Summer reading lists

I just finished an article for The Winnipeg Review (fantastic Prairie lit blog you should subscribe to) about summer reading lists, asking local authors for their thoughts on the matter. And most don't buy into them; they either have a list they plug away at throughout the year or they read a la freeform. There was even a hint that summer reading lists are a media/pr creation (read the article).

So, to open this up to everyone, here's the 39-chapter question: Do you have a summer reading list?

Headline writing doc - excerpts

I shot and edited a doc at the Winnipeg Free Press this past month, profiling the team who puts together the headlines (along with laying out and editing all the pages). When you realize that 75% of people don't read past the headlines, this anonymous group of people are some of the most influential folk in the city.

I can't show you the final film just yet - I'm pitching it to MTS On Demand and they'd prefer to purchase a film that hasn't already made it's debut.

But I can show you these excerpts that didn't make it into the final piece. Think of it as a little taste to whet your appetite. And I'll let you know when/if the full version is coming to a screen near you.

Readin' Writin' and Representin'

Readin'

On a certain someone's insistence, I read five pages of fiction before going to bed the other day, rather than my usual nightcap of Twitter and blog posts. Holy glob, did I find out how much I miss reading for pleasure. Soon my beloved novels, novellas, poems and essays, soon we'll be reunited and spend the day lying in bed.
(And if you haven't read the Piano Man's Daughter, fix that situation. That Canada produced an author like Timothy Findley alone makes it a great country).

Writin'

Deadlines may gang up on me, but there's a deep deep pleasure in doing the freelance journalism/writing beat - mostly because I get to bring attention to notable things and people in my community. The recent wordsmithing includes...

Artist Jordan Miller sells work to the province
Dropping revenue prompts Winnipeg Film Group to consider relocation

Representin'

Tomorrow morning I'm giving my final report on Heartbeat at the Winnipeg Convention Centre as part of the 2013 CreComm Independent Professional Project Presentations. The first two days have been stellar and my classmates have raised the bar (curse them). I'm on at 9am. You can watch it live, since the technical gurus of are streaming it here.

On visiting the hospital to witness a death

You realize that you are rushing. Not running, which would be undignified, but trotting a quick step through indistinguishable wards and hallways, scanning arrows for guidance and counting room numbers.

You turn a corner and sight a relative and slow your pace. It's a chance to read their face to know what's coming - a diagnosis written in pursed lips, wet eyes and pale skin. Did we make it in time? Is she still alive?

Entering the room after wordless hugs, you turn to the first bed but it's not her. It's never her. Hospitals rotate beds to ensure loved ones are never the first person you see. You've stumbled into someone else's private grief and back away from the stranger-patient and their family apologetically, entering your own crisis with tail tucked.

Past the next curtain and there he is, life held together by willpower and breathing tubes. Your uncle and aunt tried to warn you about what you'd see but words don't cut it. Words can't prep you for the suckerpunch of seeing a love one diminished, turned into the intersection of tubes, wires and flesh. I know, we all know, that we're going to die, that an eternal parting from everything we cherish is inevitable, but here it is in person. Mortality 101.

She's not conscious. No, she is. Is she? You peer into the doped gaze for recognition and intelligence, smiling fake confidence. It takes five seconds at most to realize words won't do. Instinct kicks in and you literally try to get a grip.

Touch is the undeniably real sensation in the middle of an undeniably unreal blur. Cold, dry skin is a solid fact. Gossamer, untinted hair is proof of existence.

You perch on the hospital bed and settle for touch. If that is settling. The moment is basic and primitive.

Touch.

Pulse.




Breath.







Breath.

The Winnipeg Circus

Gabriel Whitford is balancing on a double rolla bolla — a wooden plank laid across a foot-long-tube that balances on another, perpendicular tube. That’s three axis ofinstability (if you’re counting) the 24-year-old could mess up on, but he’s on top of the situation.

Until he starts juggling to shake things up. His balance slips, physics gets mean and Whitford falls two feet onto his knees. Hard. He sucks in breath through clenched teeth and waves off help from nearby jugglers, clowns and amateur acrobats.

Welcome to the circus.

(continue reading at the Spectator Tribune)

Awful jobs: The Dishwashers preview

Nelken, Anniko and Wilkie. Get scrubbing.

