A behind-the-scenes look into the publisher giving a voice to Canadian writers

Wolsak and Wynn is a publishing house located in downtown Hamilton on James Street North. They have been in business for over forty years, and they are dedicated to publishing Canadian voices. 

The publishing house was opened in 1982 by Heather Cadsby and Marja Jacobs, two poets who believed that Canadian poetry was being neglected in the publishing world and decided to take matters into their own hands. Wolsak and Wynn has since expanded to include literary fiction. 

Currently, there are three imprints being handled by the publisher. Imprints refer to smaller publishers under the charge of a large one and usually focus on niche genres and areas of writing. These include Buckrider Books, James Street North Books and Poplar Press. 

Noelle Allen is the current owner and publisher of Wolsak and Wynn. Sixteen years ago, she purchased the press from Jacobs after Cadsby retired. 

Wolsak and Wynn is a unique publisher due to their size and impact. 

“To my knowledge, there is no other publisher like us in Hamilton. There are some other smaller publishing companies coming up, but we've been around for a long time… [Now] we are Hamilton’s biggest literary publisher,” said Allen. 

To my knowledge, there is no other publisher like us in Hamilton. There are some other smaller publishing companies coming up, but we've been around for a long time… [Now] we are Hamilton’s biggest literary publisher

Noelle Allen, owner and publisher of Wolsak and Wynn

With their multiple imprints, Wolsak and Wynn can focus on various subjects such as books about Hamilton, cutting-edge fiction and literary nonfiction. It allows for better variety for readers and maintaining Canandian voices in their products. 

According to Allen, Wolsak and Wynn’s writers have been received very positively, and many have won awards for their works. For example, one of their books was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize as well as others being awarded multiple Governor General’s Literary Awards. Wolsak and Wynn also published Yardwork, a work of literary nonfiction by McMaster University professor Daniel Coleman, which was shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize in 2018. 

Allen advised students interested in submitting a manuscript to first have a few writing publications under their belt. She also explained that it's best to research publishing houses to see what they have published and to determine if you have similar tastes. Regardless, Wolsak and Wynn is open to any submissions, and they do not require writers to have a literary agent. They are open from January to March for unsolicited submissions. 

For students interested in breaking into the publishing industry, Allen recommended volunteering at literary events, such as the Lit Live Reading Series, to get a sense of authors and their works. Allen also recommended learning editing and copyediting skills.  

“I always recommend, if anybody's going to really pursue publishing, to take a copyediting course . . . Taking a copy editing course teaches you to look at words in a different way and gives you a lot of the language for how we look at things in publishing,” said Allen. 

Wolsak and Wynn does have internships for students interested in pursuing a career in publishing, though they normally take people from publishing programs, and they only take one person at a time. To see if there is an opening or if there will be one soon, Allen recommended contacting her directly.  

Allen also emphasized that students should try to read as many Canadian authors as possible. There are many wonderful works by Canadians out there, with different writing styles than you would find in the US or around the world.  

For students who have a passion for books or writing, Wolsak and Wynn could be a great place to find your next favourite read.  

By Nisha Gill, Contributor

Tucked away between bakeries and boutiques in Hamilton’s downtown core, Factory Media Centre (228 James St. North) is somewhat  isolated from the hustle and bustle. Housed within the artist-run centre, Hamilton-native Natalie Hunter merges photography, video projection and sculpture to create a space to reflect on questions  questions of memory, home, time and light.

A collection of photo-based works created over the last four years, “sensations of breathing at the sound of light” is different Hunter’s typical pieces. The artist’s work has been exhibited across Canada and the United States, almost always in well-lit, neutral-coloured spaces, contrary to the conditions that are present in the Factory Media Centre.

“Factory Media’s space is quite cinematic, and it’s a challenging space because it doesn’t have accurate lighting like most white cube gallery spaces. Working with [Factory Media Centre] coordinator Kristina Durka, we decided to work with the darkness of the space and curate works that create light, in addition to reacting with its kinetic qualities,” Hunter explained.

When viewers enter the Factory Media Centre, it is immediately apparent that the space is as much a part of Hunter’s exhibition as are her works. The visible cables and wires, the naturally limited and cinematic lighting and the openness of the space all compliment Hunter’s work. This interaction between the space and the work allows for the viewer to reflect on the work and the influence of memory and home, furthering the incredibly unique and immersive experience that comes with viewing it. 

“Allowing a photograph to become a physical encounter rather than a picture on a screen or in a frame. And I think “Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” really questions areas between screen space and physical space, and how they influence memory, the senses, and perceptions of time in the present moment. Stillness and motion can be experienced at the same time,” said Hunter.

Hunter’s pieces themselves are created using a combination of film, colour filters and lights that allow a moment in time to be captured not only as a photograph, but as something physical that interacts with the space around it.

