McSweeney’s List (12 February 2025)
“The highest function of love is that it makes the loved one a unique and irreplaceable being.”
Author Tom Robbins died this past Sunday. No, not the actor, that's Tim Robbins. I'm talking about Tom, the author of a bunch of great books including Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (skip the movie), Another Roadside Attraction, and Half Asleep in Frog Pyjamas, the only novel I've ever read that's written in second person. Each of his books hit me at the right time, shifting my perspective on life, blowing out the boundaries of what I thought a novel meant. In Still Life With Woodpecker, the narrator interjects about his new typewriter (a Remington SL3 that doesn't actually exist). At first the narrator is stoked about his new tool, but things start going wrong, the interjections filling up with typos, until finally the book ends in handwriting. YOU CAN DO THAT?! It hit me like literary acid, and my brain was never the same.
As an interesting sidebar, in the 1990s, as the FBI tried to identify the Unabomber, they scoured Still Life With Woodpecker for clues. Did they think the Unabomber had learned to hide from the romantic outlaw in Robbins’ book? Who knows. Two FBI agents, both good looking gals, as the story goes, were sent to interview the author. Of that event, he liked to say “The FBI is not stupid. They knew my weakness!” Tom was my last living literary crush (RIP Leonard Cohen).
Robbins was always an underground, counter-culture, niche writer. As a result, he's vastly underrated, but each time I meet a fellow fan, it makes sense that they dig him. In 1967 he wrote about his experience at a performance by The Doors. (I know this because when your literary love has a first hand experience with your rock star dream boy, you find that shit.) Steeped in the wonder of seeing them, he put his guts on the page, writing an experiential piece that feels passionately intimate. He compared them to a lot of things in that article, metaphors and poetry melting into their music. He compared them to “Edgar Alien Poe drowning in his birdbath” and “L.A. pagans drawing down the moon”. As for the tunes themselves, he called it: “The musical equivalent of a ritual sacrifice, an amplified sex throb, a wounded yet somehow elegant yowl for the lost soul of America, histrionic tricksters making hard cider of the apples of Eden and petting the head of the Snake.”
Gah. Lit-swoon.
There are few writers that hit me in the soul, in that spot where the concepts exist without words, and the feelings burst forth uncensored and uncontainable. It's as though his pen was attached to that spot, a natural conduit to the visceral truth, spout for the perfect poetry of this chaotic, awe-inspiring existence. Someone recently asked me about philosophers, and I cited Robbins because he taught me that loving with your whole heart was the most courageous thing one could do. That loving yourself is the most empowering act. He taught me that your sacred absurdities will be scripture to the ones who speak your language.
When I heard he died, my breath caught. Despite the inevitability that the heroes of our time will merge into history (a disturbing reminder of the conveyor belt to the grace and our place on it), the passing from living God to Old Myth hits hard. I instinctively looked at my bookshelf, and found, to my surprise, that I only have one of his books. I have no idea what happened to the rest; did they fall apart? Get loaned out too far? In Skinny Legs and All, a bunch of inanimate objects gain movement and head off on a pilgrimage. I hope that the rest of his books did the same, and are currently where they need to be. It will delay my rereading, but it offers a gift too: this summer will be the 30th anniversary of my first reading of Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, the first book of Robbins I ever read. Seems like the perfect time to revisit a spot that helped form me, and see what's there with my fresh eyes.
In the meantime, I ended up rifling through my shelf with a particularly tender heart, and found some other books that are more than books to me: ones that transformed me, ones that have become treasured objects beyond their stories. It's funny, if you asked for my favorite books, I would freeze up; there are so many, and my art preferences are moveable. Whatever I'm steeped in is my favorite. For instance, today I'm deeply filled with love and admiration for Salman Rushdie. A few months ago, all I could talk about was S. by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams. All that to say, these aren't even necessarily my favorite books, but rather amulets I treasure, and contents that have reached me across time and space.
