December 19th, 2009 / 1:54 pm
Random
Lily Hoang
Random
Oh! Canada!
Hello, HTML Giant, from sub-zero Canada! I’m happy to be on board.
So yesterday, I packed all my stuff in a car and drove up here. And now, here I am, in Canada. What’s with this place? What’s going on here? Free health care? Clean cities? Really, it can’t be trusted. I mean, can people who choose to live in a place this cold be trusted? (Obviously, I’ve chosen to live here & I know I’m untrustworthy. Logic then tells me that anyone else who makes this decision also can’t be trusted.)
And what’s with the writing scene here? I mean, sure, Christian Bok & Jeff Parker, among a handful of unknown writers like Michael Ondaatje, are here, but who else? What else?!? Give me hope, HTML Giant!
Marilyn Bowering’s Visible Worlds is one of my favorite novels.
Marilyn Bowering’s Visible Worlds is one of my favorite novels.
It’ll be great. You’ll grow to love the changes in atmosphere.
It’ll be great. You’ll grow to love the changes in atmosphere.
What the hell you doing in Canada?
I have one word for you: poutine.
yeah, stacey levine sent me an email once that said: poutine!!
& sean: i moved. my partner’s in grad school up here.
mike: atmospheric changes? i don’t know about that, man…
yeah, stacey levine sent me an email once that said: poutine!!
& sean: i moved. my partner’s in grad school up here.
mike: atmospheric changes? i don’t know about that, man…
Lily–some of my favorite writers are Canadian. Miriam Toews (pronounced TAVES) being at the top (start with A Complicated Kindness). There’s also Jonathan Goldstein (start with Lenny Bruce is Dead). And Heather O’Neill, Lydia Eugene (if she’s still around), that singer guy from the Weakerthans, David Gilmour, Douglas Coupland (I’m not a fan), Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, and Jim Munroe.
Lily–some of my favorite writers are Canadian. Miriam Toews (pronounced TAVES) being at the top (start with A Complicated Kindness). There’s also Jonathan Goldstein (start with Lenny Bruce is Dead). And Heather O’Neill, Lydia Eugene (if she’s still around), that singer guy from the Weakerthans, David Gilmour, Douglas Coupland (I’m not a fan), Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, and Jim Munroe.
Decent scene. Shela Heti, Claudia Dey, Darren O’Donnel, Derek McCormack, Joey Comeau…
Check out OpenBookToronto.com for literary news.
Decent scene. Shela Heti, Claudia Dey, Darren O’Donnel, Derek McCormack, Joey Comeau…
Check out OpenBookToronto.com for literary news.
Atwood. Atwood. Atwood.
please tell me you’re in toronto. that would be super boss.
please tell me you’re in toronto. that would be super boss.
also: anne carson, obvs.
also: anne carson, obvs.
close to toronto. are you in toronto? (please say yes!) & obviously, of course, anne carson, atwood, etc etc etc.
close to toronto. are you in toronto? (please say yes!) & obviously, of course, anne carson, atwood, etc etc etc.
Andre Alexis! Despair, and Other Stories of Ottawa, and Childhood.
Andre Alexis! Despair, and Other Stories of Ottawa, and Childhood.
Pasha Malla
Pasha Malla
And my friend Andrew Tibbetts is Canadian. I do not think he’s as innovative/avant garde/experimental as “your kind of writer,” ;-) but he’s a total sweetheart and hilarious. Also talented. Here’s a paragraph (or rather 3 paragraphs) I enjoy:
“With my grandmother visiting, I get my Julie Andrews nightmares back again: Julie Andrews making curtains from my underwear, brown poo-streaks and all; Julie Andrews about to use me as a goat-puppet, snapping the plastic gloves on as she approaches me from behind; Julie Andrews coming to find me; and, no matter how well I have hidden myself, taking ninety-nine percent of the nightmare to find the perfect spot, Julie Andrews coming right towards the potato sack I have crawled into.
My grandmother takes us to the flicks. I want to see Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal in a comedy- What’s Up Doc? But in the stills from the movie outside the cinema, the stars are wrapped in towels and my grandmother declares this too suggestive. We go next door to Cinema 2. It is a re-release of Mary Poppins. My bum goes in.
It turns out, though, that Mary Poppins suits Julie Andrews better. The character is psychotic and charismatic, like a cult leader who convinces others of his vision by the sheer force of his warped personality. I would not take that spoonful of sugar, but it is too late for the children in the film. They have that overheated dead energy of Hollywood Children. They do as they are told. With big big smiles, or big big pouts, if asked. No one refers to her as a will-o-the-wisp, or a moonbeam in their hand. They are all suitably, and openly, terrified.”
