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With The Cipher (Signature Editions 2024, 239 p.), Genni Gunn has written a masterful work that captures the sacrifices of people during war time. It is also a powerful love story set during World War II. The main characters, Olivia and Nino, are working as agents in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British group conducting espionage, reconnaissance and sabotage…

“All of it?” Saverio asked again. “All of it,” came the answer from the other end of the line. “I’m sorry.” The dejected voice belonged to Saverio’s friend, Alfonso. “Maybe we can save a few gallons, but I checked all of them and they are either bad or very bad.” Saverio could not contain his disappointment, but he was not…

Among Canada’s numerous visual artists of Italian heritage, Sveva Caetani is probably the least known. Yet, her body of work is significant, defined by a visual and thematic complexity that defies categorization. Like many artists, Sveva Caetani’s life was marked by emotional and physical challenges which she expressed in her art. Her father, Leone Caetani, was descended of Italian nobility,…

I say I love being close to you with a story about a poet’s green thumb. You breathe in the leaves and feel your fingers furl/unfurl the edges of a book I’ve put in your lap, a long line of words rigged to make some sense of wonder, the pages laid out like a clearing, woodland bound and tilled, contained…