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
Be Here Now by Ram Dass
I have my father's OG copy of this hippie gamechanger from the 70s. It was released at a moment of societal change, while it itself became a catalyst for that very change. It brought kindling and a flame thrower to the sparks of shifting consciousness. Ram Dass was once Richard Alpert, a Harvard professor alongside Timothy Leary, and they were on the cusp of the zeitgeist when LSD was invented. Together they ran tests with both psilocybin and LSD, dosing curious and willing students. (It bears noting that author Aldous Huxley was on the founding board of this project). Leary and Alpert were expelled from Harvard. Leary argued for the scientific importance of delving into the altered states of the brain. Alpert, on the other hand, said that he had been transformed, his life forever changed, and that he was now effectively datum.
I've read so much about this era (shoutout to The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, written by Tom Wolfe, who went to school with Tom Robbins), and about Ram Dass, and by Ram Dass, and I haven't actually read this book. What book? Be Here Now, by Ram Dass. Keep up. I'm not sure that my father did either, but he might have while he was still young and believed in magic. Realizing all that, I recently cracked it open, shaking my head at my own silliness in the delay, and tried to experience it through my beginner’s mind. There was magic to be found there right away, and I really need to finish this book.
Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood
First up, I don't usually get on board with a series. Second of all, I've owned and read this trilogy, and somehow now only have one book left. Oh well…words travel.
Margaret Atwood was one of my first favorite authors. Shopping with my uncle when I was around 13, I picked out Bluebeard’s Egg, a short story collection with a beautiful front cover and an intriguing blurb. I'd never heard of Margaret Atwood before. I remember being fascinated as I read, drawn into layered settings by complex characters, plotlines that could be intense but internal, stories of moments. My mind was changed by the realization that a story arc can happen in one room, with one character. That the most innocuous details are the glue that holds imagery to reality, grounding the story until you can smell the air in the character’s room.
I dove into her offerings with both feet. (Editor’s Note: You don’t dive with your feet.) I read her novels so fast and hard that I mix them up and forget their names. I read her poetry -- it was she who introduced me to the word poetess, and when I read it, it felt like a crown and not a derision. I surely read books before I was able to fully grasp their meaning, but I kept reading until I grew into them.
One day in my 20s, I found Oryx and Crake at a bookstore. What's this now? An Atwood sci-fi?! I picked it up, unaware that I was jumping into the MadAddam Trilogy, and how good it would be.
BRO! Her perfection of detail paints a fantastic and scary future world. Her skilled character creation allows for each of the many players to be fully fleshed out and believable. The world has companies, traditions, myths -- my Dad got me the book on CD, where you can listen to them sing the hymns of the future. Literally: there are hymns and myths, new animals, and corporate culture. The meta merchandise available related to this book tickles me to no end. I remember finding tote bags from the fictional companies, and T-shirts where you can brag about participating in a fictional future marathon. To me, this series reintroduces the importance of humanity in sci-fi; the way we act in crisis, adapt to change, love despite the dreary details. I think of this series often, whether when I consider planting a garden, or marvel at the invasive nature of Big Business.
The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman
This book jumped into my arms at a bookstore liquidation table. I only had a few small dollars, and I was searching for a treasure. I don't remember why I picked it up; my dust cover is long gone, part of it cut out and covered with tape (DIY lamination, thank you very much) specifically to be used as a bookmark in the same book. I’d never done such a thing, but this book was in motion, interactive, and the snipping was done with full respect. Anyway, it looks better without the dust cover to me, and I'm assuming I picked it up because The Principles of Uncertainty is a compelling fucking title. I'd never heard of Maria Kalman before. Now I know that she's the illustrator of over 30 books, a visual artist with worldwide exhibits, and a writer who was a regular contributor to the New York Times and the New Yorker. This book is a compilation of some of her NYT columns, and they set gentle, whimsical fire to every definition I had about a column or a book. This is a picture book for adults; there's a pull out hand drawn map! This book showed me that the simple and mundane are powerful tools to explain the depths of the human experience. That when I, as a child, used to blank on what to draw, the answer was always whatever you see. Likewise, every moment is so rich, that if we zoom in, blow it up, paint its picture, consider it wholly, it becomes something monumental beyond its original intent. It also showed me that women could create stream-of- consciousness, be so weird that they were never anywhere near the mold, and let their word take center stage as the crowd screams for more.
