I’ve been rereading Peter Carey’s brilliant novel, The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith (1994). Tristan Smith’s fictional homeland, a peaceable Efica, is colonized relentlessly by Voorstand, a far more powerful neighbour that distracts its citizens from their failed democracy with “Sirkus Domes,” brutal, vulgar entertainments that leach Voorstand’s culture into every corner of Efica. I’m trying to gear up for the future through Carey’s weirdly prescient, propulsively imaginative work.
— Margaret Sweatman is the author of seven novels, most recently Night Birds (Goose Lane Editions, 2026). She’s a playwright and a performer (vocals and harmonica) living in Winnipeg, Treaty One Territory. dreamplay.ca/margaret-sweatman.
You can read Margaret Sweatman's story "Material Witness" in Issue 307 (Spring 2026). Order the issue now!
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