Over the past twenty years, The Walrus has been a steady bellwether of must-read writing. For our 20th anniversary, we’ve collected works that still surprise us, impress us, move us.
Here are some of the best pieces of literary criticism that we’ve published.
Rise of the Gender Novel
BY CASEY PLETT
Too often, trans characters are written as tortured heroes. We’re more complex than that
Elizabeth Smart Died in 1986. Her Work Still Haunts Me
BY DALE HRABI
Poetic genius, bohemian, copywriter: she taught me to never compromise
Stop Calling Racialized Writers “Raw”
BY ADNAN KHAN
There’s a burden on writers of colour to tell stories of trauma. Authors like Dany Laferrière refuse to play along
On le Road
BY DENI ELLIS BÉCHARD
Kerouac’s French-Canadian roots hold the key to his literary identity
The Search for the Great Canadian Novel
BY ANDRÉ FORGET
Our national life is exciting, dramatic, and unpredictable. Why don’t more Canadian novelists write about it?
Shoah Business
BY JEET HEER
Yann Martel and the Holocaust novel
I Don’t Care about Your Life
BY JASON GURIEL
Why critics need to stop getting personal in their essays
Slaying Dragons
BY EMILY LANDAU
The limited imagination of high-fantasy fiction
