Alex Boyd's Blog, page 22

Psycho You, Psycho Me

I recall reading that Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in 1960 was the first time audiences saw a toilet flush, though the film is obviously better known for its then-shocking shower scene, and the violent death of a character played by a star (and halfway through the film, making it even more jarring for audiences).  David Thomson analyses Psycho, the films it pioneered in terms of increasing levels of violence, and subtle, ongoing changes to how jaded we are in The Moment of Psycho, covered...

At Rod Serling's Funeral

A poem of mine that imagines the 1975 funeral of Rod Serling (American writer and creator of the Twilight Zone — I'm something of an admirer, considering he found creative ways to introduce meaningful storytelling to television) has been posted over at Nthposition, along with another poem called Dead Bees are Indomitable.

Review: Hatchet Jobs, by Dale Peck

Originally published with The Danforth Review, 2006.

Reviewing isn't easy.  There's the right balance of honesty and diplomacy to find, determining if you're judging a book according to the goals it sets for itself rather than your ideas, and the effort to write a piece that stands on its own as an interesting piece of writing, beyond providing a report.  There are hours of work involved, from reading the book and making notes to writing and editing the piece.  And when you're done, the...

The Case for Books

For anyone concerned about the changing literary world in the twenty-first century, The Case for Books looks to be an interesting read, reviewed here by Gerry Donaghy.

Elsewhere, Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression looks interesting, and is reviewed by Jonah Raskin in a short review that seems compelled to create multiple, small sections.

Finally, despite an even shorter review, I'm intrigued by The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty...

Best Canadian Essays: Toronto launch

Best Canadian Essays features topics as diverse as energy needs and the environment, parenting, theatre and fiction writing, new attitudes to funerals and the changing world of porn.

I co-edited the book with Carmine Starnino, and Tightrope Books launches it on Nov 26 at Revival, 783 College St.  Doors at 7, readings by Nathan Whitlock, Alison Lee and Kamal Al-Solaylee at 8, and bluegrass music by Darin Yorston at 9.  Door prizes from Good For Her.

Aside from celebrating the important and...

Wonk!

Named after the affectionate local term for Wetaskiwin, Alberta, WONK is published by some literary souls who note the "goal is to make Wetaskiwin cooler." My poem "At Forty" was published in the first issue, and the first, impressive looking double-sided issue was sent to me. Each issue has a theme, and they plan to carry on for a year until fall, 2010.  Learn how to submit and subscribe here.

Best Canadian Essays, Montreal and Toronto launch

NPR update: interview, poems, reviews

Northern Poetry Review is updated with an interview with Jim Johnstone, new poetry by Ronna Bloom, and three new book reviews.  I'm also happy to welcome Alessandro Porco and Lori A. May as editors, which means more of all of the above.

Alessandro Porco is the author of two collection of poetry: Augustine in Carthage, and Other Poems and The Jill Kelly Poems. He's also the editor of the forthcoming critical study, Population Me: Essays on David McGimpsey. Currently, at the State University of...

How to Be a Man

I first noticed Thomas Beller when his excellent essay "Portrait of the Bagel as a Young Man" was published in a book called The Art of the Essay. It's an engrossing account of being adopted into one of those jobs (in this case, a bagel shop in New York) that somehow goes hand-in-hand with a stage of your life. He appears to have revised the ending (or at least the last line) a few times, and I actually don't recommend reading the version posted online. Instead, get his collection of essays...

In search of the perfect city

Ten days in Paris were something of an awakening, recently. I wanted to take a photo every minute until I was more used to the atmosphere of the city, and I finally recognized why — Paris is a city that feels like it's there for people, not the other way around. You can stand almost anywhere and look around to spot something that indicates this: a fountain, a work of art, a bench, a public square.

It's the difference between a livable city, and having to step outside your door every day to...