Greatest hits
Joy Sorrow Anger Love Pride
Magenta Foundation, 2023 I was very chuffed to contribute to this gorgeous, groundbreaking archive of Pride in Toronto over 50 years. I wrote the chapter on Xtra Magazine's rich relationship to Pride and, amazingly, my partner Maurice Vellekoop and I were featured in a multi-page spread documenting the ridiculous outfits we've worn during our many years running through the parade like idiots. |
Claude Vivier Is the Most Famous Composer You've Never Heard of
Xtra Magazine, November 28, 2021 Killed by a trick in Paris at age 34, the Canadian composer's tragic end is perhaps the least interesting thing about him. The Toronto-based music ensemble Soundstreams has made it their mission to promote Vivier’s work and foster a critical reappraisal of his oeuvre. Link |
Trade Winds
Bold Magazine, December 2019 My cover story on Antigua, the tiny Caribbean island with an outsized attitude. PDF |
Pedro Almodóvar Gets Personal in Pain and Glory
Xtra Magazine, October 3, 2019 Almodóvar's late-career masterpiece is his most personally-revealing film yet. It inspired me to get personal, too. Link |
Montreal's Taste Revolution
Bold Magazine, Winter 2018 What happens when you send a historian to write about restaurants? A fun dive into Quebec history as refracted through Montreal's delicious and dynamic food scene. PDF |
The Ding Dong Girls
2018 Toronto Fringe Festival I co-wrote and co-produced with Dora-winner Christopher Richards a hilarious drag musical inspired by Richards' time running a drag troupe in early 1990s Toronto. The songs are by Tony-winner Lisa Lambert (The Drowsy Chaperone). Starring Graham Conway, Joel Schaefer, Nic Mencia, Oscar Moreno, Miss Fiercalicious (of Canada's Drag Race fame) and Mama Dominatrix; with direction by John Mitchell and musical direction by Sean Fisher. This was an abridged showcase production of a full-length, two-act musical. Winner: 2018 Patrons Pick Award |
Music of the Spheres
Curios and Conundrums, 2017 Over the two years I was editor in chief of Curios and Conundrums, every issue had on the cover a fact-based feature story illustrating how truly weird the world can be: the horrific Colney Hatch asylum fire of 1903, the Maryland pumpkin patch that launched McCarthy’s Red Scare, Key West’s terrifying Robert the doll…. My story for Clockwork Mutineers, our time-travel issue, explored Einstein’s theory of relativity — how Einstein came to envision it, and how it underpins most theories of time travel. It’s a story humming with bewitching music. (Each story also featured a Victorian engraving-style illustration by the amazing Michael Custode.) |
Storm Clouds of Desitiny
Curios and Conundrums, 2016 The 2016 version of Curios and Conundrums came in a deliciously large format — an old-fashioned broadsheet newspaper, running 14 by 23 inches per page. That’s a lot of real estate to fill. Most issues contained at least one feature told wholly or in part through eye-catching infographics. One of my favourites was devised by designer Kris Forge for the “From Death and Dark Oblivion” issue on hubris. I focussed on the Oresteia, Aeschylus’ trilogy exploring the multigenerational curse inherited by Orestes, son of Agamemnon, hero of the Trojan War. The story ended up a bloody-tongue-in-cheek entry to Soap Opera Digest. I hope you enjoy your visit with The House of Atreus. |
Mischievous Makeover Madness
Curios and Conundrums, September 2016 One of the more unusual and ambitious innovations I concocted for this unusual publication was a series of interviews of artists and thinkers where I, as the interviewer, took the voice of a real person from the past, someone who had had a profound influence on the interviewee. Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin, for example, chose to be interviewed by Uruguayan writer Horacio Quiroga (who died in 1937). Cree artist Kent Monkman (his 2007 work The Triumph of Miss Chief is pictured above), in the guise of his alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, chose to be interviewed by French painter Eugène Delacroix (who died in 1863). While British industrial designer Thomas Thwaites, author of GoatMan: How I Took A Holiday From Being a Human, chose the god Pan. |
Queers Were Here
Biblioasis, June 2016 I wrote an essay about falling into the clutches of an outrageously irreverent troupe of drag queens when I was a neophyte gay. Part of a fascinating anthology exploring how queer culture is transmitted through personal connections. Other contributors include Ian Young, Derek McCormack, Nic Sheehan, Karleen Pendleton-Jiménez, Alec Butler, Anne Fleming and Maurice Vellekoop; edited by Richard Gilmour and Robin Ganev. *** “An absorbing and emotional historical document.” Maisonneuve “There are flashes of greatness in this compendium.” Literary Review of Canada |
Into the Light
In Toronto, May 2015 Soaring in its ambition, beautiful in its mission, stumbling in its execution. My review of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Story / Link |
Cue Cumbermania
Fashion, November 2014 My story on the sartorially splendid actor Benedict Cumberbatch and his moving performance in The Imitation Game appeared in the November issue of Fashion. |
Author, Author
Daily Xtra, October 2014 As part of ongoing coverage of the International Festival of Authors, I caught up with the amazing Colm Tóibín to discuss his novel Nora Webster, a beautifully moving, deceptively simple fictionalized account of his mother dealing with grief following the death of his father when Toíbín was just a child. Link In a second segment, Tóibín shares his insightful — and hilarious — thoughts on the Catholic Church under Pope Francis. Link |
Crumbling Beauty
In Toronto, June 2014 Havana is like no city on earth. Discover this vertiginous wonder city and Cuba's paradoxical record on human rights. Story |
No One See the Flower Falling
In Toronto, February 2013 My interview with dancer Laurence Lemieux and choreographer James Kudelka on the sorrows haunting From the House of Mirth, the unique opera/dance/theatre production from Coleman Lemieux & Company. PDF |
Remedial Class
In Toronto, July 2011 In the wake of a controversial story in The Grid, the community acts up and speaks out in my Pride issue main feature. Our wonderful satirical cover, mimicking The Grid's, was shot by David Hawe. PDF |
I Know Where I Come From
In Toronto, May 2011 My interview with Indigenous theatre artist Waawaate Fobister prior to the remount of his amazing one-man show, Agokwe. PDF |
Recalling Toronto's Forgotten Gay Bars
Xtra, January 4, 2010 Torontonians remember long-gone bars and hangouts — crucial locales for the community emerging in the mid-20th century. Story |
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Fragile Beauty
Azure, March/April 2008 My back-page story on Shary Boyle's macabre ceramic figurines. PDF |
Shimmering Melancholy
Xtra Magazine, September 13, 2007 A review of Guy Maddin's historical fantasia, My Winnipeg, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2007. As a Winnipegger, myself, the screening was a vertiginous experience. Story |
The Giants
Report on Business Magazine, April 2002 This wide-ranging business feature on Canadian ports was illustrated by celebrated photographer Edward Burtynsky (he won an award for it). PDF |
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Mary Walsh on Satire
Go Big, May 2000 A photo spread featuring comedian Mary Walsh and underwear from the late great Will Munro. I wrote the story, art directed the shoot and even supplied Mary's long underwear. (Apologies for the roughly assembled scans) Jpeg |
Humming Bird
Xtra, May 20, 1999 An entertaining piece of comics reportage from the world premiere of James Kudelka's Swan Lake at the National Ballet of Canada. The illustrations are by the incomparable Maurice Vellekoop. PDF |
Body of Dissent
Bridge Video Productions, 1994 Co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced an independent 40-minute documentary on gay and lesbian Mennonites in North America. It played in festivals around the world and is still in strong demand among congregations and communities struggling to reconcile human rights with their faith. |