Harry Nelken had a knife held to his head when when he drove cab. Rylan Wilkie spent a month phoning Americans to ask their opinions on a tax. Tom Anniko gutted chickens on an assembly line, snagging the occasional rotten bird loaded with an partially developed egg.

Those were the worst jobs of the main cast of The Dishwashers, Prairie Theatre Exchange's upcoming comedy, which follows a ruined stock trader into a subterranean dish pit  In the bowels of the restaurant where he used to eat, Emmett's soul stares into the abyss - a future scraping endlessly re-dirtied dishes. Or is it hell? His coworkers, head dishwasher Dressler and pit-lifer Moss, both embrace their roles as necessary cogs in the dining machine. They don't look for anything bigger. As Dressler says, "Ambition is a dream you wake up from in the last moment of your life."

Canadian author Morris Panych dedicated the play to his father, a man who worked menial jobs his whole life without complaint. In service industry heavy Winnipeg, it's a fair bet some audience members will see their own lives played out on stage.

 “We in Canada think there’s a large middle class,” says Wilkie, who plays Emmett, “but there’s tonnes of people working shit crap jobs we don’t even notice or care to recognize; people picking up garbage or cleaning our condos. I’ve even noticed doing this play walking through the (Portage Place) mall, ‘Hey that guy’s cleaning that staircase.’ And I’d never noticed him there or cared to notice before.”

“You stay in jobs like cab driving or dishwashing and you rationalize what you’re doing, because you’re afraid, or you tried things and it didn’t work out.” Nelken observes. “But those who do that, they’re people none the less... That’s what I learned from driving cab; never underestimate anyone and never overestimate anyone.”

The plays’ existential question – is a menial existence worth living? – may be presented hilariously (In one scene, two dishwashers debate letting the third drown in a plate of mashed potatoes and decide no, he shouldn’t get so lucky), but the struggle between ambition and settling for present circumstances have the cast seriously reflecting on their own lives.

“I put myself in a situation once where my ambition was beyond my ability,” says Anniko. “I was working at the CBC trying to move up the corporate ladder and I went before a board to interview for a job. As soon as I sat down I realized ‘Oh my god I’m out of my depth’ and it was humbling and humiliating. And I walked out of there knowing I didn’t want to go any higher; I’d reached the point where I was comfortable. That was a cure for my ambition.”

“In the end, it may have been the best thing that happened to me.”

The Dishwashers runs January 23 to February 10. Tickets and details at www.pte.mb.ca.

Favourite lines in the play

Wilkie: Ambition is a dream you wake up from in the last moment of your life.

Anniko: As you grow older your dreams become smaller. They won’t even be dreams anymore, just little wishes.

Nelken: Don’t let go of the rope!

You don't have a language

Photo: Ota Nda Yanaan

What would you say if you were told you didn't have a language? And more importantly, what would you do? If you're Rita Flamand, you write a dictionary.

I had a chance to chat with Rita about her life last month, then write this profile piece for Red River College's Going Places blog. But don't read it for my writing; read it for her story.

Sondheim and his Assassins

Photo: Susan Benoit

SondheimFest is nigh upon us, celebrating the work of the man who dragged the traditional musical ("kicking and screaming"or "dancing and singing" if you will) into the modern age.

I don't go in for many musicals, frankly. Too often the songs, dances and (typically) high production values are covers for shoddy storytelling and broad acting. And Sondheim agrees, which is probably why I enjoy his works so much. From West Side Story to Sweeney Todd to Assassins, Sondheim has insisted on the musical carrying its weight as an art form.

All that to say, if you want to see a musical with me, let's head out to SondheimFest together; there's a number of productions by tremendous local indy companies I want to see. I promise to leave my grumpy face at home.

Oh — and here's a preview piece I wrote for the Projector on one of the shows. Cheers!

Assassins exposes dark side of the American dream

A meal made of gold

Meet the powerhouse behind Wasabi Sabi — Chef Östen Rice, who just won the Winnipeg Gold Medal Plate for an inspired Scandan-asian dish.

You can read up on his life, experience at the competition and hopes on the Going Places Blog in a piece written by some so-and-so.

Waiting for Remembrance

A year ago, I attended the Remembrance Day service at Bruce Park Cenotaph, then wrote this story for my first year creative communications journalism class.

