A selection of Daniel’s published essays, features and reviews over the years.

Indigi-queer Philosophy 101

Book review by Daniel Gawthrop posted on British Columbia Review on May 28, 2024 coexistence, by Billy-Ray Belcourt Toronto: Hamish Hamilton, 2024/$27.95 / 9780735242036     Earlier this year, a publicist from Random House Canada emailed The BC Review with an effusive, 500-word testimonial on behalf of a rising young superstar in its ranks. “It goes without saying,” the message began, that “every Billy-Ray Belcourt release manifests as a major event in Canadian publishing.” Overkill?…

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Ending the dubious curse

Essay by Daniel Gawthrop posted on British Columbia Review on April 14, 2024   When the New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in the 1994 Stanley Cup final, it was their first NHL championship in fifty-four years. This season, as the Canucks prepare for their first playoff action in front of fans since 2015, their own Cup drought is fifty-four years—the team’s entire existence. In a perfect scenario of poetic justice, the Canucks would…

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Ghosts of the Korean divide

Book review by Daniel Gawthrop posted on British Columbia Review on March 1, 2024 The Invisible Hotel, by Yeji Y. Ham Toronto: Bond Street Books, 2024. $34.00 / 9780385698054 If you’ve never heard of Yeji Y. Ham, that’s about to change in a hurry. This young Korean Canadian writer, a UBC Creative Writing grad and Brown University MFA who divides her time between Vancouver and Seoul, has written a first novel that—on its own merits, and with…

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Too good for the NHL

Book review by Daniel Gawthrop posted on British Columbia Review on February 12, 2024 The Longest Shot: How Larry Kwong Changed the Face of Hockey, by Chad Soon and George Chiang, with illustrations by Amy Qi Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, February 13, 2024  $24.95 / 9781459835030 The story of Vernon’s Larry Kwong, the first professional hockey player of Asian descent to crack an NHL line-up, has been told many times. The Province’s Tom Hawthorn, CBC reports,…

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Long distance run for justice

Book review by Daniel Gawthrop posted on British Columbia Review on February 5, 2024 Races: The Trials & Triumphs of Canada’s Fastest Family, by Valerie Jerome Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions, 2023. $24.95 / 9781773102900 Last fall was the season of the sprinter for the sports memoir in Canada. In addition to the Ontario stories of Andre De Grasse (Ignite: Unlock the Hidden Potential Within) and Donovan Bailey (Undisputed: A Champion’s Life), there was a profoundly affecting B.C.…

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