I read a lot of magazines. The inhabitants of my home have subscriptions to Rural Delivery, The New Yorker, Brew Your Own, When Saturday Comes, Canadian Living, Chickadee, Canadian Geographic and a few others. I also buy others on the newsstand from time to time like Wired, Uncut and Walrus. Last Thursday I picked up my first copy of maisonneuve and I am already hooked.
It is simply the best written magazine I have read published in Canada. While Walrus states it
is a Canadian magazine, but only by the accident of place and timemaisonneuve is about Montreal without being a tourist piece. The February/March issue focuses on food and drink, two favorite subjects of mine, but approaches the topics thoughtfully and personally. There is an essay on the meaning of Loblaws and President's Choice. There is a photo piece tracking three ladies going through five micro brew pubs and 28 different beers one rainy night. It is funny. There is an "Anti-Horoscope" with tidbits like this for Aquarius:
You'll replace your conciousness with whatever is on CBC Radio's "Sounds Like Canada."or for Capricorn
You will vainly try to escape Death by forcing your client to try out for commercials, boy bands and JCPenny ads.Go buy.
Comments
Ikram - February 23, 2004 3:36 AM
Maissoneuve is far superior to Walrus. Walrus has that slightly pathetic, desparate Toronto-vibe. Self-consciously trying to be 'world-class'. And failing. Maissoneuve is not trying to be anything at all, other than cool and Montrealish. I suppose each captures its city's zeitgeist effectively.
Speaking of geist, Geist, from Vancouver, is also quite good (a literary, rather than general interest, magazine). And the last issue of Toro was a pleasant suprise (though controlled-circulation magazines leave me cold).
Alan - February 23, 2004 8:19 AM
You have captured what I wanted to say, Ikram. <i>Walrus</i> is the needy Canadian, world-classy and overly eager. <i>maisonneuve</i> barely lifts above the observations of individuals but gets it right: the piece "The Lost Letter of Stephen Leacock" illustrating the joy of a find in a second-hand book with a letter to Leacock with his hand written response is elegant in its lack of need to analyze the note signed "S.L.". It's just the sort of thing that pops up in Montreal once in a while.