Category: Features

In honour of Stuart McLean, who passed away on February 15, 2017, we present, from our archives, Fiddlehead editorial assistant Ryan Gaio's piece from November 2015.

By Steven Suntres In my mind, the palate for both techno and poetry is a massive suggestion for the two to fuse together and to create on a blank canvas. I foresee an opportunity, both in content and cultural relevance, to create something that is beautiful and authentic in both of these mediums coming together. They are both emotional experiences that could synthesize into a superpower of an emotional medium.

By Steven Suntres With electronic music’s meteoric rise over the past decade, the culture infiltrated the mainstream conscious, which came with its faults but ultimately benefited the culture as a whole. Techno became a cultural force taking over the lifestyles of the party demographics all over the continent. . . .

By Steven Suntres Poetry and techno are like two of my mind’s closest friends that continually flirt with each other to the point that I’m confused as to why they don’t just quit playing around and start dating. For a while, I thought this was something that only made sense to me, and that I should just keep my opinions to myself; however, when I came across an article in The Atlantic, titled "The Death of the Artist” by William Deresiewicz, I began to think that this is a match that is more plausible than I first thought it would be in a real world setting.

By Rebecca Salazar

Sean Howard has won our 24th annual Ralph Gustafson Prize for Best Poem for "Cases (Unbound Poems, from Nova Scotia Reports)." Sean Howard is the author of Local Calls (Cape Breton University Press, 2009) and Incitements (Gaspereau Press, 2011). His poetry has been published in numerous Canadian and international magazines, nominated for a Pushcart Prize in the US, and anthologized in The Best Canadian Poetry in English (Tightrope Books, 2011 & 2014). Sean lives in the lobster-fishing village of Main-à-Dieu, Nova Scotia, and is adjunct professor of political science at Cape Breton University.

By Reid Lodge

Lisa Alward has won The Fiddlehead's 24th annual Short Fiction Prize for her story "Cocktail." Originally from Halifax, Lisa Alward has a master’s degree in English from the University of London and was the Literary Press Group’s first sales manager. She presently lives in Fredericton, where she teaches courses in clear writing and has worked as an editor and freelance writer. She has been writing short fiction for three years. “Cocktail,” her second story to be published, is inspired by the cocktail party world of the sixties and early seventies.

By Reid Lodge

As a queer, transgender Canadian I often find people like me to be either underrepresented or poorly represented in fiction. The idea that marginalized groups are underrepresented in all forms of artistic media (especially the most popular varieties) is hardly new, but even so, I always find it worthwhile to call attention to some of the great work happening by queer artists across the country whenever I get the chance. . . .