Life Sentences
Bryan Demchinsky, David Goldbloom, Jim Withers, Barbara Black, mark abley, Emira Tufo, Jennifer DeLeskiePersonal Essays
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 123 | Founded | 2 years ago | Last Issue | 3 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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The Harlequin and The Hooter
At The Hooter in a painting by Jerry Hamm titled No Exit.
The past, obscured and sometimes forgotten, returns in mysterious ways. Example: Mine turned up in a painting I saw a few days ago.
I was visiting Flin Flon, Manitoba, where I was...
Rainbow Nation
Suddenly, a rainbow. (BD photo)
We’re on the road again, Katherine and I, visiting family and friends in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, so a shorter post this week.
We were driving north on Highway 106, the Hanson Lake Road, so-calle...
The Beatle Who Got Away
Pete Best on drums in 1961 when he was still with the Beatles. (Britannica.com)
It wasn’t Watergate, nor did I uncover Jimmy Hoffa hiding out in a laundromat, but I recall feeling a frisson of excitement when I thought I was about to score...
Learning To Be a Guest
Belugas in the Arctic. (Unsplash)
A new contributor, Jennifer DeLeskie, joins Life Sentences today. She explains how archaeology led her to write a future-focussed novel set in Canada’s Arctic.
On a sunlit night in July 1992, I sat on a c...
A Lavish Chinese Banquet
Old candy factory by ancient bridge, Anhui province. (Gabriel Safdie)
Affair with China
By Gabriel Safdie
John Aylen Books, 380 pages
China is such a big and dynamic country—culturally, politically and in most other ways. It’s hard to i...
Key Facts
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Subscribers, engagement, traffic and sponsorship for Life Sentences.
| Subscribers | Engagement | 74 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accepts Sponsors | Estimated Cost per Ad | ||||
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Former Montreal Gazette editor. Still writing, still editing.
I'm a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto who has retired from clinical practice and academic hospital life - so now I have more time to write.
Jim Withers is a diarist and former newspaperman.
Barbara Black Is a writer, broadcaster and museum docent in Dorval, Quebec.
Mark Abley is a longtime Montrealer now living in Gananoque, Ontario. His book "Numb: The Politics of Overwhelm" will be launched on Thurs., May 28, at Pulp Books in Verdun.
Emira Tufo is a Bosnian Canadian writer based in Montreal. Her work has been featured in literary journals, national newspapers, and on CBC. She is currently working on a memoir about the siege of Sarajevo.
Jen DeLeskie is a writer and Editor-in-Chief of Quist, QWF's youth literary journal. Her work has appeared in Prairie Fire, The Globe & Mail, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Everclear, is forthcoming from Flame Arrow Publishing in August 2026.
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