Stocking
Stuffers Made Of Canadian Magazines Smelling Like Oranges
 Diamonds may be forever, but where is the subscription offer, or
witty editorial? Where’s that new magazine smell? Nothing says I
love you like a Canadian Magazine.
(December 2007)
By Nathaniel G.
Moore
Since TDR is an online literary journal, it’s hard for us to recommend
a
periodical for the holidays. I mean, no offense, but who wants a link
for Christmas? Same goes for Bookninja
and Open Book Toronto
and Quill Blog. Not the
best way to say "I saw this and thought of you immediately now
click here." So before you going to your sock drawer and fill them
up with apples and oranges and start hammering these gaudy garments to
your wall with people’s names written on them in serial killer crayon
font, just slow down, put the hammer down, and think about what you’re
doing.
You see, that’s why I turned to physical reality for this report and
not some idealized cook book reference or how to buy your mother
chocolate infomercial.
Why not go to a bookstore and support some Canadian Magazines? First of
all they roll up, some of them. Except the new issue of Matrix
because it comes with a DVD. It’s been a year since the magazine lost
Robert Allen, a great inspiration, poet, editor and friend to Montreal
and all of Canadian Literature. Matrix Magazine is one of the best
designed magazines in the country, and they are evolving the magazine
into a more accessible part of the greater good. For instance their next
issue is dedicated entirely to new writers. But you can read more about
that in the new issue. Issue 78 has a special section on film edited by
Taien Ng-Chan. The DVD features claymation by Conundrum author Elisabeth
Belliveau, a video performance by Carolien Boileau, a filmic treatise by
author / artist Victoria Stanton, a hand-drawn animation by Farzin
Farzeneh, based on a story by Jon Paul Fiorentino, and something called
"more". The issue also has new fiction by Leanna Mclennan plus
an interview with Lisa Robertson.
 Broken
Pencil’s latest issue was launched around Halloween, that’s why
it has a white male zombie on the cover. If you’ve noticed the strong
zombie movement in Toronto’s art scene, a trend perhaps only
threatened in popularity by the robots movement, you’ll like this
issue. There are cool tips on making realistic horror films, which is
important, because no one likes crap anymore. There is a great article
by Hannah D. Forman on zine philosophy and gender and its role in the
development of horror films. Declares Forman, "horror is not a boys
club anymore" which is for me a sort of personal mantra I’ve
believed in strongly since the late 1990s. The magazine is offering a
special holiday gift combo, check the site for details. Also, if you
find yourself surfing the net on boxing day, trying to sell your
fiction, wondering what contests to win before the year is up, the
magazine has a Death
Match going on (don’t we all.)
 The latest issue of Maisonneuve
hits newsstands in December, and the always fun boys and girls of
Team M are throwing a launch party. Doesn’t that cover make you want
to join the space program? With the theme of the issue being food, you
can expect more than a Tic-Tac and a stiff handshake I'm sure. Artwork
from "The Food Issue" will be on display and up for bids. The
official launch for the magazine, if you happen to be in the Montreal
area, will be on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 7pm at Shaïka Café
5526 Sherbrooke West. Bring dental floss.
 Recently at a packed and cold night at
the I.V. lounge,  I
was telling some OCAD creative writing students to go buy Quill
& Quire because it would be in their best interest. Then I
pointed to Sean Dixon and said, "that man right there is on the
cover." Then the students began to talk to Sean and I resumed my
conversation with myself. This month, the magazine does their best GQ
impersonation, with a lovely cover for their best of 2007 issue. Nope,
no shawls on this cover, or windy authors sitting on rocks. It’s
not just a classy cover, but a classy issue, as the magazine also has a
cool little pull out booklet summarizing the best of 2007, plus seven
designers pick their favourite covers of the year, a celebrity panel
asks what Atwood’s classic "thematic guide to Canadian
literature" has to say, 35 years later, and I’m sure somewhere
you’ll find a page with a partridge in a pear tree.
If you have lived in Toronto for more than thirty minutes you may have
heard of Taddle
Creek Magazine, who just celebrated 10 long years of publishing two
magazines a year. The best part of this launch was Conan and Hal on
stage together, I thought I was watching Saturday Night Live. Or Fraggle
Rock. Hal was really insistent that we buy the magazine, even calling us
scumbags, which apparently is back in fashion at literary events.
Considering how nice the magazine looks, and the continuous quality of
the writing plus the editors obvious mob ties, you can’t help but want
to buy it. There’s fiction by David Whitton and Emily Schultz, a great
profile on Hal Niedzviecki and Camilla Gibb has a piece of short fiction
as well, which is, of course quite nice.
There is even an entire page dedicated
to some loser who has been rejected by the magazine 300 times (me!).
Said the contributor’s mother of the piece when she read it,
"It's so sad to have you write about yourself in such a negative
way. Is that the only way to get published by that Literary magazine? I
just want you to know that I don't believe a word of it." The
Photopunk photo essay by Jason Anderson and photographer Jack Martin
does in fact capture " the vitality and the spontaneity of
Toronto's club scene." (There’s a real hot photo of David
Johansen, lead singer of New York Dolls taken at the El Mo.)
The magazine has become a staple of the
ever-expanding Toronto Literati and is a refreshingly humble and slick
ensemble and way less than six bucks, even after you’ve enter the Miss
GST pageant. (This is the pageant that is an ongoing project of the
federal government and not necessarily affiliated with Danforth
Review or its editors.)
For more information on official magazines here in Canada, visit
their website. |
