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Christine McNair

@christinemcnair.bsky.social
601 followers 818 following 97 posts

Book person — read them, bind them, fix them, write them. I like type. Author of Conflict (2012) and Charm (2016) & Toxemia (poetic non-fiction) from Book*hug (fall 2024). President of CBBAG. Former co-organizer of the Ottawa Promise Walk for Preeclampsia.

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Reposted by Christine McNair
Billy Bragg @billybragg.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Unbelievably, it's been 25 years since we lost Kirsty MacColl yet the beauty of her music and her memory still resonate. Here's a song I wrote for her to sing in the 1995 movie 'Mad Love'. www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjl...
youtube.com
Kirsty MacColl - As Long As You Hold Me
YouTube video by PassionateFriend
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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque: "This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
Bronze plaque saying "A Letter to the Future. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.  August 2019. 415ppm CO2"
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CTV News Ottawa @ctvnewsottawa.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
University of Ottawa campus radio must hit massive fundraising target to avoid shutdown
bit.ly
University of Ottawa campus radio must hit massive fundraising target to avoid shutdown
Emotions are running high on the lower level of the University of Ottawa’s Morrissett building, where dedicated staff and volunteers are preparing for what could be some of the last broadcasts on CHUO 89.1 FM.
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The Trandalorian @charliejaneanders.com · 26/11/2025
I contain multitudes Oh Oh shit My multitudes containment system is failing, everyone retreat to a safe distance
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 19/11/2025
NEW: ProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions. Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
propublica.org
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
hey! did you know that Christine McNair is reading at Acadia U on Thursday? if yr nearby, you should go to that, / @christinemcnair.bsky.social @bookhugpress.bsky.social ; english.acadiau.ca/get-involved...
english.acadiau.ca
Authors @ Acadia - English
Each year the Department of English and Theatre hosts a series of readings and presentations by authors from across the region and around the world. These events are open to the public and are an important source of cultural enrichment for student, faculty, and Wolfville community members alike.
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
hey, Toronto! Come out to the TIFA small press market at Victoria College, Chapel Lobby, UToronto until 5pm!
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@bookhugpress @bookhugpress.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Thanks to @49thshelf.bsky.social for shining a light on us in the Publisher Spotlight series. We had the pleasure of chatting about our story & when we arrived on the CanLit scene 21 years ago, stand-out titles over the years, upcoming books we're excited about, & more. 49thshelf.com/Blog/2025/10...
49thshelf.com
Publisher Spotlight: Book*hug Press · Blog Post · 49th Shelf
Welcome to our new Publisher Spotlight series, where we highlight Canadian independent presses doing standout work in the literary and academic world.
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Maria J Pérez Cuervo @mjpcuervo.com · 22/10/2025
Parents, please check your kids’ candy this Halloween. I’ve just found an ancient metal whistle with the inscription “QUIS EST ISTE QUI VENIT" inside a Snickers bar. I blew it and heard a note of infinite distance, and now I’m haunted by a figure in pale, fluttering draperies. Be safe.
Snickers bar and a metal whistle
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Marbling workshop with Chena marblers. SATISFYING swirls in vat.
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Post you from a different era. (Blue Jays edition)
1980s Blue Jay catcher Ernie Whitt taking a picture with a boy and a girl who are both wearing Blue Jays gear. The girl is also wearing a Jump Rope for Heart hat.
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Thanksgiving reading www.latinobookreview.com/voyager-cons...
latinobookreview.com
Voyager: Constellations of Memory ​​- Nona Fernández | Latino Book Review
When her mother begins suffering fainting spells, losing consciousness and waking moments later with no memory of what occurred, Nona Fernández takes her to the hospital for an electroencephalogram te...
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
An increase in stress means an increase in food processing. Reviving my dormant sourdough from its fridge prison. Attempt at Concord grape jelly. A no-knead bread.
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Sorrowscopes @sorrowscopes.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Gemini: Take a vacation from your problems. Your assassin isn’t in a rush.
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
very nice! my first ever shortlist for the Ottawa Book Awards, for On Beauty: stories (University of Alberta Press); ; congrats to Manahil, Nina, Paul and Chuqiao for also shortlisting! / @ualbertapress.bsky.social @manahil.bsky.social ; ottawa.ca/en/city-hall...
