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The Walrus

Rolli

Rolli (rollistuff.com; @rolliwrites) is a writer and cartoonist from Regina. His most recent story collection, I Am Currently Working On a Novel, was long-listed for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and short-listed for the High Plains Book Award. Rolli’s cartoons appear regularly in the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Adbusters, and other popular outlets.
Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Angel Lady

June 22, 2016November 18, 2019 - by Rolli

Our daughter vanished. The woman looked pretty normal. She had long hair even though she was over forty. She had a brittle voice that made you listen carefully in case …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Chapel of the Pines

June 7, 2016November 18, 2019 - by Rolli

There’s always room on the bench next to Sad Billy. Under the Whitman Tree. Says the brass plaque hammered into its midsection, the tree took root in 1892, the year …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Mr. Penny’s Dream

May 24, 2016April 26, 2017 - by Rolli

When Mr. Penny woke up that morning, his head felt like a vitamin bottle (plugged with cotton). “Nothing helps a plugged head except strong tea and a long walk.” Was …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

The Book

May 10, 2016November 18, 2019 - by Rolli

I was a baby, Amy-Jo, when I wrote the Book. A novel, they called it, which was heresy; I’ve never written a word of fiction. Fiction is a lie because …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Ms. Blumenthol

April 26, 2016June 12, 2017 - by Rolli

T he World Is a Lousy Person. I want that to be my epitaph. Hooman’s is At Last . . . Peace, which is idiotic; he was in perfect health when he dropped dead. …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Ocean Beach

April 12, 2016January 4, 2020 - by Rolli

It’s another perfect day at Ocean Beach Men’s Shelter. I had a desk job for ten years. I made some bad decisions. I got fired for punching Mr. Aldermaston. I …

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Fiction

Camp Faraway for Bitter Young Men

March 29, 2016October 6, 2018 - by Rolli

Mom pushed me to Joey’s headstone. Then she dropped herself like a garbage bag and started bawling. I wheeled around a bit. Cemeteries are depressing. Some of the grave names …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

People

March 15, 2016April 26, 2017 - by Rolli

I stayed up all night sharpening my teeth. Each tooth took—well, not too long. I was done by morning. I said goodbye to my apartment. I bit the landlady. * …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Onviblio

March 1, 2016April 26, 2017 - by Rolli

A six pack, fishing rod, a fistful of books. I pulled the motor cord. The pier disappeared. * The fish weren’t biting. I cracked open Boring War and a beer. …

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Illustration by Rolli
Fiction

Mr. Penny’s Seventh

February 16, 2016June 12, 2017 - by Rolli

They’re tedious places, hospitals. Mr. Penny didn’t have many hobbies (Walking. Reading. There was something else.) and he couldn’t do any of those at present, not without his glasses, or …

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Our Latest Issue

The Walrus' May 2023 cover featuring a windswept natural landscape with the caption: 'Did you know this was a graveyard? First Nations search for their missing children' May 2023
Thousands of Indigenous children died at residential schools across Canada. This is the story of one community’s search for unmarked graves

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Read more about The Trust Project and how this article fits in it

Part of The Trust Project

The Trust Project is a collaboration among news organizations around the world. Its goal is to create strategies that fulfill journalism’s basic pledge: to serve society with a truthful, intelligent and comprehensive account of ideas and events.

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