“I think my work is different in terms of my consideration of materiality in image making and hybrid forms of sculpture and photography. Allowing a photograph to become a physical encounter rather than a picture on a screen or in a frame. And I think  ‘sensations of breathing at the sound of light’ really questions areas between screen space and physical space, and how they influence memory, the senses, and perceptions of time in the present moment,” said Hunter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3IPsBtHZtJ/

Hunter described the exhibition as a conversation between her and Durka, but also as a space for conversation between herself and the viewers of her exhibition.

“An artist’s job is to provide the conditions for an experience so that a dialogue or conversation can exist between artist and viewer. A conversation that a viewer may draw meaning from or pose further questions, perhaps not immediately, but eventually, through the work. I hope that a viewer is drawn into the work for its visceral and emotive qualities, but keeps them there long enough to contemplate the nature of time, memory, and our relationships to the spaces we create for ourselves,” said Hunter.

“Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” interacts with the space it is housed in to immerse the viewer in the works and encourage them to reflect on important questions about the nature and perceptions of the time, as well as the spaces that we interact with.

The closing reception for “Sensations of breathing at the sound of light” will be on Friday, October 4, 2019 at the Factory Media Centre (228 James St. North) from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Hunter will be in attendance.

 

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Amanda Watkins
LifeStyle Editor

The Chef’s Wagon

16-24 James Street North

With an unconventional address, The Chef’s Wagon leads more of a nomadic life.

As a James Street staple food truck, the Wagon is located next to the James/King William intersection, but prefers an established location to conventional wheeled travel. Opened in December of 2012, this food truck is firmly planted as a fast and fresh place for homemade burgers on the go. Their patty meat is made fresh daily, never frozen, with local Hamilton ingredients, no additives or preservatives, and charming names like “The Mountain” and “The Steeltown Gyro.”

 

 

 

 

Mex-I-Can Restoraurant (not a typo)

107 James Street North

If the abnormal spelling of the word “restaurant” in its title isn’t enough to make you want to give them all your business now (and no, that’s not the Spanish spelling), then perhaps the genuine hole-in-the-wall atmosphere and cheesy (in both senses of the word) Mexican cuisine will.

Serving up your classic quesadillas, enchiladas, canada pharmacy chimichangas and so much more, Mex-I-Can gives you an authentic sketchy Hamilton restaurant experience complete with tasty and authentic Mexican cuisine.

Mex you can have your burrito, and eat it too.

 

 

 

The Burnt Tongue

10 Cannon Street East

With its grand opening just two months ago, The Burnt Tongue is already a local hot spot for soups and sandwiches. When we went by at lunchtime, the lineup was consistent and the restaurant was bustling. With a soup menu that’s updated every day, novelty sodas, and Rudy’s Paletas- delicious Hamilton-made gourmet popsicles- it’s no wonder they’re already a student household name.

Try the Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup with a Peanut Butter Paleta for dessert, and you will be one happy Hamiltonian.

 

 

 

 

Charred Rotisserie House

244 James Street North

Quality chicken is hard to come by on campus, so why not venture down to this Portuguese rotisserie for their stellar poultry? With full, half and quarter chicken dinners, their meat loving menu will make the most of your Paleolithic diet.

A home-y environment, friendly staff and a pulled chicken on a bun will have you coming back for more.

 

 

 

 

 

McCartney & Son Salad Emporium and Eatery

282 James Street North

This restaurant owner’s clients have included Robert Plant, Bob Dylan and Samuel L. Jackson. I know, right? Once a caterer to the stars, McCartney now runs this urban and spacious salad bar close to the corner of Barton and James. In addition to spending a hefty chunk of time serving celebrities out of Toronto, he is also the manager of Hamilton’s favourite sandwich shop and James Street classic, Jack and Lois.

Will a salad bar serving tens of toppings at $7 a pound, sandwiches, soups and ice cream, the Salad Emporium has enough to satisfy all of your cravings.

 

 

 

James North General Store

261 James Street North

It’s both a coffee shop and clothing store. Yes, the James North General Store is heaven on earth. Established in June of this year, this new shop will feed and clothe you. With inexpensive coffee and tea, vintage handbags, contemporary clothing, jewelry and work from local artists, the General Store puts a modern and trendy spin on a neighbourhood staple of the past.

Although they’re closed on Sundays and Mondays, head on over the Tuesday after Artcrawl for their monthly post-crawl, tax-free sale.

 

 

 

 

Mulberry Street Coffee House

193 James Street North

A super hip cafe open for your enjoyment, Mulberry Street Coffee House will pump you with caffeine in style. Serving up tasty beverages, including a Nutella latte, Mulberry also offers a diverse selection of homemade cookies, paninis and grilled cheese sandwiches.

In addition to food, their charming atmosphere with vintage couches, chandeliers and exposed brick walls will have you coming back again and again.  Sit back, relax and let Mulberry make you feel at home.