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 05/09/2025
‘Prejudice against the disabled was still so widespread that in 1980 a Frankfurt court ordered the reimbursement of the cost of a hotel to a tourist who had been upset by the presence of a group of guests with cerebral palsy.’ Richard J. Evans on German eugenics: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Richard J. Evans · Alien to the Community: Eugenics in Germany
In Hitler’s mind, eugenics was part of Germany’s long-term preparation for victory in the struggle between races....
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Vagina Museum @vaginamuseum.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Today in AI Is Not A Good Source For Learning About The World's Most Misunderstood Body Part, meet this ChatGPT gem. Funnily enough, we're actually going to talk about how most of this is kinda sorta right (for small values of right), as a cautionary tale about generative AI.
Screenshot of a reddit post: ChatGPT asked if I wanted a diagram of what's going on inside my pregnant belly.

A screenshot of ChatGPT's response. It is a side view of a foetus gestating in the uterus. The foetus is head-up with no umbilical cord or placenta. Behind the uterus is the rectum, which is unlabelled. Trailing down from between the rectum and spine, extending beneath the buttocks to the inner thigh is a yellow line labelled "pudendal nerve. At the front is an oval-shaped part labelled "cervix". And then we really struggle to image describe this bit. The uterus and the bladder are both attached to a single part which is long inside, then extends downwards into a penis with a single exist. This penis is labelled "rectum".
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Trying to imagine completing another/next book & it all feels impossible. Like trying to climb a mountain of melting ice cream.
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Colleen T @librarycolleen.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
(Ukraine) 📚 united24media.com/latest-news/...
united24media.com
Russia’s Attacks Destroys 60,000 Books at Sumy State University Library
Local media report a devastating fire at Sumy’s university library due to a Russian strike, resulting in the destruction of a large collection of books.
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David Fisman. @dfisman.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Outstanding work from @nicktsergas.ca Immunity debt isn’t a thing It’s made up. It’s a get out of jail free card for the folks who encouraged you to get infected with Covid www.bmj.com/content/390/...
bmj.com
Why scientists are rethinking the immune effects of SARS-CoV-2
“Immunity debt,” a theory to explain the global surge in non-covid infections since pandemic restrictions were lifted, is increasingly being challenged by emerging evidence. Nick Tsergas reports Myco...
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Patricia A. McGowan @teacherspeaks52.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
#PostpartumPreeclampsia #BlackWomen "In the U.S., 5-8% of pregnancies are impacted by preeclampsia, a complication that leads to life threatening high blood pressure." This disproportionately affects #BlackWomen. www.12onyourside.com/2025/08/13/i...
12onyourside.com
‘I could feel my body shutting down:’ Raising awareness about postpartum preeclampsia
Anchor and On Your Side Investigator Jasmine Turner learned how dangerous preeclampsia can be after giving birth to a baby girl in April 2025. She is now hoping to help others by sharing her story and...
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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
“wellness” culture feeds directly into eugenics. It perpetuates the idea that disability is a moral failing. That we can “try harder” our way out of it and if we can’t, we didn’t really “want” to get better. It makes it easier to punish the sick & poor. Disability is not a moral failing.
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
@robmclennan.bsky.social Makes sense.
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
hey everyone! ive had a couple of dozen folk telling me they're going to this event on thursday, but only 5 tickets have sold, which is prompting the venue to talk about cancelling; if you are planning to go, could you please pre-purchase your ticket? thanks! robmclennan.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-...
robmclennan.blogspot.com
the above/ground press 32nd anniversary reading/launch/party! August 7 at RedBird,
celebrating THIRTY-TWO YEARS of continuous activity (and nearly fourteen hundred publications), Ottawa publisher above/ground press presents...
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Elyse Graham @elysegraham.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
In the death registers of early modern Venice, marginalia often marks the cause of death: drawings of daggers for murders, for instance. In 1696, Giovanni Battista Rinaldi was killed by a dog. This is the drawing by his entry.
