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 Flanagan Flap
Tom Flanagan, remember him? Probably not, if the news and spin cycle has passed you by.
The Mother-in-Law Joke
Stephen Marche thinks it’s the Golden Age of reading and writing. Howard Jacobson thinks readers are disappearing and fiction is “fooked” (as they say in England). Stan Persky investigates.
When Atoms Collide
Stephen Greenblatt tells the story of a Renaissance book-hunter’s trip to the library. Stan Persky looks at Greenblatt’s “The Swerve” and the pushback from its critics.
Arme virumque cano
Of guns and gunmen. In the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, the lamentations may be loud, but the silence of the killer is deafening.
“This is the Age of Aquarius. The candles will blow themselves out.”
Stan Persky reads a long biography of Richard Brautigan.
The Limits of Civil Liberties
It’s the 50th anniversary of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. Stan Persky, a long-time BCCLA member, reflects.
Letter from Berlin: Gunter Grass’s Poem
Gunter Grass writes a poem, and something happens. Stan Persky explains.
Letter from Berlin: John Cage Season
In Berlin, spring is in the air. So is the music of John Cage.
The Love That Dared to Write Its Name
Stan Persky assesses Christopher Bram’s history of contemporary gay writing.