![]() ![]() However, I draw the line at e-mail and the Internet. I used to be the last writer in America without a website, but obviously this is no longer the case. His passing was no surprise Nichols had made no secret of the genetic defect in his heart. ![]() Just a few days after Cory’s talk I saw that John Nichols had died. The intellectual fireworks where on full display. After that he opened the floor for questions, which engendered a 90-minute long wide-ranging disquisition on all manner of things technological, political, personal, economic, ecological, artistic and philosophical. He then gave a short talk about the genesis of the book and the process of writing it during peak Covid lockdown. Ĭory’s program began at 7 with him reading a generous selection from The Lost Cause. I wanted to hear what Cory had to say about the current state of our world, and I also wanted to thank him in person for the introduction he wrote for the forthcoming 25th anniversary edition of my novel Acts of the Apostles. I was on a pilgrimage of sorts: although I had other things to attend to in the city, attending this event at the Strand was the primary reason I had made the trek from Martha’s Vineyard to NYC. Shortly before 7:00 I resumed my seat among the assembled hackers and geeks patiently waiting for the show of intellectual fireworks for which Doctorow is renowned. They share many of the same concerns about society, capitalism, and technology, and they they have similar things to say about the purpose of fiction - and about why they became novelists.Īnd in any event - and as suits the purposes of this essay - Nichols and Doctorow are linked in my squirrel brain since I know, or knew, both men, and both of them have had significant and beneficial effects on my own writing career.Īt the Strand I spoke with Cory for about five minutes in a little windowless ‘backstage’ warren as he was getting ready to go on (logical) stage. But at a deeper level I find that they are much alike. So yes, Doctorow and Nichols are superficially quite different people and writers. As much as the novels and nonfiction of Cory Doctorow look to the future, the novels and nonfiction of John Nichols often look to the past. It would be unfair to say that Nichols was a nostalgist, but he was a conservationist, concerned with preserving both the natural environment and the traditions of peoples who had not been sucked into the consumerist monoculture. Although he did eventually get a website and write short and funny bio for it, I’m sure he never looked at it. Although he spent some time in Hollywood as a screenwriter, for most of the last fifty-plus years he could be found in or around Taos, New Mexico. He typed his books - at the time of his death he was working on a collection of his letters and essays - on a manual typewriter. He moves around a lot: he might be giving a talk in London, England one day and in London, Ontario the next. He runs his own email server and he writes his own software when he needs to. He’s a pioneering cyberpunk novelist, a digital rights activist, and an influential blogger. (Or in John’s case I should say ‘had,’ as he passed away on Monday, December 4th of this year.)Ĭory is a high geek druid who writes knowledgeably about all kinds of technology. The Christmas market will take place at O-Taku Manga Lounge from December 16 to 24.Cory Doctorow and John Nichols are two writers who, on a superficial level, have little in common. Photograph: O-Taku Manga Lounge When is the O-Taku Manga Lounge’s Christmas market? They also host about 70 events related to manga or anime, and provide classes for manga drawing and Japanese.įeeling hungry? Come for the ramen and onigiri and stay for the bubble tea. More than just a library, O-Taku Manga Lounge is a destination for manga-lovers, where fans can connect and discover what Japanese pop culture is all about. With 20,000 titles in French and almost 10,000 in English, O-Taku Manga Lounge’s collection is one of the largest private manga collections in North America. O-Taku Manga Lounge is the largest specialized 100% manga store in Quebec and the only one in Montreal. Photograph: O-Taku Manga LoungeĪdd this to your holiday to-do list: Find the perfect gift and create memorable moments in one of the city’s most beloved libraries and reading rooms. Just up the street from La Grande Bibliothèque de BAnQ, one of our favourite libraries, explore a specializ ed selection of gift sets, artbooks, cultural books, and carefully chosen Japanese items to delight both the young (and young at heart) at O-Taku Manga Lounge. Dive into the magic of the holidays at O-Taku Lounge’s Christmas market!įor the second year in a row, O-Taku Manga Lounge-home to one of the largest privately owned manga collections in North America-is hosting a Christmas Market you won’t want to miss. ![]()
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