There are some nice moments in Martha Wilson’s collection of 16 short stories. She describes a child’s grandfather as “the silent presence” who communicated through his wife. She recounts how an elderly woman accessed a neglected memory of a family friend when a “pocket door in her mind slid back.” And she explains how, to […]
Jade Nauss
Tell me a story
My Hair is Beautiful In the late aughts, comedian Chris Rock released a documentary called Good Hair. Rock was inspired to get to the root of the relationship between Black women and their hair when his three-year-old daughter asked him, “Daddy, how come I don’t have good hair?” It’s a shame she didn’t have Shauntay […]
Jonathan Monaghan releases the Disco Beast
Exhibit 100, Old Memorial Library, 5381 Spring Garden Road Do you remember unicorn nails? Unicorn slime? Unicorn frappuccinos? Do you remember when social media was so soaked in glitter, rainbows and horns that it looked like a unicorn factory exploded? Jonathan Monaghan does. He’s a digital artist from Washington, D.C., who’ll be exhibiting his work […]
Nicole Tufts shares Bubblegum & Bruises
Exhibit 117, Skosha Experience Store, 5553 Clyde Street Bbblegum & Bruises is an art exhibit and interactive storytelling event developed by the former co-owner of Riot Snack Bar and Vandal Doughnuts—two eateries that were designed to tempt your inner child. “I think that’s pretty much what I want to do, is to bring out the […]
AfterWords, after all
AfterWords Literary Festival Oct 2-6 Various locations afterwordsliteraryfestival.com A fterWords is a brand-new multi-day literary festival with an emphasis on representation and accessibility. Local literati mainstays Stehpanie Domet (a Coast contributor) and Ryan Turner have been talking for years about starting an international literary festival here at home. But recently the pair teamed up with […]
Travis Lindsay is taking off
Travis Lindsay Thu Sep 26, Sat Sep 28 Yuk Yuk’s, 1181 Hollis Street, 8pm $12.18 Travis Lindsay is headlining this weekend at Yuk Yuk’s. But, before he takes the stage, the 27-year-old observational storyteller from Lower Sackville opens up about being self-conscious and superstitious. The Coast: “You’re headlining at Yuk Yuk’s—that’s unusual for a local. […]
Fall Arts Preview: Four local reads you’ll love
Are You Kidding Me?!: Chronicles of an Ordinary Life Lesley Crewe has written a boatload of novels. One of them, Relative Happiness, was made into a feature film and enjoyed by audiences at the (then) Atlantic Film Festival in 2014. Crewe is known for her long-form fiction, but she’s also known for taking the details […]
Mckayla Eaton’s Summoned casts a spell
You may have glimpsed Mckayla Eaton hunched over her laptop at Uncommon Grounds or Trident Booksellers & Cafe. But while you were focused on your daily caffeine fix, Eaton was thinking (and writing) about something a bit more magical than a caramel macchiato. Eaton’s debut novel, Summoned, is the first book in a young-adult fantasy […]
Rebecca Wolfe mixes Julia Child and Betty Draper with Penny
Penny Sat Sept 7, 4pm & 10:05pm Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Stage $10/$7 Rebecca Wolfe wrote, produced and stars in Penny, a quirky, kitschy, darkly comedic glimpse into the life of a 1950s housewife who lives a Betty Crocker dream, cooking her husband’s favourite meals before a studio audience. This is Wolfe’s first time appearing at […]
Christy Sanford’s Entangled heart
Entangled August 30 and September 7, 7:30pm Studio in Essence, 1535 Dresden Row #203, pwyc Christy Sanford takes our emotions to new heights in Entangled. The spine-twisting, gravity-defying, award-winning Sanford—also known by her punny stage name SpiraLynn—is an aerial acrobat who spends a lot of time dangling high above her audiences. She has tons of […]
For the love of Fringe
Once a year, during that in-between-time of ever-crisper days that still warrant sunscreen, the city stirs. Posters for plays and one-person-shows begin papering poles. Streamers billow out of the mouth of forgotten places like the Old Company House. Professional performing artists present their pet projects that are too out there for anywhere else. They share […]