Sign-Up Now!
The Poly Mic, the preeminent weekly Queer comedy night, is taking submissions for their upcoming season! The show is every Wednesday, and the new season starts March 5, so now's the time! The show takes place at Notre Dame des Quilles, and showcases more than just comedy, so don't be shy!
Poly Mic Sign-Up: Google Forms
Poetics
Chimera Open Mic is back! Read your original works of poetry and/or fiction to a supportive audience, or attend to hear people read. Everyone is welcome! The store will be open, so feel free to find some treasures before and after the event.
Show up, sign up, 5 minutes time limit.
WHAT: Chimera Open Mic: Poetry & Fiction
WHERE: Phoenix Books, 5924 Rue Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, H4A 1X7
WHEN: [TONIGHT] Wednesday February 12 @ 7 PM
METRO: Vendôme (Orange)
DETAILS: Facebook
Make It Nice
Everybody has a well-loved sweater that they would never get rid of – no matter how baggy, worn, or threadbare it may be. Join the movement against throw-away culture and fast fashion, by picking up a needle and thread and rediscovering forgotten techniques and the joy of mending…mending that makes things better and prettier!
Under the guidance of maker Arounna Khounnoraj, participants will learn various visible mending techniques on knitwear. This workshop covers multiple techniques such as weave mending, seed stitch, and scotch darning, among others.
This is a free, online event.
WHAT: Mending on Knitwork
WHEN: [TONIGHT] Wednesday, February 12 @ 630 PM - 8 PM
DETAILS: National Gallery of Canada
Terrible Ventriloquism Is The Best Ventriloquism
Ace Pride Comedy presents Frienduary: A comedy show about Friendship. Hosted by Aloe Azimov, and featuring Princess Kevin. A relative newcomer to the Montreal comedy scene, Princess Kevin specializes in terrible ventriloquism, off-beat crowd work, colorful shirts, various hats, and a desire to hoist toxic masculinity on its own petard.
This show is PWYC!
WHAT: Frienduary: A Comedy Show About Friendship
WHERE: Café Eevee, 1251 R. Saint-Zotique, Montreal, Quebec H2S 1N8
WHEN: Thursday, February 13 @ 8 PM
METRO: Beaubien (Orange)
Spontaneous Saturday
It's a spontaneous night of laughs, games, and chaos driven by audience suggestions!
Sometimes venues have cancellations, but that doesn't stop the Montreal Improv! They take those broken eggs, make an omelet, and serve up an unforgettable night of comedy at The Biggest Last Minute Improv Show Ever!
The format of the show will be entirely determined by the number of people who sign up, so expect a dynamic mix of short games, and longer improv sets—each one fueled by your suggestions!
Embrace the chaos, laugh, and be part of a night where anything can happen! Don’t miss out on this one-of-a-kind experience.
WHAT: The Biggest Last Minute Improv Show Ever
WHERE: Montreal Improv, 3716 Notre-Dame St. W., Montreal, H4C 1P7
WHEN: Saturday, February 16 @ 8 PM
METRO: Place St. Henri (Orange)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
Chaos + Love = Chaotic Good
One Hit Wonders presents the third edition of Sloppy Sunday (Valentines Day edition), a sketch comedy show brought to you by Montreal’s finest up-and-coming idiots! One hour of pure chaos, laughter, and LOVE—because if Cupid missed the mark this year, don’t worry, we’ve got your back.
