Atlantic Canada's International Literary Journal

Books

Here is where we’ll bring you coverage of books. General criticism, reading lists, editorial picks, and much more!

Celebrating Young Literary Ladies!

Posted on January 3, 2012

By Sarah Bernstein

I listen to CBC radio quite a bit, mostly because I can’t pay for cable, and I have run through all my DVDs, namely, a four-season box set of A Haunting and some bootlegged Harry Potters with burnt-in Greek subtitles. The CBC, as I am sure you know, has some terrific programmes and personalities (Eleanor Wachtel, especially). There are, too, these somewhat bizarre features, interviews with pseudo-scientist types whose main goal, it seems, is to shame the Younger Generation.

Grumpy Old Men (On Richler and Sendak)

Posted on November 24, 2011

By Sarah Bernstein

At my Jewish high school in Montreal, Mordecai Richler, of course, was a bit of a hero. Whether or not he liked it, and even though he relentlessly lampooned the Jewish community, he was still one of ours. February at our school was public speaking month. So, every February, the teachers compiled and distributed a list of quotations to all of us groaning, gawky teenagers — possible speech topics from which we were to choose. . . .

Breathe, Just Breathe: Christina Cooke on Zadie Smith's White Teeth

Posted on November 9, 2011

By Christina Cooke

Commendations on the novel’s thematic triumphs need not be contrived by this humble author as institutions such as The New Yorker, Guardian and Financial Times have safely lionized this text as one of the most celebrated of the past two decades. But the most striking yet undervalued aspect of White Teeth, from my reading, is Smith’s awareness of the constrictions placed upon writing by those reading it — of the insistent and insufferable question demanded ad naseum, “but what does this mean?" . . .

James Langer's Best Poetry Books

Posted on July 7, 2011

By James Langer As promised during the Radio Fiddlehead podcast, here is a list of my ten favorite poetry collections published in Britain and Ireland over the past decade (in no particular order). This isn't pretending to be a "Best Of" list by any means, so if you're reading this and notice something's missing, feel free to fill in my blanks.

Anita Lahey’s Top 10 Poetry Books by Canadians since 2000

Posted on July 4, 2011

By Anita Lahey This is “a” Top 10, not “the” Top 10 — on another day, other collections may have come more forcefully to mind. Poetry is like that. The list is in order by title, not by rank.

Ross Leckie’s Best Poetry Books

Posted on June 30, 2011

By Ross Leckie I decided to take books off my shelf in a bit of an arbitrary fashion, focusing on first books or books that didn’t receive enough attention, in my view. On another day it would be a different set of books.

Documentary Fiction and The Death of Donna Whalen

Posted on August 16, 2010

By Holly Luhning

The practice of incorporating historical or “real-life” events in a fictional work is common. But the term “documentary fiction” isn’t one I’ve often heard applied to a novel.

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The Fiddlehead is published four times a year at the University of New Brunswick, with the generous assistance of the university, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Province of New Brunswick. First published in 1945, The Fiddlehead is known as a WHO'S WHO in Can. Lit. Many — now well-known — writers have found their first home in our pages. The material on this website may not be cached, distributed, reproduced, transmitted, or otherwise used without the prior permission of The Fiddlehead. Email comments, complaints, or suggestions regarding this website to fiddlehd@unb.ca.

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