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Boo-tros Boo-tros Ghoulish @dlbowman76.com · 17/07/2025
Good LORD. I'm nervously waiting for Pinhead and their buddies to turn up, listening to that.
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@bookhugpress @bookhugpress.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Get Ready For Hot Book Summer: A Reading List It’s that glorious time of year again to leave your worries behind and do more of what you really love (ahem, reading). Whether on vacation or a staycation, summer is the perfect time to get lost in a book. bookhugpress.ca/get-ready-fo...
bookhugpress.ca
Get Ready For Hot Book Summer: A Reading List | Book*hug Press
It's that glorious time of year again to leave your worries behind and do more of what you really love (ahem, reading). Whether on vacation or a staycation, or relaxing at the beach or pool, summer is...
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
A packed house for our Books Upstairs reading in Dublin today! Éireann Lorsung, Christodoulos Makris, Christine and myself, // @christinemcnair.bsky.social @cmakris.bsky.social @eireannmor.bsky.social @poetryireland.bsky.social
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Christodoulos Makris @cmakris.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
This Sunday 13 July @booksupstairs.bsky.social I’ll be reading w/ @eireannmor.bsky.social @robmclennan.bsky.social & @christinemcnair.bsky.social. A pleasure to put this special reading together, gratefully supported by @poetryireland.bsky.social. Come! yesbutisitpoetry.blogspot.com/2025/07/tran...
yesbutisitpoetry.blogspot.com
Transatlantic Poetry Salon at Books Upstairs, Dublin
It's a great pleasure to announce this very special reading at Books Upstairs , Dublin's oldest independent bookshop, taking place on Sunday...
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Nicholas Pegg @nicholaspegg.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Reservoir Dogs was 1992, not 1994. Pulp Fiction was 2 years later, not 11 years later. Jesus Christ, @theguardian.com, whatever wretched AI rubbish you’re using in place of proper journalists, it ain’t working. Switch it off.
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Hollay Ghadery @hollay.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
In this @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social episode, I speak with the wonderful Ottawa writer, Christine McNair about her 2024 book of lyric essays and prose poetry, Toxemia (Book*hug Press, 2024). Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/toxemia @bookhugpress.bsky.social
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Carrie @carebear620.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
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@bookhugpress @bookhugpress.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
In a new episode of the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social Literature podcast, @hollay.bsky.social speaks with @christinemcnair.bsky.social about her book of lyrical essays and prose poetry, Toxemia. Listen here: newbooksnetwork.com/toxemia
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Poetry Ireland / Éigse Éireann @poetryireland.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Poetry Ireland is excited to announce the Transatlantic Poetry Salon! A special event of readings from Éireann Lorsung, Christodoulos Makris, Rob Mclennan & Christine McNair. 📆July 13th @ 14:00 in Books Upstairs, 17 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 www.poetryireland.ie/whats-on/tra...
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Colleen T @librarycolleen.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
To help preserve her works, Cindy Sherman is offering to destroy and reprint old photographs "If a print is deemed eligible, the original—accompanied by its title, edition number, date and provenance—will be destroyed and replaced with a mint-condition, artist-signed reprint." 📜
theartnewspaper.com
To help preserve her works, Cindy Sherman is offering to destroy and reprint old photographs
The new initiative aims to stabilise fragile media and could serve as a model for other artists
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Dawn Macdonald @yukondawn.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
New review of Christine McNair's 2017 collection, Charm. Perhaps you'd like to read alongside her more recent release, Toxemia? reviewsofbooksigotforfreeorcheap.substack.com/p/christine-...
reviewsofbooksigotforfreeorcheap.substack.com
Christine McNair's Charm
Clothwork, bodywork, text
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Sarah Nour @sarahnour.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Whistling was once forbidden on ships, because sailors believed that whistling challenged the wind & caused it to increase, which could create storms. But if a ship was stranded due to low winds, whistling could help coax some wind to move it along. #WyrdWednesday
media.tenor.com
a large sailboat is floating in the ocean with a small island in the distance
ALT: a large sailboat is floating in the ocean with a small island in the distance
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Unofficial CP24 Mirror @cp24-mirror.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
#BREAKING Marc Garneau dead at 76
cp24.com
Marc Garneau dead at 76
Marc Garneau has died at the age of 76, according to a statement from his family. He was the first Canadian to go into space and flew on three space shuttle missions.
