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Michael Lista

Michael Lista (@michaellista) is a writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, Slate, and Toronto Life. His most recent book is Strike Anywhere: Essays, Reviews & Other Arsons.
Poet Michael Lista against a red backdrop
November 2022 / Poetry

The Bar in Hell

November 17, 2022November 17, 2022 - by Michael Lista

Just pick a stranger, and do the human dance, / Wagering your lost soul on your last romance

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Illustration of two hands reaching for one another across the frame and unable to touch. Behind the hands are blocks containing text that says "Quarantine: Contagious Disease" in all capital letters.
Arts & Culture

The Plague Story We’re Living Through

April 16, 2020May 1, 2020 - by Michael Lista

Romeo and Juliet reminds us that all the best human things are unhygienic—sex, kissing, a touch from the person you love

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A small boy and a man build a snowman.
Uncategorized

Me, My Dad, and His Old Clothes

September 30, 2019 - by Michael Lista

After my parents divorced, I began to wear my dad’s cast-off suits and loafers everywhere

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The knot of a blue tie stands out against a white collared shirt and black pullover sweater.
Society

The Toxic Sexism of Catholic All-Boys Schools

December 17, 2018January 6, 2020 - by Michael Lista

St. Michael’s College School made headlines after some of its football players were accused of brutally attacking another student. Where do so-called good boys get such bad ideas?

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Photograph by Benoit Aquin
October 2017

Fearing Those Who Flee Trump’s America

September 6, 2017April 5, 2020 - by Michael Lista

Canada is using the Safe Third Country Agreement to systematically turn back asylum seekers

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Illustration by Michael Byers
June 2017

The Rise and Fall of Toronto’s Classiest Con Man

May 29, 2017November 25, 2020 - by Michael Lista

James Regan swindled his way through the city’s monied classes. The problem was, he seemed to believe his own lies

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Illustration by Courtney Wotherspoon
Books / October 2016

Is Anne Carson the First Poet with More Fans than Readers?

September 23, 2016November 25, 2021 - by Michael Lista

Her abstruse, down-tuned music is the soundtrack to poetry’s institutionalized life in the twenty-first century

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Illustration by Genevieve Simms
Books / July/August 2016

Poetry Slam

June 13, 2016April 1, 2020 - by Michael Lista

Cowardly critics and bad art—a Canadian codependency

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Black and white image of woman in front of a white wall
Books

A Way of Happening

June 25, 2014November 18, 2021 - by Michael Lista

An interview with Amanda Jernigan, judge of the third annual Walrus Poetry Prize

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Illustration by Jenn Kitagawa
July/August 2013 / Justice

Splitting Heirs

July 2, 2013July 7, 2016 - by Michael Lista

The royal baby and our troubled Constitution

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The Walrus' March/April 2023 cover featuring artwork of the megachurch March/April 2023
It was massively popular. It billed itself as a new kind of church. Then sexual abuse and misconduct allegations surfaced against its leaders

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