Centring the Margins is a collection of reviews and essays written between 2001 and 2014 of writers from Canada, the United States, the UK, and Europe. Most are neglected, obscure, or considered difficult, and include Mati Unt, Ornela Vorpsi, S.D. Chrostowska, Blaise Cendrars and Joseph McElroy, among others.

Centring the Margins: Essays and Reviews

Literature & Fiction

Bursey, Jeff

History & Criticism

Zer0 Books

Set against a backdrop of public scandal and private dilemma, Mirrors on which dust has fallen presents the quotidian concerns of the average and the not-so-average inhabitants of the fictitious Bowmount, the province featured in Bursey's precursor Verbatim: A Novel. The varied cast of characters examine and defend their spiritual beliefs, from God to evolution; their views on art, as painting battles photography for supremacy; and their sexuality, from confusion to pagan flagrancy. While Verbatim depicts the politics of the elected, Mirrors on which dust has fallen reveals the motives of the electorate, using pitch-perfect dialogue interjected with sly media snippets and elegant, subtle prose, to paint a darkly humorous and deeply telling tale of the late twentieth century in Canada. “The writing is bawdy, heady, profane, often funny, and full of energy. Fans of Bursey’s distinctive first publication, Verbatim: A Novel, will be pleased, as will readers in search of something punchy and new-fangled.” — Joan Sullivan, The Telegram “Mirrors on which dust has fallen [is] an explosively unconventional, deeply disturbing, and relentlessly original work. . . . He is equally comfortable writing about the logistics of clothing wholesalers and the challenges of running a small radio station as he is about the quotidian detail of Catholic ceremonies and the grit needed to keep a seedy pub afloat.” — Mark Sampson, Numero Cinq “I felt like I was looking at swarming bacteria in a petri dish, everything felt so up close and I was so deep into it. I had to put the book down in order to gain sufficient distance to see the relationships of everyone intertwined in this microcosm, to feel the outlines of the story again. . . . It’s a really unique and unusual novel, quite unlike anything else I’ve read.” — Victoria Best, Litlove: Tales from the Reading Room

Mirrors on which dust has fallen

Literary

VerbivoraciousPress

Likely to have the distinction of being the first (and perhaps only) novel constructed using the format of parliamentary debates, Verbatim: A Novel is presented as a Hansard document interspersed with office emails (using a multiplicity of fonts) between the new Hansard Director, editors, other Hansard employees, and parliamentary officials, creating a palpable tension which progresses the novel. Rather than mirror the exaggerated and excessive behaviours characterising contemporary parliaments around the world, Bursey subtly satirises, displaying a fine sense of humour and providing a keen dissection of the political machinations of parliamentary procedure and the bureaucratic structure that supports it. This higly innovative and imaginative book commences with a metafictional twist - an essay by a real critic from a convention concerned with the contemporary Canadian novel - before proceeding to the debates proper in chronological order. The cast of parliamentary characters are cleverly introduced according to political party membership and location, while the bureaucrats become known through their correspondence, their emails reflecting their power, status, influence, pettiness, and significance to the text. Various Acts are tabled in the debates, drawing criticism and praise according to political affiliation, and serve to depict daily life in the Canadian province in which the "action" occurs. Births, deaths, illnesses, financial shenanigans, environmental despoilage, murder, political suicide, and more form the substance from which Bursey slyly parodies politicians, hangers-on, office intrigues, and the foibles of human nature.

Verbatim

Humor & Satire

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bursey, Jeff. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bursey, Jeff