The Toronto Blue Jays started Spring Training last week in Florida and I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited for a Jays season since the mid 90's. I've always been a Jays fan but let's be honest, being in the American League East, it hasn't always been easy. Last week I came across a DVD in our catalogue that peaked my […]
Spike Lee has recently declined to go to Quentin Tarantino's latest film. One of the issues is clearly the frequent and debatably excessive use of a certain racial epithet. Of course none of this actually constitutes anything like censorship. What happened to Canadian author Laurence Hill's Book of Negroes last year is closer to the mark. A group in […]
Allegations of obscenity or immorality are more likely to be applied to content for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals or Transgendered people. For example, the American Civil Liberties Union has felt the need to initiate a Don't Filter Me campaign against schools that unconstitutionally filter out internet content to students simply because the content is directed to […]
On Monday March 18th at 6pm, Lillian H Smith is very happy to be hosting Nic Labriola's debut collection of short stories, Francis and the Animals. The author will read excerpts from his new book, Francis and the Animals; talk about this collection of short stories; and afterwards answer questions from the audience. Baked goods and […]
Many writers are delighted when their books are challenged. Margaret Laurence was not one of these. She was deeply shocked when schools in the Peterborough area challenged her novel The Diviners in 1976. Some of her distress may have had to do with the disdain of a number of letter writers in Canadian newspapers at the time, one […]
Freedom to Read Week (Feb 24th-March 2nd) is fast approaching. As everybody knows, there's nothing like noteriety to get people interested. So if you want a good book to read to mark the occasion, now's the time to start placing holds. By "good book" I mean of course one that is naughty enough to motivate […]
Whether you're recently engaged or already planning your perfect day, have you ever thought of making your wedding "greener"? Planning your wedding from stationery to room decor often leaves a ton of waste behind. Who says you need to leave a big carbon footprint on your big day when you have more eco-friendly and still beautiful […]
Last year we had a very successful Silk Screening program for teens with artist Rob Matejka and we're happy to announce that he's coming back. On Thursday March 14th at 2:30pm, youth will be able to silk screen designs on reusable bags and take home their creations. I attended the program last year and it was a very cool […]
Growing up, I'm sure the adults in your life were always trying to distil some sort of advice about what you should be studying or how you should be saving your money. We all nod and listen but sometimes we just need to “figure things out” on our own. Now that I’m in my mid-twenties I’ve been […]
There has always been a tension between the idea of poetry as a literary form and an aural one. It clearly has it's roots in the latter, but is often considered as written work. According to Jon Stalworthy "What your eye sees on the page is the composer's verbal score, waiting for your voice to bring […]