Éva Circé Côté was a diehard Montrealer, writes Andrée Lévesque in her account of a woman whose impact has been, for too long, underestimated. As it turns out, this Montrealer was also a skilled journalist, a prolific writer, a provocative columnist, a lifelong librarian and an independent thinker who occupied a prominent place in the city. Yet her name is barely remembered. And without Freethinker, references to Circé Côté would be limited to a handful of historical documents from the early 1900s.
Curating and writing for the Arts & Culture section of the Citizens’ Press website. Book reviews and noteworthy cultural and artistic content. Critiques de livres en anglais et en français.
Été 1946 : 3 000 employés de l’industrie textile au Québec mènent une grève. L’essor d’après-guerre bat son plein et les femmes travaillent en grand nombre dans les usines. Mais les profits de la compagnie montent en flèche et les travailleurs écopent. La grève de 100 jours se termine par une victoire : la signature d’une convention collective menée à terme par Madeleine Parent.
Rarely do you come across fiction for young readers where the backdrop is a labour dispute, let alone one as harsh and violent as the 1931 dressmakers’ strike in Toronto. In 44 hours or strike! (Second Story Press, 2015), Anne Dublin has us follow two young Jewish sisters whose struggle ends up taking place as much within themselves as it does in the cold streets of Hogtown.