 

 

 

 

The Green Smoothie Bar

236 James Street North

For all the health nuts out there (bless your sweet devoted souls), The Green Smoothie Bar serves up delicious, nutricious and ambitiously crafted beverages.

On top of their tasty smoothies, you can also pick up some of their flavoured kale chips or packaged nuts. The next time you’re artcrawling, vintage shopping, or walking downtown, make a stop at The Green Smoothie Bar, your colon will thank you.

Hamilton artists Katrina Camilleri and Cheyenne Federiconi have come a long way since high school. The two longtime friends and graduating Mac students have just put the finishing touches on their upcoming art exhibit.

They’ll be showing a joint collection of original artwork at Manta Contemporary Gallery starting April 4. Aptly entitled BOMBS AWAY, their exhibit features pieces that seek to expose the “naked reality" behind political issues. The artists tackle war, violence, pop culture and sex in a way that is alluring yet unsettling.

The duo grew up in Hamilton and took high school art classes together before both enrolling in McMaster’s studio art program.

Coming out of high school as a painter, Federiconi says she now does more sculpture and performance art. Camilleri said she’s also discovered her preferred medium at Mac.

“I’ve found how to channel my personality into my artwork,” said Camilleri.

They said the biggest challenge of putting the show together has been reconciling their individual styles. After confirming their slot at the gallery at the end of February, the two had only a month to drum up original pieces for the themed exhibit.

Camilleri, who usually works in one colour, took on Federiconi’s vibrant colour palette, while Federiconi experimented with themes of war that aren’t usually a focal point of her work.

“We have two opposite styles, so finding one theme was hard,” said Camilleri.

Federiconi said her favourite piece in the show is an assortment of toy weapons, which she purchased and repainted pink.

“I [embellished] them with diamonds, pearls and lace to take objects often associated with violence and terror, and change their interpretation into something cute and non-threatening,” she said.

The artists say they’re excited to be showing at an up and coming gallery in Hamilton’s downtown core that doesn’t typically exhibit student work.

“Culturally, I think we [in Hamilton] embrace art more now,” said Federiconi, who referenced the boom that James Street N. has experienced in recent years with Artcrawl and Supercrawl.

Federiconi says she wants to make a living in Hamilton’s art scene after graduation this April. She’s got four or five exhibits under her belt, some of which she organized, and wants to keep going.

After graduating, Camilleri will be leaving Hamilton to pursue teacher’s college. She has aspirations to teach art at the high school level.

“I think the beauty of [Mac’s] program is that you start out new...and in your graduating year they let you go and apply what you’ve learned,” said Camilleri.

Their exhibit will be in the Manta Contemporary Gallery on King William St. The show runs from April 4 to 30, with an opening reception on April 12.

First, the context.

About three weeks ago I wrote an article about art and Hamilton that argued the development of a neighbourhood does not do much to resolve poverty, and that low-income neighborhoods are a symptom for problems like unemployment, crime and poor health instead of a cause. I wrote that art should be used to express the full complexity of a neighbourhood, rather to simplify it, and that a neighbourhood should be something that every one of its members has the ability to change.

On the website where the article was posted, Jeremy Freiburger, the founder of a local non-profit arts service Cobalt Connects, left a comment saying he found the “article painful to read” and that the “distanced academic approach to understanding cultural community growth [is] as thin as the paper [the] article is written on.” So, naturally, I contacted Freiburger for an interview.

Part of what Freiburger’s organization does is figure out how buildings can be renovated and repurposed to best suit the needs of artists. Frieburger is almost like the poster child of gentrification, the process of a neighbourhood’s buildings being developed and increasing in price. In my article, I criticized the type of neighbourhood development that Freiburger is involved in as not actually being helpful to those in poverty. After speaking to him, I’m not so sure.

The Mulberry Street coffeehouse on James Street North is the result of work by Freiburger, and was also the place where he and I met. Before it was a coffee shop, Mulberry was Hotel Hamilton – infamously run-down low-income housing. I had seen the Mulberry coffee shop as the quintessential example of gentrification: a coffee shop for the wealthy took the place of housing for the poor, who ended up displaced.

“I’ve been involved in this industry  for a long time – the idea of regenerating buildings – and I totally understand the conversation around displacement,” said Freiburger. “The gentlemen that lived at Mulberry, the owners actually found them better housing, on [James] street for the same price they were paying here.”

The stories of displacement are told often, and loudly. The stories of how that displacement is prevented? Not so much.

Though I saw Frieburger as a figurative poster child for gentrification, it turns out that this had literally been true - but it was by no means Freiburger’s decision. “Maybe about a year or so ago, there was a big push from a group out of McMaster that came out on an art crawl, and had made up stickers about gentrification and calling people ‘fat cats,’ me in particular, and a number of other people, but I was named specifically,” said Frieburger. “They stuck them to buildings, they stuck them to artists’ artwork, they went around stickering wherever they wanted. That caused a huge rift in the community, for sure.”

