ISSUE 34

Winter 2009

Cover

  • A More Perfect Union

    by LES HORSWILL

    The border between Canada and the United States pits two great countries against each other. Les Horswill makes the case for a greater North American federation.

    [Full Article]

  • The Happiness Project

    by SHAUN PETT

    Endless economic growth hasn’t made us happier, so why do governments still tie well-being to wealth? Presenting a new, made-in-Canada benchmark for progress.

    [Full Article]

  • My Choice

    by A.M. HINTON

    For A.M. Hinton, abortion was simply another issue to debate over drinks. Then she became pregnant.

    [Full Article]

  • Generation Geek

    by JOHN SEMLEY

    At a time when comic book culture has never been more mainstream -- or more lucrative -- where’s the line between wannabe and true believer?

    [Full Article]

  • The Not-Quite Novel

    by NATHAN WHITLOCK

    In their scramble to find the next breakthrough book, publishers are marketing awkward hybrids that are neither literary enough to last nor commercial enough to entertain.

    [Full Article]

  • The Fox

    by KASIA JUNO VAN SCHAIK

    The prize-winning story from last year’s Quebec Writing Competition

    [Full Article]

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

  • Soldier's Heart

    by JOEL ELLIOTT

    You’ve returned from a traumatizing tour of duty, suicidal and haunted by images you can’t forget. Why won’t the military help?

  • Flappers

    by CHRISTOPHER MILLER

    Cute, skinny and scantily clad, flappers gave the rough-and-tumble funnies a much-needed sexual charge.

  • Kill Them All

    by STEPHEN O'SHEA

    Eight hundred years ago, crusaders slaughtered twenty thousand people in Languedoc, France. Today, fascination with the massacre has turned the region into a tourist trap.

  • Old Gays

    by JEAN-YVES GIRARD

    The generation that launched the queer-rights movement is entering its golden years. Some are still in no hurry to step out of the closet. Translated by Valerie Howes.

  • Four Seasons

    by SUSAN BRISCOE

    Four poems

  • My Brother’s Keeper

    by MYLES ESTEY

    Your country emerges from a civil war of mind-numbing brutality. You can fix the roads, but how do you heal an entire population?

  • Behind the Firewall

    by JON EVANS

    The internet’s power to take down tyranny lies beyond Twitter. Jon Evans on the high-tech programs every despot should fear.

  • Members Only

    by DAVE BIDINI

    It is an important rite of passage: the breakup of the band you once loved. Dave Bidini recalls the friendship that sank with New Wave.

  • Outlaw Country

    by JAY SOMERSET

    Collapsed industries, racist policies and cancer are topics most country bands avoid. But five musicians—Toronto's One Hundred Dollars—are rebooting Canada’s gritty folk tradition.

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Contributor’s Notes

Jon Evans is the author of four novels, including Invisible Armies and the Arthur Ellis Award-winning Dark Places. His journalism has been published in Wired, the Globe and Mail and the Guardian. His previous column for Maisonneuve was “What’s Wrong With Africa” (Issue 33).l

Dave Bidini has written eight books and two plays, and directed three films. His next book, Home and Away: Adventures at the 2008 Homeless World Cup, is forthcoming. His previous column for Maisonneuve was “The Great Comeback” (Issue 33).

John Semley has been published in Cinema Scope, Exclaim!, CineAction and Cineaste. He currently working on a study of Brian DePalma’s 1974 cult film Phantom of the Paradise. Read his reports on film at maisonneuve.org.

Jay Somerset has been published in Spacing, MusicWorks, Maclean’s and Canadian Business. A Toronto-based editor and writer, he has been nominated for two National Magazine Awards.

Shaun Pett is a Montreal-based journalist whose writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Montreal Gazette and Now. His last article for Maisonneuve was “Web 2.0 to the Rescue” (Issue 31).

Nathan Whitlock wrote A Week of This: A Novel in Seven Days (2007). His work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s and Best Canadian Essays. His last article for Maisonneuve was the short story “Poor Eugene” (Issue 31).

Les Horswill lives in Toronto, where he comments and consults on politics and government. He returns to writing after a wide-ranging career in public service. He is currently completing a book on Canadian nationalism and the promise of North America.

Myles Estey lives and works in Monrovia, Liberia as a media trainer and freelance journalist. He  contributes regularly to a number of publications including Vice, Global Post and World Politics Review. Visit his blog at esteyonage.blogspot.com.

Joel Elliott is a writer of fiction and non-fiction, a musician and a regular contributor to Coke Machine Glow. He currently resides in Toronto, where he is completing his MFA in Documentary Media at Ryerson University.

Christopher Miller’s new novel The Cardboard Universe (Harper Perennial) was released in April. Alongside his interest in comic strips, Miller has a large collection of fake and novelty foods gathered from around the world. He currently teaches at Bennington College in Vermont.

Stephen O’Shea latest book is Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World (2006). He is working on a book about a monk who shut down the Inquisition in fourteenth-century Languedoc. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.

A.M. Hinton is a pseudonym for a well-known Canadian freelance writer and editor. She has written for a wide variety of publications and organizations.

Susan Briscoe has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards and won the 2001 Lina Chartrand Award. Her first book of poetry, The Crow’s Vow, is due out in Spring 2010.