And my friend Andrew Tibbetts is Canadian. I do not think he’s as innovative/avant garde/experimental as “your kind of writer,” ;-) but he’s a total sweetheart and hilarious. Also talented. Here’s a paragraph (or rather 3 paragraphs) I enjoy:
“With my grandmother visiting, I get my Julie Andrews nightmares back again: Julie Andrews making curtains from my underwear, brown poo-streaks and all; Julie Andrews about to use me as a goat-puppet, snapping the plastic gloves on as she approaches me from behind; Julie Andrews coming to find me; and, no matter how well I have hidden myself, taking ninety-nine percent of the nightmare to find the perfect spot, Julie Andrews coming right towards the potato sack I have crawled into.
My grandmother takes us to the flicks. I want to see Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal in a comedy- What’s Up Doc? But in the stills from the movie outside the cinema, the stars are wrapped in towels and my grandmother declares this too suggestive. We go next door to Cinema 2. It is a re-release of Mary Poppins. My bum goes in.
It turns out, though, that Mary Poppins suits Julie Andrews better. The character is psychotic and charismatic, like a cult leader who convinces others of his vision by the sheer force of his warped personality. I would not take that spoonful of sugar, but it is too late for the children in the film. They have that overheated dead energy of Hollywood Children. They do as they are told. With big big smiles, or big big pouts, if asked. No one refers to her as a will-o-the-wisp, or a moonbeam in their hand. They are all suitably, and openly, terrified.”
ken sparling. and, at this point obviously, kristina born.
ken sparling. and, at this point obviously, kristina born.
You can get codeine cough syrup in Canadian pharmacies. Just look like you live there. You have to ask the pharmacist. The green stuff tastes terrible but the red flavor is okay. Try Benyllin with codeine. A pharmacy in Chinatown is maybe best. The first night you drink some it’s a very nice high, but if you do it two nights in a row the 2nd night’s not nearly as good.
They also have acetaminophen or ASA (aspirin) with 15mg codeine per tab. 8mg caffeine each pill as well. The caffeine actually helps with an ordinary headache because it constricts the blood vessels in your head. This is not very codeine though compared to Tylenol 3.
I only know Vancouver BC but it’s beautiful and feels and looks just a little bit different from America. There’s a different style of architecture in the construction of ordinary homes. Long straight streets, lots of alleys, huge parks of green lawn for soccer. All very clean.
You can get codeine cough syrup in Canadian pharmacies. Just look like you live there. You have to ask the pharmacist. The green stuff tastes terrible but the red flavor is okay. Try Benyllin with codeine. A pharmacy in Chinatown is maybe best. The first night you drink some it’s a very nice high, but if you do it two nights in a row the 2nd night’s not nearly as good.
They also have acetaminophen or ASA (aspirin) with 15mg codeine per tab. 8mg caffeine each pill as well. The caffeine actually helps with an ordinary headache because it constricts the blood vessels in your head. This is not very codeine though compared to Tylenol 3.
I only know Vancouver BC but it’s beautiful and feels and looks just a little bit different from America. There’s a different style of architecture in the construction of ordinary homes. Long straight streets, lots of alleys, huge parks of green lawn for soccer. All very clean.
yes! i’m sitting in toronto right now!
yes! i’m sitting in toronto right now!
wow wow wow. i’m sitting in kingston right now.
let’s hang out once i get done w/ my winter travels, yeah?
wow wow wow. i’m sitting in kingston right now.
let’s hang out once i get done w/ my winter travels, yeah?
Kristina Born lives in Canada.
Watched all the words in One Hour of Television twice in two hours. Thanks for those. Excited to have you visit W. Mass in January, thanks for this thread, many new-to-me names: Jeff Parker, most of those via Rob and KevinS.
Beyond the holy ABC of Atwood (tho not for me: I much prefer Mavis Gallant and, often, Munro), Bok (for Mushroom Cloudsº alone) and Carson (Harold Bloom’s Nietzsche and ours), there’s a wiselike trinity in or of French Canada:
Nicole Brossard (writes in French, also novels), Erin Moure (I’m leaving the accent off, because I’m confused about where it should go, somebody help please), translator of Brossard among others, born in Calgary, lives in Montreal, and whose work is heavily informed by French, Spanish, and especially Portuguese and Galician (in which she also writes), and, especially to watch out for, Nathalie Stephens, who writes in–or, better, entre–English & French (among other things)…
& don’t miss Brad Flis (living in Detroit now, I’m gonna have to write about Model Homes soon) and (thanks, Lewis–who else?) Christopher Dewdney in Toronto, where there are also two world class poetry presses: BookThug and the legendary Coach House (on bpNichol Lane no less)
ºhttp://mediamogul.seas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Bok/Studio-111/Bok-Christian_05_Mushroom-Clouds_UPenn_4-20-05.mp3
Kristina Born lives in Canada.
