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Arcana Shanks Arcana Shanks

The Painters Visual Album - A Multimedia Kaleidoscope

If you know me, then you know that artistic collaboration across mediums is my bread and butter. Very few things get me hyped up like seeing the words “genre-bending” or “multi-media kaleidoscope” on an event poster, so you can bet that when I read those exact terms on the announcement for The Painters’ art film screening I was chomping at the bit to be there.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (25 October, 2023)

He asked me if my husband liked sports, and I said he didn't, she told me. She isn't married though, never was, has no inclination to be. It's so cute that he doesn't know I'm a nightmare, and thinks I could be married like a normal person.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (18 October, 2023)

It's that time of year again, is on everyone's lips. Whether referring to flannel season, pumpkin spiced anything, or simply said with a tired sigh, we are all marking the changes. From my perspective, besides the style switch (my leggings are back in rotation, and layers adding up), I can't help but notice how dark it is.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (11 October, 2023)

My family didn't do Thanksgiving when I was growing up, though I didn't catch on at first. Familial structures define normal, so I didn't notice the missing holiday for years (much like I didn't realize we were apparently the only family in Canada that never watched hockey).

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (4 October, 2023)

The thing about boundaries is that I'm terrible with them. A therapist once explained to me that just because someone asks a question, doesn't mean I have to answer it.

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Arcana Shanks Arcana Shanks

The Poly Mic - MTL Event Series

Taking my first plunge into the widely renowned Montreal comedy scene, I wasn’t quite sure what I would be walking into. Being a newcomer to the city, and a newcomer to comedy, my stomach was buzzing like a hive of ever-persistent Quebec wasps.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (29 September, 2023)

It's time for changes. No, not to my sexy weekly, don't worry. I'm speaking more generally. Change seems to be in the air. My cursory understanding of the stars isn't sufficient to blame it on heavenly bodies, and despite my witchy genes, I can't read cards without a book.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (20 September, 2023)

"Why are all the stores on this street? And why is there a table in the road?" These are valid questions from an astute suburban seven year old experiencing a pedestrian-only city street for the first time.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

McSweeney’s List (13 September, 2023)

This past weekend I had a staycation of sorts. My boyfriend headed home to Maritimes, and I had the place to myself, alone for the first time in four years.

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Dawn McSweeney Dawn McSweeney

Naghmeh Shafiei Won’t Be Gentled Down

When I first met Naghmeh Shafei, I knew her as a friend of a friend, a great dog-mom, and a welcoming soul. I had no idea that she was an extraordinary musician, self-aware and ready to disrupt expectations.

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