2021 in (Book) Review
I read 45 books (and five plays) in 2021. I’ve always been a big reader, but last year was the first time I set out to make a comprehensive list of all the books I read. I was surprised by how many I got through! I read across a variety of genres last year, stepping … Continued
Redesigning the Rhythm of VIU’s Music Department
On the night of December 1, 2021, eight students stood onstage in Malaspina Theatre before a backdrop of blue, purple, and pink lights. The Jazz Choir performed songs ranging from an angelically sung solo rendition of “Autumn in New York,” to an upbeat group performance of “I Got Rhythm.” It was the second night of … Continued
Carey Newman’s Hearts and Hands Pin
VIU students may have noticed orange heart-shaped pins for sale in the campus bookstore. Picking one up, they may also notice that the fifteen-dollar sale supports the Orange Shirt Society. What they may not know is the poignant story behind these hearts-and-hands pins by Kwagiulth and Coast Salish artist, and University of Victoria professor, Carey … Continued
Why I (Sometimes) Read Romance Novels
Romance isn’t my genre of choice, yet romance novels have been cropping up on my “recent reads” lists a lot more often lately. I usually read mysteries, and most of my personal collection is made up of stories about supposedly haunted sites in Canada. Once in a while, however, I enter the public library’s romance … Continued
Women and Trauma in WWI
VIU Education student, Danielle Cossey-Sutton, completed an independent study last year and won three awards at the 2021 VIU CREATE conference. Her study had her diving into wartime letters and other primary sources to focus on a less-talked-about facet of World War I: women’s trauma. “Women dealt so intimately with the war,” Cossey-Sutton said, but … Continued
Baking for the Holidays
The holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year—and perhaps the busiest for VIU’s Professional Baking and Pastry Arts department. The department went through an intensive two weeks of holiday baking in early December to fulfill approximately $15k worth of orders for the VIU and Nanaimo community. The holiday delicacies range from classic … Continued
All Together Now
VIU’s Malaspina Theatre joined thousands of other theatres around the world to put on a showing of Music Theatre International’s “All Together Now.” “All Together Now” is a musical celebration of theatre coming back after COVID-19, featuring numbers from musicals such as Les Misérables and Mamma Mia! The North American editions of the show were … Continued
Home for the Holidays
The National Stage Company of Canada’s Home for the Holidays: A Nat King Cole Christmas will be at the nearby Port Theatre in downtown Nanaimo for one night only on December 5—and The Navigator will be giving away two tickets! Touring Vancouver Island December 3–13, Home for the Holidays features New York actor, singer, and … Continued
Angela Traynor
Angela Traynor flips through a sketchbook of paint colour samples and pencil drawings over a live stream on Twitch, the camera trained on her work desk. She banters with her viewers about crochet and cross-stitching as they fill up the comment section. “That’s rad!” she says when someone comments they’re teaching themselves how to knit. … Continued
We Are VIU Mural
VIU students may have noticed a new mural to the side of the VIU Library entrance on their way to study…or get Starbucks. What they may not have realized is that it’s a collective, worldwide project that has been years in the making. The We Are VIU mural was officially unveiled as part of the … Continued
Terrifying Texts
Halloween is coming up and everywhere you look is decisively spooky. If you’re literarily inclined, one way to indulge this seasonal atmosphere is to curl up with a good horror book. Creative Writing students Kenzie Clarke and Erika Parsons are both huge horror buffs, and are happy to share their favourites. Clarke has a broad … Continued
Review of A Drama Class’s Dream
VIU’s Malaspina Theatre recently put on its first play with a live audience since March 2020 with A Drama Class’s Dream. The performance, which ran from October 13-16, is Theatre professor Ross Desprez’s adaption of the play-within-a-play from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The play was a fun, fantastic, and whimsy return to live theatre—for both … Continued
Ay Lelum:
Remarkable would be the simplest way to describe the last two months for Ay Lelum. Snuneymuxw sisters Aunalee Boyd-Good and Sophia Seward-Good went from figuring out what to do next after a fire destroyed nearly all their clothing stock, to walking down a runway at their own show in New York—all in the span of … Continued
Publishing
I check my inbox outside my English classroom and see a new email from The Malahat Review. They’ve decided not to accept the short story I’d sent for their consideration. They say one of the characters was unrealized. I had cut a significant section building his character at the suggestion of one of my Creative … Continued