Watched all the words in One Hour of Television twice in two hours. Thanks for those. Excited to have you visit W. Mass in January, thanks for this thread, many new-to-me names: Jeff Parker, most of those via Rob and KevinS.
Beyond the holy ABC of Atwood (tho not for me: I much prefer Mavis Gallant and, often, Munro), Bok (for Mushroom Cloudsº alone) and Carson (Harold Bloom’s Nietzsche and ours), there’s a wiselike trinity in or of French Canada:
Nicole Brossard (writes in French, also novels), Erin Moure (I’m leaving the accent off, because I’m confused about where it should go, somebody help please), translator of Brossard among others, born in Calgary, lives in Montreal, and whose work is heavily informed by French, Spanish, and especially Portuguese and Galician (in which she also writes), and, especially to watch out for, Nathalie Stephens, who writes in–or, better, entre–English & French (among other things)…
& don’t miss Brad Flis (living in Detroit now, I’m gonna have to write about Model Homes soon) and (thanks, Lewis–who else?) Christopher Dewdney in Toronto, where there are also two world class poetry presses: BookThug and the legendary Coach House (on bpNichol Lane no less)
ºhttp://mediamogul.seas.upenn.edu/pennsound/authors/Bok/Studio-111/Bok-Christian_05_Mushroom-Clouds_UPenn_4-20-05.mp3
^ Lily
^ Lily
For ^ Lily (below), read above: Excited to have you visit W. Mass in January, Lily, thanks for this thread, etc. Prob obvs, but worth repeating
For ^ Lily (below), read above: Excited to have you visit W. Mass in January, Lily, thanks for this thread, etc. Prob obvs, but worth repeating
Also, The Broken Record Technique by Lee Henderson and Pontypool by Tony Burgess (NOTHING like the movie… more a brilliantly humorous linguistic exercise than zombie piece.
Also, The Broken Record Technique by Lee Henderson and Pontypool by Tony Burgess (NOTHING like the movie… more a brilliantly humorous linguistic exercise than zombie piece.
Being Canadian, I have many views on being Canadian. We’re very nationalistic about our literature. I really dislike the moral urgency that I need to read about landscapes, naval disasters, and fishing (always with the fishing!) Does this count as hegemonic? Probably.
One book I really like is All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman. I read this once a year in December and then go skating and then go for hot chocolate. Fine, I am precious as hell.
I am going to give this book to you tonight.
Welcome here.
Being Canadian, I have many views on being Canadian. We’re very nationalistic about our literature. I really dislike the moral urgency that I need to read about landscapes, naval disasters, and fishing (always with the fishing!) Does this count as hegemonic? Probably.
One book I really like is All My Friends are Superheroes by Andrew Kaufman. I read this once a year in December and then go skating and then go for hot chocolate. Fine, I am precious as hell.
I am going to give this book to you tonight.
Welcome here.
jeff: i was totally baiting you to comment!
jeff: i was totally baiting you to comment!
absolutely.
absolutely.
thanks nathaniel. dig: holy abc of canada. thanks for all the suggestions! and wow, you’re in western mass too? i’m totally excited to visit now! it’ll be an html giant-fest…
and coach house is pretty cool, eh?
thanks nathaniel. dig: holy abc of canada. thanks for all the suggestions! and wow, you’re in western mass too? i’m totally excited to visit now! it’ll be an html giant-fest…
and coach house is pretty cool, eh?
I lived in Montreal for four years, I loved it.
I second Coach House and Book Thug, especially this issue from the former:
http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/prismatic-publics
Also, Thomas Heise is an American living/teacher in Canada (I know all real Canadians are hating me already), who wrote an absolutely amazing book of poems: http://www.sarabandebooks.org/?page_id=825
I lived in Montreal for four years, I loved it.
I second Coach House and Book Thug, especially this issue from the former:
http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/prismatic-publics
Also, Thomas Heise is an American living/teacher in Canada (I know all real Canadians are hating me already), who wrote an absolutely amazing book of poems: http://www.sarabandebooks.org/?page_id=825
Oh–and Prathna Lor!!
Oh–and Prathna Lor!!
http://cwip.artmob.ca/
http://cwip.artmob.ca/
i’m from kingston (well, not exactly) and i’m very happy lily has moved here.
i’ve been quite pleasantly surprised by canada and take jeff’s opinions on the state of literature in canada as golden.
i’m from kingston (well, not exactly) and i’m very happy lily has moved here.
i’ve been quite pleasantly surprised by canada and take jeff’s opinions on the state of literature in canada as golden.