Thursday, September 10, 2015

An Apology

As editor of The Fiddlehead I apologize for authorizing the posting on our blog of an excerpt from the book Reflections on Music by David Solway submitted by Anstruther Press. A passage from this excerpt displays an insensitivity to racial issues pertaining to African Americans and a failure to understand systemic racism in contemporary America. This post has been removed from our blog.

Ross Leckie

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Charlie Fiset Also Makes Journey Prize Longlist!

We're very pleased to say that we've had a second author longlisted for the 2015 Journey Prize. Charlie Fiset's "Maggie's Farm" from The Fiddlehead 261 (Autumn 2014) is one of twelve stories that will appear in The Journey Prize anthology.


You can revisit an interview with Charlie about her story here.

Congratulations Charlie!

Monday, August 31, 2015

Emily Bossé Makes Journey Prize Longlist

We're pleased to announce that one of our contributors has been long listed for the 2015 Journey Prize! Emily Bossé's "Last Animal Standing on Gentleman's Farm" from The Fiddlehead No. 258 (Winter 2014) is one of twelve stories that will appear in The Journey Prize Anthology


Congratulations Emily!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Books Received — What are you Looking Forward to Read?

What are you most looking forward to reading? Tell us! Go to the comment field below (or to Facebook or Twitter) and tell us what you're most looking forward to reading!


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The Fiddlehead Summer Fiction Issue Launches this Thursday!

We're pleased to be launching our summer fiction issue at Westminster Books (445 King Street) this Thursday, July 30, at 7pm with our friends at Qwerty, who are celebrating their new joint issue with Echolocation. There will be short readings from both magazines.

The event is free and open to all!


Monday, July 27, 2015

Books Received — What are You Excited to Read?


The Fiddlehead office receives a lot of books from Canadian publishers from coast to coast to coast to consider for book reviews. Not every book can be reviewed, but we hope that this little bit of exposure will bring attention to these wonderful books. And we hope it sparks some conversation about Canadian literature. So, readers, go to the comment field below (or to Facebook or Twitter) and tell us what you're most looking forward to reading!

Happy reading!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Poetry & Techno: May Their Futures Meet at the Beat? (Part 3 of 3)

In my mind, the palate for both techno and poetry is a massive suggestion for the two to fuse together and to create on a blank canvas. I foresee an opportunity, both in content and cultural relevance, to create something that is beautiful and authentic in both of these mediums coming together. They are both emotional experiences that could synthesize into a superpower of an emotional medium. The possibilities for both musical recordings, and themed live performances seem to all lead to bringing listeners, viewers, and experiencers into the same euphoric state.

Imagine an event when these two mediums are fused together. The best contemporary voices of poetry read to an atmospheric beat, creating a tonal narrative throughout the duration of an evening, the beats are then mixed at lower levels of volume, letting people either dance, or converse, until a new groove kicks in, and a new poet is left to capture your attention. Imagine the same images and sounds paratactically existing in the minds of everyone in the room, unbroken, for an entire evening. From a perspective of someone who deeply cares about each of these cultures, it would be interesting to see how the blending of the two could change, and strengthen, the future of each in a way that invites an audience from all facets of life.

I know this possibly seems like a medium that has been tried and failed, or even that music mixed with poetry isn’t necessarily a new idea, (there are current voices, such as Kate Tempest, who have an interesting blend of music, poetry, and rap) but my main proposal is that we continue to think about the medium of poetry in different ways in order to create a ‘scene’ that is inclusive (and fun) for communities at large. Much like the claims of Deresiewicz, we should begin to have a multi-faceted approach to the promotion of poetry, in order to expand the target audience that we aim for.



And if something like this fails? We know we still have The Fiddlehead, or UNB’s English program, or one of the many other great similar institutions across Canada that will continue to foster the state of poetry moving forward. Poetry itself will continue to thrive and strengthen, waiting for its time to be of primary cultural importance, once more; I have faith that this time will soon come, which, in my mind, makes it all well worth the risk.

Steven Suntres is The Fiddlehead's editorial assistant, a member of QWERTY's editoral board, and a UNB graduate student.