Sylvie Hill

I was honoured during the summer of 2019 to peer-review an anthology of essays and poems about mothers in dangerous times. An exceptional and enlightening read now published, Motherhood in Precarious Times is available for purchase for $24.95 on Demeter Press. My favouring review appears on the back blurb of the book. “Motherhood in Precarious […]

It was a full house for another one of the courses I created called “Tales of Female Betrayal: 8 stories of wives, unsatisfied” for the University of Ottawa’s Personal Enrichment Activities Program at the Centre for Continuing Education, downtown. Follow along by checking out some videos I share with the class. It’s an intriguing exploration […]

Check the Book Reviews section now for my review of young Ottawa author Megan Oates’ compelling new memoir, Would You Like Your Cancer? (WYLYC) Not her Grandmother’s death from cancer, nor a shitty boyfriend were going to separate Oates from her will to achieve her goals. This fierce determination, energy and spunk make WYLYC a […]

COURAGE, MY LOVE In sickness, and in health… “I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I’ve bought a big bat, I’m all ready you see, now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!” ~Dr. Seuss Would You Like Your […]

The Ottawa XPress – September 11, 2008 CALL OF THE WILD: Moose & Pussy: Dirty, gritty, literary The definition of “erotica” has been recycled more times than a cum rag. It’s been cleaned up and academicized to appease prudes, romanticized to placate suburbanites and disguised to mean anything that’s not porn. That’s why you’ll love […]

The Ottawa XPress, November 6, 2006 BOOK REVIEW Matthew Firth’s Suburban Pornography (Anvil Press, 207 pp.) Matthew Firth’s tales of degenerate one-night stands “Relax, girl. It’s just like taking a big shit. Only in reverse.” These are the lines I recite readily and adoringly when I’m asked about the best in contemporary Canadian pornographic writing. […]

The Ottawa XPress | June 1, 2006 BOOK REVIEW Jennifer Whiteford’s Grrrl (Gorsky Press, 252 pp.) Whiteford’s channels her own rock star dreams through the novel’s riot grrrl Play. Stop. Rewind. Jennifer Whiteford’s distinctive debut novel, Grrrl, is like a killer mixtape from the early 1990s that you want to play over and over again. […]

The Ottawa XPress | April 13, 2006 Festival fluke puts femmes first this spring Every event tends to have its show-stealers, and the all-women Writing Life series at this year’s Ottawa International Writers Festival is looking like a serious contender. The series consists of three interactive evenings with authors in conversation about their craft and […]

The Ottawa XPress, November 24, 2005 BOOK REVIEW Dan Savage’s Commitment (Dutton/Penguin, 304 pp., $35.00) vs Rob Brezsny’s Pronoia (North Atlantic/Frog Ltd., 296 pp., U.S. $25.50). Savage – ON COMMITMENT AND THE ULTIMATE BENEVOLENCE OF THE CONSCIOUS UNIVERSE In his new book, The Commitment, scandalous and sensible syndicated Savage Love columnist Dan Savage thinks about […]

The Ottawa XPress – November 3, 2005 BOOK REVIEW Tracy Quan’s Diary of a Married Call Girl (Three Rivers Press, 318 pages, $17.95) Love, lust and funds found south of 79th and 2nd “How much can – or should – one person get away with?” ~Nancy Chan, Call Girl When it comes to sex, you […]