Irish-born writer Colum McCann’s new book, “Apeirogon,” is classified as a novel — yet parts of it are factual.
“Really, it’s a story like any story. Some of it’s imagined but all of it is real,” said the international best-selling author. “The world demands that we label things as fiction or nonfiction. Essentially every story is a fiction, and it is equally a piece of nonfiction too. I’m not trying to be a smart aleck here. This is what I truly believe. What is most important is to try to tell an honest story.”
“Apeirogon” is inspired by the lives of two fathers — one Israeli and one Palestinian. Both of their young daughters were violently killed in the ongoing regional conflict. The fathers channeled their grief by joining forces and became peace advocates. Woven into their stories are other stories — all told from different angles and point of views.
McCann has received many honors, including the National Book Award, a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres from the French government and the 2010 Best Foreign Novel Award in China. His work has been published in more than 40 languages. McCann teaches at Hunter College in New York City and lives there with his wife and family. On Monday night, he will be at the University of San Diego’s Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre.
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Q: What does your title mean, and why is it important to your novel?
A: An apeirogon is a shape with a countable infinite number of sides. It sounds crazy and impossible and beautiful all at once — and it is. You can be part of an infinite shape and land on any finite point within it. You can be at home and you can be everywhere. And you can, in fact, be lost too. I think it’s a word for the modern condition.
Q: Who are Bassam Aramin and Rami Elhanan? Who were their daughters Abir and Smadar?
A: Bassam is Palestinian. He’s a father and a husband and a peace activist. He would say that he is a human being, and he would regret the need to have to say that. Rami is Israeli. He is a father and a husband and a peace activist also. He would call Bassam his best friend. Abir and Smadar are their daughters who died in a conflict that the two men speak out against again and again and again.
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Q: What are two true facts that surprised you the most about Bassam and Rami?
A: Every moment of their lives surprised me. For example, Bassam is a Palestinian who studied the Holocaust while in prison. And Rami is an Israeli who triumphs the humanity of his Palestinian neighbors.
Q: Why is ‘Know your enemy; keep them close’ a common refrain for Aramin?
A: I think this phrase can be explained in several ways. In wartime, it’s a way to restrain your enemy. In peacetime, it’s a way to embrace him or her.
Q: Who is Nurit Elhanan? Why do some people consider her controversial?
A: Nurit is Rami’s wife. She’s a brilliant academic. She is pretty controversial in Israel. She wants the occupation to end, and she vocally blames the Israeli government for the death of her daughter by a Palestinian suicide bomber.
Q: What main idea do you want to talk about at USD on Monday night?
A: That’s a hard question. I’m going to talk about peace and peacemaking, I suppose. I’m going to talk about two men who lost their daughters and believe that they can harness the power of their grief to work for peace.
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Q: Are you personally hopeful about future Israeli and Palestinian political relations?
A: Ouch, that’s another hard question. I think I’m a pessimistic optimist, or pessoptimist, I suppose. Some days are gray, and others are bright. When I think about the political landscape in its current incarnation, I am intensely gray. When I think about the real people on the ground — the Ramis and the Bassams and the young Greta Thunbergs of this world — I feel a beam of brightness shooting through the room. And I believe the brightness swamps the gray.
Q: Do you consider this a political novel?
A: Yes. It’s explicitly political. But it doesn’t tell you how or what to think. I hope that it allows you to think. It gives you a chance to make up your own mind.
Q: Can you please talk about your nonprofit Narrative 4 that you co-founded?
A: With pleasure! Narrative 4 is, in my view, one of the most necessary organizations for our divided times. We bring young people together to tell one another’s stories. We encourage radical empathy. We ask you to walk in somebody else’s shoes and then to turn that empathy into action on the ground. We ask you to refuse cynicism. We ask you to look across the room, or the city, or the country and see yourself. We are fronted by writers, powered by teachers and embraced by young people all over the world.
Q: What’s the importance of storytelling? Why do you refuse cynicism, and how do you react to cynics?
A: I love hanging out with cynics. They make me laugh. Seriously. They are so serious about themselves. They consider themselves muscular and smart, but they’re really quite weak. In fact, I find them intensely sentimental. They refuse to see beyond their own bordered ideas. They’re not interested in the value of others. Give me an optimist … or even a pessoptimist … any day.
