Author Archives: Barry Pomeroy

About Barry Pomeroy

I had an English teacher in high school many years ago who talked about writing as something that people do, rather than something that died with Shakespeare. I began writing soon after, maudlin poetry followed by short prose pieces, but finally, after years of academic training, I learned something about the magic of the manipulated word.

Science Fiction and the Literary World

In her condemnation of contemporary novels, Linda Miller’s “How Novels Came to Terms with the Internet,” makes several arguments that many novelists—actually she argues all novelists worthy of the name—avoid the implications of the internet in their work by confining … Continue reading

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Content Management and the Internet

In prehistory the production of goods was done by hand and the potential purchaser had an item they could examine and then buy. The item was a chipped rock and the purchase was made with promise, threat, or exchange of … Continue reading

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The Gutting of the Community

Osborne Village was once a thriving community, but now the edges are being nibbled by big box stores and franchises. Of the coffee shops at the corner of Osborne and River none are locally owned and operated. That is a … Continue reading

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Marching Against Bill C-51

I don’t think it’s a secret that Canada is shifting into something other than what most of us expected. We always touted Canada as a country that was less warlike than the US, the neighbour we most like to compare … Continue reading

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Seeing Ghosts, or the Old Man in the Barn

Once I told Darryl, a pompous Queens University student about the old man in the barn, my favourite story about the nature of reality. Darryl already knew how reality worked, so he was the perfect victim. I told him of … Continue reading

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Introduction to my book about Winnipeg

In the Aboriginal storytelling tradition, which is more than applicable to stories about Winnipeg, your right to tell a story is important. You cannot merely claim, as those from the European tradition do, “I read this in a book”. You … Continue reading

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The Stories of Winnipeg

I am working on a collection of my stories about Winnipeg and this is the description of the text: the stories of Winnipeg are as varied as the city is itself. Caught in the middle of the continent by the … Continue reading

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The Type of Material for My Class

I often assign in-class essays for my foreign students and I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what might be the most effective exercise for their skills. To be fair, or perhaps just, I try to avoid … Continue reading

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Cyclone Martin and Manihiki

Periodically, and tonight was one of those times, I search online for the survivors of the 1997 Cyclone Martin which devastated Manihiki. I lived in Manihiki in 1991 and I have thought about the people there many times over the … Continue reading

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Outsourcing our Memory

I’ve been editing some journals lately and I am often struck by how little I remember about events that theoretically happened in my own life. I wonder at my own reports of meeting what sound like wonderful people and having … Continue reading

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