Longreads

Dickie Greenleaf stares out a window but the reflection is Tom Ripley
My Funny Valentine

Back in high school a friend had called me Matt Damon in the drawl of Team America, but the connection to Tom Ripley felt more psychic, fundamental.

A chicken coop depicted in the moonlight
Chicken Tender

I learned to ignore the doubt that lapped at my ankles, a wave that rose every time I kissed him goodbye, left town for work or travel, and remembered, with a shock, how happily whole I felt alone.

A rendering of Anna Kashfi looks directly at the viewer. She wears a green shirt.
Illegal Bride

Days after Anna Kashfi wed the actor Marlon Brando, doubts about her purported Indian heritage surfaced, destroying her Hollywood career and branding her a liar. The truth was more complicated than anyone knew.

A young Sabu looks out in a grey suit
Jungle Boy

The brief, improbable Hollywood stardom of Sabu.

A child sits near a fence, the words "Finkle is Einhorn, Einhorn is Finkle" circling their mind.
The Fence

On growing up trans in the Yukon.

a patient does a dance under the spotlight created by her doctor's laryngoscope
The Favourite Patient

Likeability? That’s for losers. Or so I thought, until I developed an unexplained chronic illness, and winning my doctors' approval became intertwined with my well-being.

An illustration of Boris Karloff glares at the camera
A Tight Collar and Plenty of Gin

How the actor Boris Karloff obscured his Anglo-Indian roots and reinvented himself into an icon of Hollywood horror.

An image of couples reaching towards storks carrying babies, on a backdrop of a blue sky with fluffy clouds.
Waiting Room

How hopeful parents' struggles with a major Canadian surrogacy agency illustrate the need for regulation.

A portrait of the actor Mary Alice
A Light Under the Door

Mary Alice dedicated her career to portraying Black women with depth and nuance. Why were there so few parts in which she could shine?

 

 

technicolor sand dunes with a red sky and cacti
The Voice of the Desert

Listening to the American Southwest.