Stan Persky

Stan Persky taught philosophy at Capilano University in N. Vancouver, B.C. He received the 2010 B.C. Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. His most recent books are Reading the 21st Century: Books of the Decade, 2000-2009 (McGill-Queen's, 2011), Post-Communist Stories: About Cities, Politics, Desires (Cormorant, 2014), and Letter from Berlin: Essays 2015-2016 (Dooney's, 2017).

The Anger of a Happy Warrior

By Stan Persky / 2023 April 4
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U.S. socialist Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont lays out his ideas for how to thnk about and remedy the injustices of America’s extreme capitalist system in his new book, “It’s OK To Be Angry About Capitalism.” The 81-year-old political activist remains engaged and even iconic as he counsels anger at the powers-that-be and assures readers it’s okay to be angry. Stan Persky thinks it’s a compelling argument.

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From the Archives: 20 Years Ago, in 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Here’s what Dooney’s said about the imperial “punitive expedition.”

By Stan Persky / 2023 March 18
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From the Archives: Twenty years ago, the U.S. invaded Iraq. Here’s what Dooney’s said two decades ago about the American imperial “punitive expedition,” as it rolled across Iraq.

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Women I Read: International Women’s Day

By Stan Persky / 2023 March 8
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An International Women’s Day game: who would be on your list? One way to mark IWD: thinking about the women writers we read.

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Joined at the Mind: Brian Fawcett (1944-2022)

By Stan Persky / 2023 January 25
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Brian Fawcett wrote books for people who find television too slow. Stan Persky remembers a writer who never forgot his hometown, and with whom he shared a “joint mind.”

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Cuckoo Coup

By Stan Persky / 2021 November 2
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Stan Persky reflects on the ex-prez’s Jan. 6 coup attempt, and the danger that the “next coup” poses to democracy in a post-truth era.

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Far from the Madding Crowd

By Stan Persky / 2020 December 11
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Douglas Murray’s “The Madness of Crowds,” a critique of the “social justice movement,” is a conservative writer’s response to gays, feminists, race, and trans people. Stan Persky reviews it, keeping an eye on the tripwires in an ideological minefield.

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If it quacks like a Duck, it might not be a Duck, it might be just a Quack. If it sounds like Donald Trump… well, he probably said it, or maybe it was Fox News, or QAnon, or whatever.

By Stan Persky / 2020 September 7
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Did Trump say it? Did he deny saying it? Who knows?

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Woody Allen - Apropos of Nothing book cover

Apropos of Woody Allen: The Anxiety of Being… and don’t forget Nothingness

By Stan Persky / 2020 August 18
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Woody Allen’s autobiography is not-so-great, but the films are more than good. Stan Persky reviews the book, the scandals, and the stuff on the silver screen.

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Paul Krugman vs. the Policy Proposals of the Living Dead

By Stan Persky / 2020 April 27
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Paul Krugman’s Arguing With Zombies drives a stake through the heart of “zombie ideas.” The premier U.S. op-ed columnist who writes honestly about dishonesty.

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Once in Europa: What do the 2019 EU election results mean?

By Stan Persky / 2019 June 3
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The rightwing populist tsunami didn’t happen; Greens blossom; Europe fragments, pro-EU majority maintained.

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