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The Unprecedented Love Story Behind Reproduction
Ian Williams is a Canadian poet and fiction writer. His first title, You Know Who You Are (2010) was shortlisted for the ReLit Awards. In 2011, he published a collection of short stories, Not Anyone’s Anything, for which he won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award. His book of poems, Personals (2012) was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. Add to this list, his most glorious one so far: 2019 Giller Prize for his debut novel Reproduction (2019). He currently teaches Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Reproduction is a lengthy novel (I know, it’s 446 pages, but hear me out). It revolves around the uncongenial family life of…
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Of Pirates, Parrots, and Persecution: An Interview with Gary Barwin
Ever heard of a talking parrot? I am assuming you have. Now what about the 500-year-old immortal, gay, and Yiddish-speaking parrot, who has set the literary world abuzz? Oh! Did we mention the parrot is also the narrator of a tale brimming with pirates, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, and the tragic Spanish inquisition from the 12th and 19th centuries? If that just made your head spin, let us direct you to the source—Gary Barwin, a writer, composer, multimedia artist, and the author of twenty books of poetry, fiction, and books. In his first adult fiction, Yiddish for Pirates, the 52-year-old pulled out all the stops in creating a literary piece…