December 2011 | The Walrus
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The Walrus

December 2011

Diplomat Robert Fowler recalls his 130 days trapped in the Sahara, kidnapped by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; Tom Jokinen describes his unlikely role as a supernumerary for the Canadian Opera Company; Chris Wood investigates the drilling process known as fracking; Drew Nelles ponders Montreal’s Arcade Fire…

December 2011 / Politics

Editor’s Note

December 17, 2011April 13, 2020 - by John Macfarlane

Lauren Tamaki In his last years as prime minister, Pierre Trudeau criss-crossed the globe on a mission. Having spent much of his first twelve years in office trying to bridge …

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December 2011 / Poetry

Charlie Brown

December 12, 2011July 20, 2017 - by Troy Jollimore

When the little tree falters and droops pathetically under the weight of that innocent-looking but fatal ornament, and Charlie Brown wails, I’ve killed it, everything I touch gets ruined, I …

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December 2011

Smash and Grab

December 12, 2011April 14, 2020 - by Jason Sherman

This appeared in the December 2011 issue.

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Books / December 2011

The Walrus Reads

December 12, 2011April 14, 2020 - by Andre Mayer

Seven new titles of note

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December 2011 / Poetry

History

December 12, 2011July 20, 2017 - by Alison Pick

The empty cathedral reminds me of you— memory flares, a match struck in blackness— our old song, the late monks’ psalms, click of a latch: the Middle Ages closed. Centuries …

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Illustration by Matthew Forsythe
December 2011

Montreal Is Burning

December 12, 2011April 14, 2020 - by Drew Nelles

Arcade Fire’s meteoric rise changed a city and redefined a subculture

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Arts & Culture / December 2011

Pizza Night

December 12, 2011July 20, 2017 - by Dave Cameron

A quiet meal at home becomes fodder for market research

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Image courtesy of Whitfield Fine Art
December 2011

Going for Baroque

December 12, 2011June 15, 2020 - by Shannon Proudfoot

Last summer, Canada’s National Gallery sparked international debate by displaying a “new” Caravaggio

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December 2011 / Society

Remote Control

December 12, 2011April 19, 2020 - by Alexandra Kimball

Alcoholics Anonymous is now more accessible than ever. But will the Internet compromise the brand?

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Artowork Photographed by Jamie Hodge
December 2011

Black Christmas

December 12, 2011December 21, 2022 - by Derek McCormack

The holidays can be saccharine, stressful, and often lonely, so it’s no wonder many Christmas tales contain a note of malice. The season, it turns out, has much in common with Halloween

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