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    The cover for the September/October 2023 issue of The Walrus. Cover artwork: A collage made up of a man's silhouette, a hand giving a tarot reading, a torn envelope, and smoke. Cover lines: A legendary psychic. Forged letters. A $200 million con. Inside the greatest scam ever written. By Rachel Browne.'
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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.
Memoir

Me, My Dad, and His Old Clothes

September 30, 2019July 4, 2023 - 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 cover for the September/October 2023 issue of The Walrus. Cover artwork: A collage made up of a man's silhouette, a hand giving a tarot reading, a torn envelope, and smoke. Cover lines: A legendary psychic. Forged letters. A $200 million con. Inside the greatest scam ever written. By Rachel Browne. 2023 Sep/Oct Issue
The greatest scam ever written, the war on cancer, the pursuit of perfect skin, and more!

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​​The Walrus is located within the bounds of Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is also the traditional territory of the Anishnabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.

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