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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
June 2, 1983: Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797 in Cincinnati. Born in 1949 in Hamilton, his music blended Canadian history and culture. Today, he is celebrated as one of Canada's greatest musicians. Learn more 👇 canadaehx.com/2023/05/23/s...
canadaehx.com
Stan Rogers
Guysborough County, located along the coast of Nova Scotia is a fascinating place. Home to the Mi’kmaq people for centuries, then to Black Loyalists who fled the United States during the Revolution…
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Amanda Earl @amandaearl.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
Amanda Earl, rob mclennan, Christine McNair Time and Place: June 1 at 2:00 pm. The Lieutenant's Pump, 361 Elgin Web: angelhousepress.com/ reading of poetry and prose sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts
angelhousepress.com
AngelHousePress
Angel House Press publishes ragged edges, raw talent and rule breakers.
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rob mclennan @robmclennan.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
hey! Christine McNair, Amanda Earl + i are reading in Ottawa this Sunday afternoon, 2pm at the Lieutenant's Pump, Elgin Street; might we see you? / @christinemcnair.bsky.social @amandaearl.bsky.social @ucalgarypress.bsky.social @ualbertapress.bsky.social @arpbooks.bsky.social ;
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I recently read The Great Influenza by John Barry and was similarly struck by the similarities and amnesias.
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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Disability is not something to be afraid of. It’ll happen to most of us eventually. The human body is frail. It breaks down. We age. We get sick. We have accidents. It’s part of life. It’s not a moral failing. Engage with us. Learn. We all benefit from disability justice.
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Energy schmenergy.
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
Today is World Preeclampsia Day. Some notes on that along with some interviews things and a couple upcoming readings.
christinemcnair.com
World Preeclampsia Day, some interviews & an upcoming reading in Ottawa
Aoife and I chilling out in the Montfort Hospital after my second bout of postpartum pre-eclampsia/mild HELLP. Magnesium sulfate drip on tap to prevent me from having a seizure. Today is World Pree…
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Bracken MacLeod 𖤐 ⚰ @brackenmacleod.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Of the books named on this reading list, Brit Bennet, Isabel Allende, Andy Weir, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Min Jin Lee, Rumaan Alam, Rebecca Makkai, Maggie O'Farrell, Percival Everett, and Delia Owens' titles are all books that DO NOT EXIST!!! See Alt Text for more detail. Image by @tbretc.bsky.social
An image of a page from the Chicago Sun Times titled, "Summer reading list for 2025" with an image of a woman sitting on a porch, perhaps, beside a body of water, reading. It's beige as fuck. Above the title is a row of icons that invoke summer, I guess. 

The article itself is too long to reproduce, BUT, only five of the fifteen books listed here as titles you should read are actually real. Brit Bennett doesn't have a book titled Hurricane Season. The fuck? Isabel Allende has no book named Tidewater Dreams. The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir, The Collector's Piece by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Nightshade Market by Min Jin Lee, The Longest Day by Rumaan Alam, Boiling Point by Rebecca Makkai, Migrations by Maggie O'Farrell, The Rainmakers by Percival Everett, and Salt and Honey by Delia Owens are all books that DO NOT EXIST!!!
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Christine McNair @christinemcnair.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
media.tenor.com
a man stands on a rock near the ocean with his arms in the air
ALT: a man stands on a rock near the ocean with his arms in the air
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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
there’s currently 22 items that are under $30, which can provide Gazans a few days worth of Internet. don’t miss Cynthia Dewi Oka's A Tinderbox in Three Acts or Lea Taranto’s A Drop in the Ocean, which were recently added :) tinyurl.com/authors4esims #ConnectingGaza
tinyurl.com
Sorry, GalaBid took too long to load. Please check your internet speed or try again.
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@bookhugpress @bookhugpress.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Thanks Mom: 10 Books for Mother’s Day! In appreciation of mamas everywhere, we’ve assembled a list of ten books that provide insight into the complex and varied experiences of motherhood!
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