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“Apeirogon” by Colum McCann, Random House, 480 pages.
Colum McCann in conversation with Avi Spiegel and special guests Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Hosted by Warwick’s and University of San Diego, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Theatre, 5998 Alacala Park, San Diego
Tickets: One general admission is $30.17 that includes one copy of “Apeirogon.” Two general admission tickets are $40.17 and includes one copy of “Apeirogon.”
Presented by Warwick’s, USD’s College of Arts and Sciences, with support from The San Diego Union-Tribune. Special guests include Rami Elhanan and Bassam Aramin in conversation with Avi Spiegel, an associate professor of political science and international relations at USD.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he will not be taking advice from Pierre Poilievre after the Conservative leader challenged him to bring down government.
“I say directly to Pierre Poilievre: I’m not going to listen to you,” said Singh on Wednesday, accusing Poilievre of wanting to take away dental-care coverage from Canadians, among other things.
“I’m not going to listen to your advice. You want to destroy people’s lives, I want to build up a brighter future.”
Earlier in the day, Poilievre challenged Singh to commit to voting non-confidence in the government, saying his party will force a vote in the House of Commons “at the earliest possibly opportunity.”
“I’m asking Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to commit unequivocally before Monday’s byelections: will they vote non-confidence to bring down the costly coalition and trigger a carbon tax election, or will Jagmeet Singh sell out Canadians again?” Poilievre said.
“It’s put up or shut up time for the NDP.”
While Singh rejected the idea he would ever listen to Poilievre, he did not say how the NDP would vote on a non-confidence motion.
“I’ve said on any vote, we’re going to look at the vote and we’ll make our decision. I’m not going to say our decision ahead of time,” he said.
Singh’s top adviser said on Tuesday the NDP leader is not particularly eager to trigger an election, even as the Conservatives challenge him to do just that.
Anne McGrath, Singh’s principal secretary, says there will be more volatility in Parliament and the odds of an early election have risen.
“I don’t think he is anxious to launch one, or chomping at the bit to have one, but it can happen,” she said in an interview.
New Democrat MPs are in a second day of meetings in Montreal as they nail down a plan for how to navigate the minority Parliament this fall.
The caucus retreat comes one week after Singh announced the party has left the supply-and-confidence agreement with the governing Liberals.
It’s also taking place in the very city where New Democrats are hoping to pick up a seat on Monday, when voters go to the polls in Montreal’s LaSalle—Émard—Verdun. A second byelection is being held that day in the Winnipeg riding of Elmwood—Transcona, where the NDP is hoping to hold onto a seat the Conservatives are also vying for.
While New Democrats are seeking to distance themselves from the Liberals, they don’t appear ready to trigger a general election.
Singh signalled on Tuesday that he will have more to say Wednesday about the party’s strategy for the upcoming sitting.
He is hoping to convince Canadians that his party can defeat the federal Conservatives, who have been riding high in the polls over the last year.
Singh has attacked Poilievre as someone who would bring back Harper-style cuts to programs that Canadians rely on, including the national dental-care program that was part of the supply-and-confidence agreement.
The Canadian Press has asked Poilievre’s office whether the Conservative leader intends to keep the program in place, if he forms government after the next election.
With the return of Parliament just days away, the NDP is also keeping in mind how other parties will look to capitalize on the new makeup of the House of Commons.
The Bloc Québécois has already indicated that it’s written up a list of demands for the Liberals in exchange for support on votes.
The next federal election must take place by October 2025 at the latest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is defending her decision to turn off comments on her social media accounts — with an announcement on social media.
She posted screenshots to X this morning of vulgar names she’s been called on the platform, and says comments on her posts for months have been dominated by insults, to the point that she decided to block them.
Montreal’s Opposition leader and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have criticized Plante for limiting freedom of expression by restricting comments on her X and Instagram accounts.
They say elected officials who use social media should be willing to hear from constituents on those platforms.
However, Plante says some people may believe there is a fundamental right to call someone offensive names and to normalize violence online, but she disagrees.
Her statement on X is closed to comments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
