Quill and Quire

By Cynthia MacDonald

Alms is set in the 1980s in Toronto. Its sad-sack protagonist, Martine Craythorn, describes her people as “the late-century rich – back-patters and horse-laughers.” In an age of ambition and acquisition, Martine is obsessed only ... Read More »

November 20, 2003 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels

By Kim Echlin

The ancient kingdom of Sumer, located in what is now Iraq, gave the world its first form of written language. Sumerian cuneiform was used to record the world’s first written poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh. ... Read More »

November 20, 2003 | Filed under: Art, Music & Pop Culture

By David Homel

Shot through with gallows humour and a brand of wartime slapstick, David Homel’s The Speaking Cure communicates a subtle and powerful anti-censorship message while blurring already shifty lines between right and wrong, victim and oppressor. ... Read More »

November 19, 2003 | Filed under: Fiction: Novels