Poetry
Oscar Wilde’s Utopia
Not that I love thy children, whose dull eyes See nothing save their own unlovely woe, Whose minds know nothing, nothing care to know,— This is the opening verse of Oscar Wilde’s “Sonnet to Liberty.” Beyond its apparent cynicism, it elegantly encapsulates the acute miseries of youth—solipsistic, impatient,
R.M. Vaughan (1965–2020): A Beautiful Mind Silently Extinguished in a Time of Fear
We were extremely close for about five years. He was my confidante and my support system. We were best friends. Never lovers—though many thought we were. It was a dark time for me, and I needed him. Canadian gay writer Richard Murray Vaughan (1965–2020) was found dead by
The Misguided Campaign Against Journalistic Objectivity
Locked down in a northern Ontario cottage over the summer, I found myself listening to CBC Radio’s Sunday Edition, an eclectic three-hour weekly morning show hosted, until his recent retirement, by veteran journalist and broadcaster Michael Enright. On this particular Sunday in July, guest host Anthony Germain interviewed Candis
The Million-Petalled Flower
Who wrote this? “Political language—and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists—is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” But you guessed straight away: George Orwell. The subject
In Praise of Sylvia Plath's Forgotten (Sorority) Sister
A tragic early death can do wonders for a writer’s reputation. On October 27, Google dedicated its search page to the late Sylvia Plath, who would have turned 87 that day, had she not taken her own life, at the age of 30, back in 1963. It seems unlikely
Headline Rhymes
If US immigration facilities Are like concentration camps What other American things Must we brand with the same stamp? Surely general admission seating At a Backstreet Boys show Is like millions of innocent people Killed in unspeakable rows And that maddening line at the airport Where I’m forced
Headline Rhymes
Silicon Valley has gone all-in On purging ideas deemed bad It’s like mouths washed out with soap By the nuns who taught my dad The important distinction being: That was in 1955 Those with soap on their hands today Were decades from being alive We’re going
Headline Rhymes
Before believing it’s helpful For kids to skip school for the climate Consider the wisdom level That surely must be behind it If I’d been an activist at 16 I would have made your head spin As leader of an airtight regime Based on the songs
