You are currently browsing geezblogger's articles.
For every politician seeking election this season, I recommend Gabor Maté’s book, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (Toronto: Knopf, 2008). It offers a compassionate view of troubles affecting the core areas of North America’s major cities.
Maté is a doctor in Vancouver’s downtown eastside, a community of concentrated poverty and drug addiction, sometimes described as Canada’s poorest postal code, and this book, like the doctor himself, does good work. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s nice to get a mention in Canada’s paper of record, The Globe and Mail. Not bad; we’re stuck between Vanity Fair and Wax Poetics. Thanks to JB for the headsup and DD for the clipping. - Aiden Enns, publisher, Geez magazine
Geez [Summer, 2008]
The best line in a long time: An open-minded woman (writer Sarah E. Truman) tries to talk about The Golden Compass with her arch-Catholic grandmother. The film was, you may remember, seen by some as anti-church. Said granddaughter to grandmother: “Grandma, if God is all present, wouldn’t he have seen the film himself?” Grandmother: “Don’t be clever.”
In that line, you have the essence of Winnipeg-based Geez, a thoughtful, often irreverent and yet always earnest literary magazine on religion and the belief systems lying fallow under everyday life. A brilliant idea for a small publication that makes it worth looking for.
A little later in the article, after establishing with the grandmother that the Lord grants us free will, even if we use it badly, damning ourselves for eternity: “But Grandma, how is that ‘free will?’ It sounds like ‘not-so-free’ will. Like, ‘I’m going to let you think you’re free, but if you choose wrong, you’re going to hell.’”
Grandmother: “Is that Scotch you’re drinking?”
“Yes, single malt.”
From On the Stand: A weekly roundup of the best magazine reads on the racks, by Guy Dixon, The Globe and Mail, Saturday, August 2, 2008
Last week I sent out a letter to all subscribers (except those who are making monthly donations). It was addressed to “Dear Reader,” which has already drawn some comments.
I thought I would say “Dear Reader” instead of using a computer to auto insert 1500 names (e.g. “Dear <first name>”) because “Dear Reader” is more honest. That is, if I open a letter from an organization that says “Dear Aiden,” I know it is not personal, unless it has some other elements, that aren’t computer generated.
If I say “Dear Reader” in my publisher’s letter it also saves us the hassle of custom printing, sorting and stuffing all the envelopes.
So, in case you’re wondering why I addressed you in an impersonal way, that’s why.
Aiden Enns, Publisher, Geez magazine.
Recent Comments