First Person | The Walrus

Illustration of several plates containing cassava-based dishes like pie and sliced root. The plates are garnished with purple and green flowers.

First Person / January/February 2021

Why My Mother’s Cassava Pie Is More than a Comfort Food

December 11, 2020December 15, 2020 - by Stephanie Wong Ken

Learning the history of resistance behind my family’s favourite dish

Illustration of baseball cards, an open notebook, a baseball, and a tumbler of amber liquid with ice.

First Person / November/December 2020

Loving Sports at Any Age

October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 - by Anne O'Hagan

Even in his eighties, my father dared the rest of us to keep up

A photograph of Barbara Amiel and her husband, Conrad Black, in formal attire. The background shows a couple of palm trees.

First Person / Society

Love and Antisemitism in Palm Beach, Florida

October 6, 2020October 6, 2020 - by Barbara Amiel

As a newlywed, Barbara Amiel desperately wanted to fit in with Conrad Black’s Palm Beach crowd. The only problem? His country club didn’t admit Jews

Illustration of a person sitting at a table, turning his head to watch a woman in the kitchen.

First Person / September/October 2020

My Other Mother

August 20, 2020August 26, 2020 - by William Pang

My nanny helped raise me. Now it’s time for me to get to know her children

Black and white photo of people, some on ox-drawn cart, others on donkeys or walking, as they migrate, following the Partition of India, October 1947

First Person / World

Writing in My Father’s Voice

July 31, 2020August 5, 2020 - by Madhur Anand

My parents lived through the Partition of India. To tell their stories, I had to put myself in their shoes

An illustration of the head and shoulders of a human silhouette. In the background are several small houses, spread far apart, with a high density of trees in between. The colour scheme is dark periwinkle blue and the houses have yellow lights.

First Person / Society

How Northern Landscapes Helped Shape My Queer Identity

June 1, 2020June 1, 2020 - by Lori Fox

In the boreal, locked between the tundra, the coastal rainforests, and the prairies, I learned to relate to my body beyond my gender

Illustration of a woman on a couch playing guitar. In front of her is an open laptop on a coffee table; behind her is an easel with a painting of a sun. Scattered books and vases are around and beneath the table.

COVID-19 / First Person / July/August 2020

If a Book Is Published in a Pandemic, Will Anyone Read It?

May 21, 2020August 14, 2020 - by Katrina Onstad

We already undervalue our artists. COVID-19 has only made it worse

Overhead view of a man working at table in a living room beside his young daughter doing homework, while his second daughter lies behind him on a sofa and looks at a tablet.

Education / First Person

Why Home-Schooling Was Right for Me

May 12, 2020 - by Elizabeth Howell

When school stifled my creativity, my parents turned to independent learning

Photograph of a young black girl sleeping at her desk in a classroom.

First Person

Race Is a Story and No Single Narrative Defines Me

April 23, 2020 - by Tessa McWatt

In a Toronto classroom, I was forced to confront how language makes one person “other” to the next

Illustration of a dark haired woman, crouching to pet a rooster. Around her are two other chickens.

First Person / May 2020

We Turned Our Pet Chickens Into Dinner

April 17, 2020 - by Yasuko Thanh

First we bonded over our unusual pets. Then we bonded over butchering them