Drag queen’s new math book brings a fab twist

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A contestant from the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and TikTok star is bringing a new book to town to help readers “unlock their inner math diva.”

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2024 (872 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A contestant from the first season of Canada’s Drag Race and TikTok star is bringing a new book to town to help readers “unlock their inner math diva.”

Kyne Santos will launch the book Math in Drag, published in March by Johns Hopkins University Press, on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Little Brown Jug (336 William Ave.) as part of a Canadian tour; the Winnipeg event is being presented by Willow Press (214 Osborne St.).

Santos has been creating educational and fun math videos online for some time (see @onlinekyne on Instagram for examples); Math in Drag promises to appeal to math and drag fans alike.

The event is free, and open to all ages.

● ● ●

Author Ian Williams has been announced as the 2024 CBC Massey lecturer, and will focus on the theme of conversations in his five-part lecture series.

The Giller Prize-winning author (for his 2019 novel Reproduction) takes up the mantle from 2023’s Massey lecturer, Winnipeg-born Astra Taylor, whose lectures culminated in the book The Age of Insecurity, published by House of Anansi Press.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

Massey Lecture tour dates and stops have yet to be announced; Winnipeg was one of the stops last year for Taylor’s tour, so chances are Williams will follow suit. The lectures will also be broadcast on CBC Radio One’s Ideas program.

● ● ●

Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.) welcomes a trio of poets on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. to read and discuss their work as part of a week-long celebration of Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, which is Saturday, April 27.

Ottawa poet D.S. Stymeist will be joined by Cree/Métis writer Duncan Mercredi and Ariel Gordon at the event, which is free (although tickets are recommended to reserve a spot — they’re at wfp.to/yZJ).

● ● ●

Speaking of poets, the League of Canadian Poets (LCP) and has released short lists for three awards administered by the organization.

Among the trio of awards short lists announced by the LCP, Governor General’s Literary Award-winning Winnipeg poet Hannah Green and her book Xanax Cowboy is in contention for the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award for debut books. Each of the League’s three awards — the Gerald Lampert award plus the Pat Lowther Memorial Award for poetry by women and the Raymond Souster Award for new poetry by League members — comes with a $2,000 prize.

● ● ●

Winnipeg writer Zilla Jones is one of five finalists for the 2024 CBC Short Story Prize.

Jones is in contention for the $6,000 prize (and a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity) for her story How to Make a Friend along with Vancouver’s Kate Gunn for Old Bones, Toronto’s Miriam Ho Nga Wai for Lamentations, North Vancouver’s Kailash Srinivasan for The Baby and Toronto’s Carley Thorne for Permission to Pause.

The winner will be announced Thursday.

● ● ●

Born in the Red River Settlement, John Norquay served as premier of Manitoba from 1878-1887. In his new book The Honourable John Norquay: Indigenous Premier, Canadian Statesman, local historian Gerald Friesen delves into the life of the man often overshadowed by Louis Riel.

On Wednesday at 7 p.m., Friesen will launch the book at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location, where he’ll be joined in converation by Don Norquay.

Sticking with McNally Robinson’s Grant Park events, the following night (April 25) at 7 p.m. Vancouver poet Rhea Tregebov comes to town to launch her latest collection, Talking to Strangers; she’ll be joined in conversation by Winnipeg poet Sarah Ens in an event co-presented by the LCP.

Then on Friday at 7 p.m., Yellowknives Dene First Nation author Katlià will launch her fourth book, Firekeeper, at McNally Robinson in an event co-presented by the Winnipeg International Writers Festival.

Firekeeper is a coming-of-age tale that grapples with intergenerational trauma and the destructive fallout of colonialism. She’ll be joined in conversation by Franco-Métis scholar and writer Mylène Yannick Gamache.

Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com

books@freepress.mb.ca

Ben Sigurdson

Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer

Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.

In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

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