Inside Issue 101: The Artist as Activist
Susan L. Scott
Oranges & Apples: The New Quarterly Pairs with Alternatives
Interviews
Charlene Diehl
Soul Mining: Steve Kirby and Jazz on Wheels
Marcia Ruby
Environmental Odyssey: Live from the Ottawa Folk Festival
Bruce Johnstone
A Subtle Hand: In conversation with Joseph Boyden
Projects
Basia IrlandRiver Reciprocity: A Gathering of Waters
When sculptor Basia Irland learns how extensively the Río Grande is dammed and diverted, she responds by founding a community-based project to help the river complete its troubled 1,875-mile journey to the sea.
Linda Clarke
Trying to Hear the Other: Voices from the Rock
Darren O'Donnell
Beautiful Civic Engagement with Kids, by Kids, for Kids
Rants & Revelations
Dan YashinskyThe Funder's Tale
Artists are often among the first to volunteer their time in response to a crisis, or when entrenched social problems call for a fresh approach, yet the risks—financial and otherwise—that artists take to contribute to the public good are often poorly understood. When freelance storyteller, Dan Yashinsky, decides it’s time for a regular paycheque, his journey lands him on a mysterious island filled with magical practitioners decoding bureaucratic signs and symbols. "The Funder’s Tale" reveals the treasures that he gathers along the way, including the scoop on why "Grantland" is such a popular destination for anyone devoted to the arts.
Anne DeGrace
Artspin: Keeping Cultural Integrity
Tom Wayman
Against the Smiling Bastards
Employment Application
Nicola Ross
Harvesting Souls in Nicaragua's Coffee Country
"Writing doesn’t have to be a raving rant to be activism. …My goal was to get people to understand. And that was enough." The works of award-winning environmentalist Nicola Ross demonstrate the need for persuasive modes of action that engage, rather than enrage, the public. As an author and the editor of Alternatives, Ross knows the power of prose to stir controversy, make us aware of hot issues. "Harvesting Souls" inspires us take a second look at our morning cuppa by taking us deep into the heart of Nicaragua’s coffee country to meet the people of La Corona and the good capitalists who have come to save them. If the story leaves an aftertaste, maybe it’s because good writing—like strong coffee—is a jolt. What we do once we’re awake is another story.
Suzanne Evans
How the Heart Lies on the Page
Transformations
Rae Crossman with Participants of The Wolf Project
Notes from the Wild: An Account in Words and Music of R. Murray Schafer's And Wolf Shall Inherit the Moon
Fiction
Janice Goveas
Cough
Andrew Borkowski
An Offering
The List Goes On
John Steffler
From German Mills
Terry Griggs
Dream House
Stuart MacKinnon
Poem for Kali
Night Song for Rexroth in Kyoto
Lotus North / Big Empty
John Metcalf
The Most Northerly Tea Plantation in Europe