WHAT: One Hit Wonders presents Sloppy Sunday
WHERE: Théâtre VME, 5337 Saint-Laurent Blvd., #250, Montreal, H2T 1S5
WHEN: Sunday, February 16, Doors @ 730 PM, Show @ 8 PM
METRO: Laurier (Orange)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
Beat The Tuesday Blues
Get ready to laugh your socks off at Comedy on Mackay 11! It's a night of hilarious stand-up comedy in the heart of Montreal. The talented lineup of comedians will have you rolling in the aisles of this intimate, speakeasy inspired venue. Grab your friends and head on down for a night you won't forget! Featuring Hasher Ahmed, Bianca Da Silva, Ke Xin Li, James Mancini, and Ali Rafei. Hosted by Tina Cruz and Saba Jakeman.
WHAT: Comedy on Mackay
WHERE: NsurMackay, 1244 Mackay St., Montreal, H3G 2H5
WHEN: Tuesday, February 18 @ 8 PM
METRO: Lucien l'Allier (Orange) & Guy-Concordia (Green)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
World's Smallest Week
World’s Smallest Comedy Night has so many cool things happening, we’re giving them a whole section! Let's do this in order of appearance, shall we?
HOw much do you know?
Tonight! Come to Hurley's for Trivia Night, and get bonus laughter! Put your knowledge to the test! Whether you're a history buff, a pop culture guru, or a sports fanatic, there's something for everyone. Grab a pint, enjoy delicious pub fare, and get ready to show off your trivia skills. Grab your team, and enjoy this night of comedy, friendly competition, and great company. Hosted by Vance Michel, the comedians this week are Peter Bowen, James mancini. Shosho Abotouk, Nazeer Khan, Quinn Lague, Steve Patrik Adams, and Marko Kulik.
WHAT: Trivia Night
WHERE: Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St., Montreal, H3G 2B1
WHEN: Every Wednesday @ 8 PM
METRO: Lucien l'Allier (Orange) & Guy-Concordia (Green)
RSVP: Eventbrite
good vibes only
Thursday, head West for more killer comedy!
Welcome to the Rustik Comedy Night!
Get ready to laugh your socks off at Rustik Pub & Grill!
Montreal's most talented comedians and touring pros hit the stage at the legendary local haunt, Rustik. Make your East-side friends come to your part of town for a change, or come explore the NDG for yourself! It's a chill and hilarious night everytime.
This week Walter Lyng hosts, featuring Zak Kik, Jackie Agnew, Ryan Wilner, and Vance Michel, with headliner Ben Cardilli.
Grab your tickets now and save a few bucks: $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
WHAT: Rustik Comedy
WHERE: Rustik Pub & Grill, 5621 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, H4A 1W4
WHEN: Thursday, February 13, Doors @ 7 PM
METRO: Vendôme (Orange)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
The OG Show
Beat the Monday Blues with WSC’s OG offering, The World's Smallest Comedy Night
Enjoy a showcase of the best comedians in the city, hot up-and-comers, national and international touring comics, and surprises! Hosted by Vance Michel, this week your comedians are Guled Abdi, Peter Bowen, AP Johnson, Goofy Welldone, Sam The Mic, Eric Spicely, and Edyson Dufort.
WHAT: The World's Smallest Comedy Night
WHERE: Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St., Montreal, H3G 2B1
WHEN: Every Monday @ 8 PM
METRO: Lucien l'Allier (Orange) & Guy-Concordia (Green)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
filthy fun
The Monday Night Dirty Mic is the best uncensored open mic in town, hosted by Vance Michel. Every show is an unpredictable and unique experience as a hilarious collection of comedians from newbs to pros take the stage. See the best before anyone else, and catch seasoned locals doing their freshest funnies!
Comics: show-up, sign-up.
WHAT: Monday Night Dirty Mic
WHERE: Hurley's Irish Pub, 1225 Crescent St., Montreal, H3G 2B1
WHEN: Every Monday, Sign-up @ 1020 PM, Show @ 1030 PM
METRO: Lucien l'Allier (Orange) & Guy-Concordia (Green)
TICKETS: Eventbrite
McSweeney’s List drops every Wednesday with the best events, workshops, and more, each week in Montreal!
