Readings

'People Have Connections That You Wouldn't Dream Of': An Interview with Michelle Dean

The author of Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion on illusions about the lives of working writers, trends in criticism, and how writers make money.

Real Autism

In my diagnosis, I saw the first irrefutable proof of myself. But so many others saw a referendum on what it means to be atypical.

'You Want to be Surrounded by Weirdness': An Interview with Anna Haifisch

The author of Von Spatz on the relationship between creativity and mental health, deer-drawing and Disney, and the allure of American landscapes. 

My Father's Calling

He gave his life to the Russian Orthodox Church. It didn’t deserve to lay claim to him in death, too.

'You Have to Be Slightly Uncomfortable to Walk Down the Street and Notice Things': An Interview with Sloane Crosley

The author of Look Alive Out There on neighbours, Generation X, and pot-smoking hippies in Northern California. 

Dark Matters

After the deaths of Colten Boushie, Tina Fontaine, and so many others, Canadian society seems much more convinced about what didn't cause them than what did.

'Telling the Story of Addiction Doesn’t Always Save You from the Experience Of It': An Interview With Leslie Jamison

The author of The Recovering on archival addiction narratives, excavating how things get better, and sugar. 

The Bars Tell Stories

I’d returned to Puerto Rico to drink, yes, but more than that, to see how much—and how little—Hurricane Maria had changed things.

Elizabeth Taylor and the Myth of Blue Eye Shadow

As the actress sped around Rome wearing her makeup from the film Cleopatra, women everywhere embraced a bold look with a complicated history. 

Grace on the Inside

The reality of life in Canadian prisons, while improving, has been stark for many years. One figure, the prison chaplain, strives to humanize what can be a dehumanizing experience.