Can Lit, Culture, and “The Hockey Sweater”
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Serena Ypelaar
2y ago
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens haven’t met in the NHL playoffs since 1979. That same year, a pivotal work of Canadian Literature was published: Roch Carrier’s The Hockey Sweater. Whether intended or not, the story reveals an age-old culture clash between Ontario and Quebec. By Serena Ypelaar Have you read The Hockey Sweater (1979) by Roch Carrier? If you grew up in Canada and had parents even mildly invested in hockey, chances are you have.  Titled Le chandail de hockey in its original French, it was illustrated by Sheldon Cohen and translated into English by Sheila Fi ..read more
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BBC’s “Upstart Crow” and Why Shakespeare Makes the Perfect Sitcom Star
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Serena Ypelaar
2y ago
As the world still celebrates William Shakespeare’s birth and death day each year, the playwright’s immortal relevance is clear. Among countless reinterpretations of Shakespeare’s life and work, BBC’s sitcom Upstart Crow is a surprisingly fitting way to reinvent Shakespearean comedy. By Serena Ypelaar Another year, another Shakespeare day. Having just passed the Bard’s joint birthday and death day (April 23) again, it’s become a tradition here at The Mindful Rambler to feature an interpretation of William Shakespeare’s life and career.  This year, I’ve been watching BBC’s Upstart Crow dur ..read more
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A Thing of Beauty is a Joy For Ever: Keats 200
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Serena Ypelaar
2y ago
At the bicentenary of his death, John Keats remains an iconic figure in the literary world. Keats died believing himself a failure, but his work is more admired than he ever knew – and in the midst of a global pandemic, his life story is especially poignant. By Serena Ypelaar 23rd of February, 1821 – Rome. The English poet John Keats dies, aged just 25 and convinced he had never amounted to anything. Today, 200 years later, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While he went largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Keats’ posthumous rise to distinction and his perception as a tragic hero h ..read more
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Frankenstein: Returning to the Tale in 2021
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Bretton Weir
2y ago
Returning to a classic, we examine the titular character of Mary Shelley’s 1818 gothic-horror novel Frankenstein and how his behaviours and actions have resonance today. By Bretton Weir A personal goal for 2021 is to read more. I figured I’d start this adventure with a classic, and personal favourite, Mary Shelley’s 1818 Frankenstein. Why Frankenstein? It has been a decade since I first picked up the novel for an assignment in my first year university English class. I have such vivid memories of this enthralling and harrowing tale so I needed to see if my memory held up. It did. If anything, 1 ..read more
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Black Lives Matter in the Arts and Humanities too.
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by The Mindful Rambler
2y ago
The Mindful Rambler blog shares BIPOC-focused arts content and commits to more inclusive discussions regarding the arts and humanities. 2020 continues to demonstrate that it’s a time of great change. Over the past weeks, we’ve witnessed and taken part in the Black Lives Matter movement as it’s unfolded – and we’ve been listening, learning, and reflecting with specific regard to our work as a blog that highlights history, literature, art, and biography. The truth is, the majority of storytellers and creatives celebrated in the mainstream media are white. We must do more to include diverse persp ..read more
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Youth in Retreat: The Decameron in Quarantine
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Jenny Lee
2y ago
In which these most unprecedented times prove to have some precedent after all, and crisis invites us to re-imagine our conditions for living.  By Jenny Lee  So they gathered into groups and kept clear of everyone else, shutting themselves up in houses where no one was sick and where they could live comfortably … not speaking to anyone outside or hearing any news of the dead or sick, but enjoying music and what other pleasures they could muster. – Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron (trans. J. G. Nichols) 1348: As the Black Death ravages Florence, ten wealthy young people flee the city ..read more
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“How Soft This Prison Is”: Reading Emily Dickinson in Quarantine
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Adriana Wiszniewska
2y ago
As we spend our days in isolation and uncertainty, we thought it fitting to revisit the poems of Emily Dickinson, who led a singular and solitary life, reminding us of the importance of maintaining a rich inner world. By Adriana Wiszniewska Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) spent the majority of her life in and around her father’s homestead in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she lived and died in relative seclusion. She never married, rarely travelled, and most of her interactions with people occurred through letters and other correspondence. By the final years of her life, she barely even left her be ..read more
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Have No Fear, Shakespeare’s Here!
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Serena Ypelaar
2y ago
As we pass William Shakespeare’s birthday, we reflect upon his plays and their readability among modern audiences. Why do some scholars and purists look down on No Fear Shakespeare, Sparknotes’ series of comprehensive Shakespeare “translations”? By Serena Ypelaar It’s fascinating to think that William Shakespeare (1564-1616) significantly evolved the English language during his lifetime, introducing new idioms and even new words. He created new verbs from nouns (e.g. “to elbow”), and was especially illustrious for his mastery of insults. Yet despite his achievements in shaping the English lang ..read more
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Worthy of His Words: Wordsworth 250
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Serena Ypelaar
2y ago
It’s the 250th anniversary of Romantic poet William Wordsworth’s birth, and his love for nature continues to resonate with contemporary audiences. By Serena Ypelaar When I learned that April 7th was the 250th birthday of Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), I knew we had to tribute his legacy in some way. And what’s the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Wordsworth’s poems? That’s right: nature. As we isolate ourselves these days, it’s easy to feel lonely. But it seems that many of us have turned to nature as our saving grace. Nature is known to boost mental health and we ..read more
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The Longest and Most Charming Love Letter in Literature
The Mindful Rambler » Literature
by Adriana Wiszniewska
2y ago
A love letter can be one of the most intimate ways to express love and affection to another. Thankfully for us, some of the greatest writers in English literature also wrote beautiful letters, which often take on new life after the deaths of their writers and recipients. By Adriana Wiszniewska In 1928, Virginia Woolf published Orlando, a novel about a poet who lives for centuries and changes from man to woman. The book was inspired by Vita Sackville-West, with whom Virginia had a decades-long romance and later friendship. Sackville-West’s son, Nigel Nicolson, famously described Orlando as “the ..read more
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