Lately, due to some personal conundrums in the world of the Canadian granting system, Ive been pondering the idea of what qualifies as literary. In my great and now completed quest to get my novel published I was told that my book, my baby, six years in the making, was either too literary or not literary enough. I am apt to think that there is a great oppressive system, a whirring academic, commercial and economic machine that is constantly defining and redefining what is literary fiction and what is genre fiction.

There are of course books that walk the line and writers that push the boundaries, but it never seems that we have a clear indication of what is worth our intensive literary attentions and what is simply an entertaining, trashy escape. And really, what does either definition mean in the face of a damn good read?

The good news is that this great, consuming soup of indigo/chapters defined literary ideals on what “smart people” (cough, cough) can and can’t read can be completely avoided for an afternoon in the world of indie mag/book culture. A welcome reprieve from the oppressive cultural machine, Canzine happens across Canada and puts readers in touch with the writers and publications that walk the fringe.

Zines from across Canada on display and for sale! The heart of the event, indie publishers both in print and online come from across the country and the continent to show their wares! Be amazed at the creativity, ingenuity, and sheer weirdness!

Thanks to the beautiful indie press liberation army over at Broken Pencil, youll find Hotel Canzine in Toronto at the end of this month, and for added weekend fun, The Small Press Book Fair at the Victory Café November 11th and 12th.
And while I’m on the topic of the oppressive cultural machine defining what we can and can’t read…