Deborah Dundas

Mar 15, 2025 | stcatharinesstandard.ca | Deborah Dundas

While visiting my father in the hospital, we sat in silence gazing out the picture window overlooking Riverdale hill. There used to be a zoo where the urban farm is now, tucked just out of our sight. My father didn’t have enough strength to talk, but he had a little notepad and a pencil. He scratched out a couple of words — camels, lions — and pointed to the hill. Those words jogged a memory in me of going there with him as a kid before it closed in 1974 when the Toronto Zoo was built.

Feb 22, 2025 | stcatharinesstandard.ca | Deborah Dundas

In May 2024, the acclaimed novelist Omar El Akkad sent a tweet about the conflict in Gaza that said: “one day, everyone will have always been against this.” The text of the tweet became the title of his latest book, his first book of non-fiction. El Akkad was born in Egypt, came to Canada in his teens and now lives in Oregon. Your prose, even when you’re writing about something horrific or nightmarish, is beautiful. How do you find beauty in horror?

Jan 25, 2025 | thespec.com | Deborah Dundas

After 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza in celebration on Sunday as a ceasefire was finally reached. The deal, brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, will unfold in three phases. We are now a week into Phase 1, which includes a six-week ceasefire and the release of some Israeli hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal from Gaza of some Israeli forces.

Nov 19, 2024 | parrysound.com | Joshua Chong |Abby O’Brien |Deborah Dundas

Anne Michaels has won the 2024 Giller Prize for her novel “Held,” a multi-generational saga that follows a family over the course of more than a century. Michaels accepted the prize at a private gala in downtown Toronto on Monday evening that was met by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, protesting the Giller Foundation and its lead sponsor Scotiabank, whose asset management subsidiary holds a stake in the controversial Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

Nov 18, 2024 | thespec.com | Joshua Chong |Abby O’Brien |Deborah Dundas

Anne Michaels has won the 2024 Giller Prize for her novel “Held,” a multi-generational saga that follows a family over the course of more than a century. Michaels accepted the prize at a private gala in downtown Toronto on Monday evening that was met by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, protesting the Giller Foundation and its lead sponsor Scotiabank, whose asset management subsidiary holds a stake in the controversial Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.