This sticker campaign was needlessly confrontational, and I’m sure that it didn’t help anyone better understand the reality of how gentrification is playing out in Hamilton.

“To be equally confrontational, I found out who was leading that group of people, in my view, and found out that the person leading it was actually a professor from McMaster University,” said Freiburger. “So I wrote a rather scathing email to her and to Patrick Deane and her boss, and was responded to by the legal department at McMaster, asking me to cease and desist my actions or face a lawsuit, because what I was doing was defamatory. Yet, putting stickers with my name on it throughout the community saying I was an evil fat cat who was displacing poor people isn’t defamatory?”

Before speaking to Freiburger, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What ended up happening is like when a character in a movie seems like a villain, but they actually end up being pretty good. Snape provides a perfect example. When talking about difficult topics like gentrification, it’s important not to dismiss anyone.

“I think Hamilton is still at a point where we can shape how we want to change this city,” said Freiburger. “But if we can’t find a way to have positive dialogue about it, no one is going to change their ways.”

You’d have to be a little crazy to open a record store in 2010. And to open that store on Friday the 13th? That’s like saying, “I hate this stuff called money.”

The store in question is Hammer City Records, which opened two years ago on (Friday) August 13th at 228 James Street North. The place is a dream for anyone who likes their record stores independent, small and punk.

Craig Caron is an owner of Hammer City Records and was involved in its opening. He said that he missed the kind of record stores that he used to spend all his time in when he was a kid, and so he decided to open his own.

“I remember going upstairs to Star Records, on King and James,” said Caron. “You’d open that door and just smell pot. And I though, ‘What the hell is up there?’ This is the early ‘80s, and I thought, ‘Punks - they’re mean, they’re crazy, they’re going to kill us. We have to go up there.’”

I’ll admit that I felt the same way when I first walked up to Hammer City Records. Standing out in front was a classic punk: black leather, chains and a Mohawk. The thought that he’d kill me didn’t cross my mind, but the thought that he might be crazy did. He turned out to be funny and nice.

My first experience with Hammer City Records was definitely less intense than Caron’s first time facing the killer punks of Star Records, but I could relate. It’s like Hammer City Records is the modern reincarnation of Star Records, bringing back the feeling of old record stores.

“I’d be in Star Records, and the guy from Teenage Head would walk in,” said Caron. Teenage Head are legendary local heroes, and in the 1980s they were among the most popular punk bands from Canada. “It was the greatest thing ever. We wanted a place like that, where young bands could come and hang out.”

I had my own mini version of the freak-out that Caron described when he saw Teenage Head as the singer of TV Freaks walked in to Hammer City Records. I’m only a recent fan of the band, but I think their shit-hot punk rock is just about the coolest thing ever.

It might seem like Hammer City Records is built on pure nostalgia, an isolated little basement where rockers can escape the changing outside world, but Caren said that he hopes the store can be part of something new – part of changing the music scene to be more like how it was in the past.

“Once some of the old record stores closed, pieces of the community closed,” said Caren. “I know after Reigning Sound closed, a lot of bands just stopped playing. Or if they were playing, you never heard that they were doing shows.”

For those us who grew up going to HMV, this might be hard to imagine, but record stores used to be a places that did so much more than sell music. They were places where people formed bands, artists and musicians collaborated, and concerts were promoted.

The decline of the music industry is often blamed on us, the people who download music, but maybe it has more to do with independent record stores being replaced by big commercial chains that people would never think about hanging out in.

When people say something is “community-based,” it seems like it’s mostly bullshit. “Community” is so overused that it’s really just a word that people use to describe something that might impact someone somewhere when they are too lazy to consider who those people are specifically. Hammer City Records has given an actual meaning to community.

“One of the biggest highlights for me since we had the store is that we released a local music compilation LP,” said Caren. “It’s all Hamilton bands. A girl that hangs out in the shop painted the front and back covers. For me, that’s the dream come true. It’s this community that creates this amazing product.”

That’s what a community is – real people coming together and interacting in a significant way.

 

Nolan Matthews, Senior ANDY Editor

The cast and crew of the RoboCop remake are in Hamilton to shoot scenes for the film, which will come out in 2013.

Yesterday, local residents lined up along James Street North and Colbourne to watch the rain towers at work for special effects.

The film crew will be shooting scenes from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Sept. 26, 29 and 30, as well as Oct. 1. On those days, James St. N. will be closed off to traffic between Barton St. and Cannon St. from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Businesses will remain open and locals are welcome to drop by during filming, which is expected to bring $350,000 to the city.

The cast of the science fiction action film includes Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton.