By: Reba Wilson
Title: Lead Editor, Leacock’s
Year: Fourth. U4? Who knows.
What are you studying?
Major in English lit, minor in world cinemas.
How did you get involved with Leacock’s? What made you decide to write for this particular magazine instead of other newspapers and magazines on campus?
I started out writing for The McGill Daily like a week after I got to school, and that was alright. It was nice to see my name in print, you know? That being said, I got a decent amount of hate mail for articles that I wrote (that were apparently not inclusive enough).
The last article I wrote for them was a sports review of a McGill football game that focused exclusively on the streakers—who were way more entertaining than the team itself. I had to piece together the second half of the game from friends’ accounts of what happened because the game took place on a Friday night, and I was enjoying first year a little too much. This was the first and last sports article I would ever write, for obvious reasons.
I dislike writing about politics, news, and other serious issues that bore me to death, and I think that’s why I gravitated towards Leacock’s. I care more about the people I see every day, and the random/bizarre things that happen to me every time the weekend rolls around. The article I’m working on right now is called “How I accidentally stalked James Franco” if that gives you any idea of what our style is like.
What has been your favorite article to work on?
I helped write an article called “Scenes from a Ghetto Balcony” that was basically an account of everything I saw on the street I live in during a two-hour people watching session that happened because I was bored. I like this one as well. I’ve edited so many articles in the past year and a half, but there’s not a “favourite” one of those. That’d be weird.
Who are your literary idols?
It’s usually not a good idea to idolize literary figures. They’re rarely good role models, and when they are, they’re boring as shit. My favourite authors are Raymond Carver, Haruki Murakami, Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Jeffrey Eugenides, and David Sedaris.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I don’t know. I’m not at the point where it makes sense to pick a career. I like writing, editing, playing music, filming/editing short films, and photography. I don’t like copywriting. In a literal sense I’ll probably be in NYC, Toronto, Chicago, or L.A. I like big cities. I can’t handle anything less than metropolitan.
How would you summarize your time with Leacock’s in 10 words or less?
“I just recently learned that our name contains an apostrophe”