***

Over 400 people are waiting on the grassy hill beside Bruce Park’s cenotaph. The sun is shining; a few drifts of snow are on the grass. Clumps of friends, young families and solitary people mix on the hill. Uniforms dot the crowd.

A woman leads a boy by the hand, saying, “You’ve got ants in your pants, so we’re taking a walk.”

In the distance, bagpipes and drums strike up a march and the crowd’s chatter stops.

Six pipers and twelve drummers, blue kilts and regalia flapping in the breeze, lead flag-bearers, a party of veterans and members of 402 Squadron Winnipeg. They march around the crowd, circle the memorial, and then halt at attention.

As the service begins, grey clouds hide the sun.

The Assiniboia Concert Band plays “O Canada” before listeners realize what’s happening. The crowd catches up, however, and quietly sings the national anthem.

Major Brian Slous prays, asking God to be near those whose lives have been affected by war, who have lost loved ones, or who suffer pain and injury due to conflict.

“What we value is preserved by a very thin line. Many standing here have stood on that line. Many have died on that line. Some bear the wounds of having stood on that line. If we gathered here fail to stand on that line... their sacrifice is in vain.”

The last post.

The piper’s lament.

Two minutes of silence are announced. Halfway through, a young boy in a suit looks around; he doesn’t break his silence, but he can’t stop himself from looking at the crowd.

Representatives lay wreaths at the foot of the cenotaph. A hymn plays, a benediction is given and “God Save the Queen” is sung. The people are still waiting.

The veterans and 402 Squadron turn for their march down Portage Avenue to the St. James Legion. Now the crowd pushes forward. Men, women and children take poppies from their coats and start adding them to the cluster of wreaths at the foot of the cenotaph, covering the green with red.

This is what they’ve been waiting for.

Be a better writer by being a better reader

Having trouble with your writing? Perhaps you're stuck for ideas. Perhaps the words are flowing but the final product reminds you of a Dickensian orphan - sickly, underfed and poisoned by mercury.

Put down your keyboard, drop your pen and pull up your favourite chair, because - and I'm not the first person to say this - reading great writing will improve your own work. It will inspire you, expose you to different writing rhythms and remind you of grammatical rules you mothballed ages ago.

The great fiction writers are easy to find at your local bookstore (while those last) and library or online. My tastes tend to the non-fiction side, though it's harder to find a starting place with non-fiction's more modest reputations. Here, then, are some of my favourite online non-fiction articles.

Illustration by Jaff Seijas

Anatomy of a Divorce

by Pat Conroy

Written in 1978, an insightful personal account of the "dark country" of divorce.

Welcome to Cancerland / Adventures in Cancerland
by Barbara Ehrenreich  / Mike Celizic

Two personal accounts of journeys through another country - cancerland. The first by a widely published American columnist who was ahead of the curve criticizing the hijacking of breast cancer as a "dream cause" (she's in this clip of 2011 documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc.) and the second by a TODAYshow.com / MSNBC reporter who was killed by lymphoma in 2010.

Photo by Phillip Toledano

Why Women Still Can't Have It All 

by Anne-Marie Slaughter

This recent article made waves and caused great debate - which is great - though I don't know if the systemic changes Slaughter is advocating have gotten the traction she clearly hopes for. Great read and blueprint for the future.

Letters of Note
curated by Shaun Usher

Not one piece of writing, but a logophile's attempt to bring attention to some of the very best letters on record. Usually from (or to) the famous, though not always. The "random letter" button and the near daily posts will satisfy any logophile's craving.

Nearly 100 Fantastic Pieces of Journalism

compiled by Conor Friedersdorf

A collection of 2010's best journalism as picked by The Atlantic staff writer Conor Friedersdorf. A sharp journo pointed out the list's imbalanced favour of men (of the 105 identified authors, 20 have feminine names), but I don't think this detracts from any of the individual pieces.

Can you recommend any great non-fiction reads for me? Any thoughts on the articles I linked to in this post? How's your Thursday going?

Our Winnipeg secret

I've finally been able to write an article for the Winnipeg Free Press during my internship there. The following appeared in the Sunday, August 5th edition, with a great photo by Ruth Bonneville.

I know the Freep is looking for other Our Winnipeg stories (looking at you, fellow CreComm students). Do you have a nook in the city you cherish? Drop me a line and I'll try to connect you with the publishing powers that be.

