first person | The Walrus

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

Photograph of children's handprints in multicoloured paint on a textured black wall.

Environment

The Kids Are Mad as Hell

September 10, 2020September 10, 2020 - by Hana Shafi

Climate change is stealing their future. But their activism gives me hope

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

A kaleidoscopic oil painting composed of green leaves and red flower petals.

First Person / Society

Taking Hallucinogens with My Mom

April 14, 2020April 16, 2020 - by Rachel Matlow

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t want chemo. Instead, she tried every other potion under the sun

A brown kitchen chair seated at a round table, covered in a yellow checked tablecloth. On the table are two glasses of wine, a slice of cake, and several face-down playing cards with the ace of spades facing up.

First Person / January/February 2020

How Euchre Healed My Family

December 12, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Jessica Myshrall

We have played through illness, arguments, divorces, and death

December 2019 / First Person

How to Make the Perfect Popcorn

November 22, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Kevin Sylvester

If you microwave your popcorn, never speak to me again

A series of black and white yearbook photos of young women, cut into lateral strips and separated so you cannot make out their faces, laid in columns against a white background.

Justice

Why I Decided to Join a Class Action Against the Royal Winnipeg Ballet

October 23, 2019October 25, 2019 - by Serena McCarroll

I have been speaking out about alleged misconduct and abuse of power for years. Now seventy other women have added their own voices

Books / First Person / October 2018

The Cat Who Ate Like A Lion

September 28, 2018March 31, 2020 - by Patti Sonntag

Lessons of love and acceptance from the furriest member of the family

Illustration of Two Men Yelling at Each Other

Society

I Am the Type of Man Who Gets Into Fist Fights—and Likes It

May 2, 2018March 27, 2020 - by Daemon Fairless

The capacity for violence sometimes makes men feel whole. What are they supposed to do about it?

Image of a Women in a Hospital Gown Lying Down

March 2018 / Memoir

How I Found My Way After an MS Diagnosis at Twenty-Seven

February 22, 2018March 27, 2020 - by Meredith White

Socrates and Plato helped me realize that charting the future with a chronic disease means embracing ambiguity