New ebooks From Canadian Indies
Description
"During my first post-lockdown massage, I willingly engaged in the requisite chit chat about lockdown experiences with my therapist. He gushed behind his mask: ‘Oh man. It was so great. Every day I woke up, drank coffee, read, rode my bike…’ My therapist’s description did sound pretty great. But it was nothing like my own anxiety-ridden ordeal… Had I done the lockdown wrong?”
In Next Time There’s a Pandemic, artist Vivek Shraya reflects on how she might have approached 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic differently, and how challenging and changing pervasive expressions, attitudes, and behaviours might transform our experiences of life in—and after—the pandemic. What might happen if, rather than urging one another to “stay safe,” we focused instead on being caring? What if, instead of striving to “make the best of it” by doing something, we sometimes chose to do nothing? With generosity, Shraya captures the dissonances of this moment, urging us to keep showing up for each other so we are better prepared for the next time...and for all times. Afterword by J.R. Carpenter.
About the Author
Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, and film. Her books include I'm Afraid of Men, The Subtweet, even this page is white, She of the Mountains, Death Threat, and The Boy & the Bindi, and her album with Queer Songbook Orchestra, Part-Time Woman, was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize. She is one half of the music duo Too Attached and the founder of the Arsenal Pulp Press imprint VS. Books. A six-time Lambda Literary Award finalist, Vivek was a Pride Toronto Grand Marshal, was featured on The Globe and Mail's Best Dressed list, and has received honours from the Writers' Trust of Canada and the Publishing Triangle. She is a director on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation and an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Calgary.
Editorial Reviews
# 6 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, May 8, 2022
"Indeed, these essays test a variety of ideas and genres including memoir writing (taking a first-person retrospective approach); trans writing (infusing her essay with a gender-non-conforming perspective); autotheory (mixing personal experiences with theoretical reflections about language, politics, and economics), and Covid-19 witnessing (detailing the surveillance put into place by local and national governments).... In these deeply personal and embodied reflections, Shraya offers a cultural critique on care, emotion, and labour for a time of crisis.... In the end, Shraya’s writing constitutes an act of creative resilience in the face of the difficulties and pain wrought by the pandemic." Irene Gammel and Jason Wang, Canadian Literature, August 21, 2023 [Full article at https://canlit.ca/article/how-to-value-artists-and-people-in-the-pandemic]
"Vivek came out as transgender five years ago, and since then, has been a leading activist and changemaker in Canada and around the world, empowering others through her pop music, visual art, and award-winning books." Sean Loughran, Daily Hive, March 31, 2022
# 10 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, May 15, 2022
# 5 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, April 10, 2022
“In these deeply personal and embodied reflections, Shraya offers a cultural critique on care, emotion, and labour for a time of crisis.”Irene Gammel and Jason Wang, Canadian Literature, August 21, 2023 [Read full review at https://canlit.ca/article/how-to-value-artists-and-people-in-the-pandemic/]
# 8 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, April 24, 2022
# 5 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, March 13, 2022