Photo by Ruth Bonneville.

The flip side of our bizarre city

'Lovely little park' shows what Winnipeg could be

Mel and I aren't from Winnipeg. She's originally from southwestern Manitoba and I'm a base brat from everywhere and nowhere. When we moved here about 12 years ago, we had the same thought: What a bizarre city...

(continue reading)

Fringe Review: Unseen

I was considering applying to join one of the major local review teams for this year's Winnipeg Fringe, but my anti-Fringe work schedule (3pm to 11pm) and cowardice got the better of me.

BUT I don't want to deprive you of my opinion! Please tailor the following review as suits your needs.
Best,

Matthew

REVIEW: A Fringe Show As Yet Unseen

Unseen is the hilarious/harrowing show of love/business/a squid gone awry. The tale/musical/collection of skits is presented by a local/touring/Lithuanian company who more than earn their keep/miss the mark - I'm only sorry the show couldn't continue/suffocate and die.

The script has some sharp writing, though it could definitely stand tightening. The young/old cast put in a noble effort - particularly the stunningly attractive lead. The director's tight/heavy direction is felt throughout the piece, particularly in the closing number/dramatic climax/banana dance.

While the run time of 90/60/45/10 minutes is overlong and the given circumstances make it impossible to suspend your disbelief, a quixotic blend of spontaneity, energy and humour/pathos/projections are what save/doom this show. The audience couldn't stop talking about it on the way out!

I only wish every play with similar content could be Unseen.

(Word of warning: the uncomfortable seats and hot venue distract from the show un/fortunately.)

My Peasant Project

I have spare minutes at work every now and then. I usually fill them with online reading, picking my toes and decorative origami, but I'm also working on my writing skills. Specifically, pumping out 140 ironic characters.

Yes! My years of education and experience have finally born fruit in a fake Twitter account! @Mom will be so proud.

@PeasantTweet is written by an 11th century Bulgarian peasant. He's married, usually has 8 children (depending on mortality and market rates) and loves to dig.

Is this a great big waste of time? Yes (though I'm sure the three bots following me would be devastated if I quit). On the other hand, taking my daily problems and filtering them through a snarky medieval serf helps me stay cool, yo. 

So follow @PeasantTweet. Or better, start your own fake Twitter accounts. Who knows, maybe one day you too can proudly stand beside my favourite comedy accounts - @CobraCommander, @Sockington or even @PMHarper (a person who tweets just like a bot - love it!)

Lessons in copy editing #1

I've been copy editing (writing headlines and editing stories) for three weeks at the Winnipeg Free Press and the learning curve remains vertical. Any perception of myself as a good speller and/or grammarian has been washed away. That's fine. I will learn and improve.

And I've learned a lot already. So here is the first in a series of posts on what I've picked up from the copy desk. Let me know if they're useful.

1) Grow a thick skin

Your brilliant, witty, insightful headline only looks that way to you. Or maybe it is super tasty. Guess what? It just got replaced. Get over it; you have ten headlines to write and seven pages to edit.

2) Bring the book

The spelling authorities still use analog. Can you find the definitive Canadian spelling of "half-full" (or is it "half full") online? Yeah, didn't think so. Set a dictionary and a CP stylebook by your computer.

3) Triple-check

Do go over your own writing, comparing it to your CP stylebook and dictionary, but beware the conceited human brain tends to overlook its own mistakes. Copy and paste your work into a program with an automated spell check (if the layout program you're using doesn't have one) and catch some easy errors you missed. Then get a colleague to read over your work. And when they point out obvious mistakes, do a face-palm, then write them down.

4) Be sensitive

You will be inundated with stories of larceny, wrongdoing and loss - those are the stories that make up the news. It's a natural response to distance yourself, through apathy, cynicism or dark humour. Those are legitimate responses to a whole lot of mess. But don't let it come out in your writing, because people who do care will read your paper. The punny headline you wrote about yet another Winnipeg homicide? That's someone's loved one. Ask yourself how the people involved in the story will perceive your headline. Don't write to please them and don't write in a world devoid of them.

A Ghost of Radio Future

My independent professional project for Creative Communications has been approved. Now I have the summer off to dream, connive and lay plans for my arts-driven radio show.

But I wanted to give you a little taste. Hopefully we can look forward to this together...