exploration of men in social, gender, psychological and philosophical contexts. It is also a comparison of the narrator’s role as a woman in personal, professional, and sexual situations, illustrating the men through the confidence, or lack thereof, of her own sensibilities. (more…)
Stumbling in the Bloom by John Pass
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Oolichan Books, 2005
Read by Darren Bifford
Stumbling in the Bloom, John Pass’ fifteenth book of poetry in just over thirty years, has the distinction of stealing this year’s Governor General’s award. It also has the distinction of being a long and difficult book. (more…)
The Future is Queer edited by Richard Labonte and Lawrence Schimel
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Arsenal Pulp Press, 2006
Read by James Moran
Borrowing a page from Arsenal’s successful Queer Fear series, Richard Labonte and Lawrence Schimel alchemize a love of sci-fi and queer lit into a respectable if slightly uneven anthology. (more…)
Social Acupuncture: A guide to suicide, performance and utopia by Darren O’Donnell
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Coach House Books, 2006
Read by Michael Davidge
A scansion of the subtitle anticipates the tonal shifts that make O’Donnell’s book not a screed but a compelling read: call it a manic-depressive manifesto, ranging from the suicidal to the utopian. (more…)
Bow Grip by Ivan E. Coyote
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Arsenal Pulp Press, 2006
Read by James Moran
First-time novelist Ivan E. Coyote proves that she’s not only a sprinter, but a middle-distance runner. (more…)
Only This Blue by Betsy Warland
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
The Mercury Press, 2005
Read by T.K. Murphy
In Only This Blue, Betsy Warland demonstrates her exceptional ability to undermine linguistic hegemonies without being demanding or showy. (more…)
North of 9/11 by David Bernans
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
Cumulus Press, 2006
Read by Kelly Ward
It appears that 2006 has marked the stale-date on tragedy. Five years after 9/11, we in North America have decided that we can now be entertained by what happened in New York in 2001. (more…)
[one love affair]* by Jenny Boully
in [ Reviewed in Matrix 76 ]
tarpaulin sky press, 2006
Read by Catherine Paquette
As a sucker for literary remixes and works that blend genre, I have a special place in my heart for Brooklyn-based writer Jenny Boully. (more…)