Bad Artist

Bad Artist

3

Ryan Stevens
, Dawn Macdonald
, Dot Mann
, Mary Montague
, Tanya Blake
, Prabh Toor
, Jude Castillo
, Brad MULLER
, Darryl Taylor
, Katie Kah
, Alanna Virtue
, Agnes Marshall
, Mitchell Schmidt
, Presley Robertson
, Alyce Soulodre
, Sarah Dalton
, Andrea Pole
, Tracy Johnston
, Marc-André Taillefer
, Kim Carswell
, Marissa Yip-Young
, Brittney Warren
, Jane McRobb
, Emily Steiner
, PATRICIA SOPEL
, diana cao
, Nicki D'Angelo
, Shelley Butcher
, Marilyn Stanley
, Ryan Woods
, Rita Osullivan
, Wanda Hearn
, Anita Jones
, Shawna Moodie
, Tami Osato
, Kirsten Lyon
, toni velthuis
, cassandra schiemann
, Sailaxmi Sahoo
, Yutong Wu
, Wendi Waage
, Noelle Walsh
, Sharon Forzley
, Virginia Reddin
, kristine hibbs
, Chris Carvalho
, Desmond Tsang
, Natasha Andres
, Sara Mody
, Marla Schecter Howard
, Diana Richardson
, Amy Johnston
, Hilary Squires
, Janet Meisner
, Rodney Cross
, Sharon Bird
, Pamela Roberts Griffith
, Kim Cappellina
, Samantha Read
, Deanna Radford
, Ariel Kroon
, C. Ray
, Heather Belliveau
, Zara Garcia-Alvarez
, Vikki Spencer
, Lynn Tait
, Melissa Kohlman
, Robert Hykawy
, Charles Leblanc
, Lisa Mallia
, Gail Nyoka
, Anne McGouran
, BJ Underwood
, Suzanne Nesbitt
, Heather O'Connor
, Sara Conway
, Benita Hartwell
, Margaret McKay
, Liz Carlin
, Katherine Koller
, Katie Macalister
, Leslie Vermeer
, Tanis Anne
, Hoda Montazeri
, Lynn Bechtel
, Lisa Bilodeau
, Rosa Cross
, Ken Gilmour
, Laurel Nikolai
, Joe Mitchell
, Amanda Clarke
, Melissa Dingwall
, Cynthia Heinrichs
, Christopher Purvis
, Lindsey Andronak
, Ellen Clarke
, Remi Gunn
, Sarah McComb
, Margo Beredjiklian
, Joshua Lewis
, Gwynn Scheltema
, Barry Kazimer
, Vanessa S
, Sarah Schwartz
, Vivian Thorgeirson
, Janet Hosokawa
, Michelle Arsenault
, Gabrielle Wolfe
, Linda Leitch
, Joseph Chirayil
, LJ Law
, Macy McCubbing
, katie locke
, Jessica Smith
, Ashley Pocrnich
, Sherri McKibben
, Pat Johnston
, Janice Cournoyer
, Sarah James
, Damen Rae
, Donald donbarnes2000
, M M English
, Piroska Blanchette
, Flatbush Library Library
, Joe Titone
, Roland Schigas
, Christine Lion
, Nicole Maxwell
, Lynn Andrews
, Chris Lantz
, Melissa Poremba
, Nancy Daoust

132

editor@49thShelf.com

03/02/2025

01/03/2025

Yes

Ryan Woods
, Nicki D'Angelo
, Agnes Marshall

The perfect antidote to the toxicity of the current productivity narrative, this collection of essays on creativity features 21 Canadian and international writers, providing warmth, support, camaraderie, and empathy.

In a world that worships productivity, creating for art’s sake is seen as romantic and nearly indefensible. For anyone who has ever struggled to honour their artistic impulses, Bad Artist offers an antidote to this toxic productivity narrative. This collection of essays features 21 Canadian and international writers from a breadth of backgrounds and experiences whose lives are not always proscribed by predictable work schedules or reliable support systems. They fit creating into the cracks of their lives, and through their stories show us all how to keep creating—not producing.

As artists, many of whom have faced systemic barriers, the collection’s contributors offer pragmatic reflections on resisting the culture of productivity, reminding us that creativity can take many forms. Taken together, the essays present a comprehensive rumination on creativity in late capitalism, providing warmth, support, comradery, and empathy. It’s The Paris Review meets the Billfold’s “Doing Money” with a generous dash of the friend who knows you’re an artist even on the days when you’re not so sure.