Christine McNair
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christinemcnair.bsky.social
Christine McNair
@christinemcnair.bsky.social
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.
Reposted by Christine McNair
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.
“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.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
Reposted by Christine McNair
hey, Toronto! Come out to the TIFA small press market at Victoria College, Chapel Lobby, UToronto until 5pm!
November 1, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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...
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.
49thshelf.com
October 27, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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.
October 22, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Marbling workshop with Chena marblers. SATISFYING swirls in vat.
October 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Post you from a different era.

(Blue Jays edition)
October 13, 2025 at 7:14 PM
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.
September 23, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Reposted by Christine McNair
Gemini: Take a vacation from your problems. Your assassin isn’t in a rush.
September 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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...
September 17, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
‘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...
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....
www.lrb.co.uk
September 5, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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.
August 27, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Trying to imagine completing another/next book & it all feels impossible. Like trying to climb a mountain of melting ice cream.
August 26, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Christine McNair
#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...
‘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...
www.12onyourside.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
“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.
August 10, 2025 at 4:13 AM
This made me laugh. And then I sat and thought about it. This is correct.
August 6, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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-...
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...
robmclennan.blogspot.com
August 4, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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.
July 28, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
Good LORD.

I'm nervously waiting for Pinhead and their buddies to turn up, listening to that.
Ice cream truck funerals apparently produce the most horror movie ass sound you can hear in real life
July 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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...
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...
bookhugpress.ca
July 16, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Reposted by Christine McNair
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
July 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM