Spring 2008

In Tilted: The Trial of Conrad Black, veteran attorney and journalist Steven Skurka brings the trial of media titan Conrad Black to life and argues that it was "tilted" from the outset by an American justice system that stacks the odds against the defendant, and a prosecution that played the "class card" in an attempt to demonize Black for his wealth and excesses. Skurka also shows how Black attempted to tilt the trial in his own favour by using his wealth to mount a powerful defence.

It's a truth universally held by veterans of the Grade 9 English exam that a work of fiction requires a "strong sense of place" to come alive in the reader's mind. Those of us who answered the bonus question may also remember that the attitudes, goals and manners of characters in a work of fiction are very much determined by their place of origin and residence, and that characters in a Canadian novel have a special relationship to a vague, brooding entity known as The North. Beyond that, most readers, if they consider place in fiction at all, do so with an affection for the fictional settings of their favourite novels and stories.

Place, then, is a subject for authors to fret over. Believe me, they do.

The Annex area of Toronto has long been a popular locus for writers — both as a place of residence and as a source of inspiration. Although the boundaries are often disputed by realtors, the Annex neighbourhood is generally acknowledged to be enclosed by Bathurst Street, Dupont Street, Avenue Road and Bloor Street and for the past century has attracted numerous writers and artists owing to a number of geographic and sociological factors.