Welcome to The Ironist

ISSN 2817-7363

The Ironist is dedicated to exploring irony wherever it occurs. We have a range of articles, stories and even book reviews which cover historical and contemporary life and events. We welcome you comments, support and submissions.

Forgotten Heroes #6 – Rattus Romanus

Forgotten Heroes #6 – Rattus Romanus

Nigel writes about a long-forgotten chapter of Roman history: the rise and recipes of Rattus Romanus, consul, Stoic, and father of fusion cuisine.   Everyone knows the great suffering rats endured during the Black Death. For centuries, historians, poets,...

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In Defence of Leisure

In Defence of Leisure

Forget "live-to-work". The ancients believed leisure—not work—was the highest purpose of human life. In this essay, Jonathan defends self-cultivation through art, conversation, and exploration. “One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem,...

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The Reading Chair Backstory : On Beauty by Zadie Smith

The Reading Chair Backstory : On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith has called On Beauty an “homage” to E.M. Forster’s Howards End, though not in a plot-by-plot sense. Zadie Smith has used Forster’s structure as “scaffolding” - as a way to learn to write an English novel, something that made her feel like she’d earned...

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The Reading Chair : On Beauty by Zadie Smith

The Reading Chair : On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Zadie Smith’s On Beauty is a novel about family, art, and class but mostly, it’s about the exquisite awkwardness of believing in ideas that no longer seem to work. “The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.” — On Beauty, Zadie Smith Have you ever...

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Ramblings #7 : Passing the Torch

Ramblings #7 : Passing the Torch

A warm, observant paean to the spirit of Port Elgin, capturing the rhythms of slow living and the Canadian summer – with touches of nostalgia and humour. This summer we had a family reunion at Port Elgin. Our daughter rented a cottage near the main beach, in an older...

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Jake Mallette

Jake Mallette

Peter Scotchmer’s fictional story of an administrator straying into matters she doesn’t understand may be too close to reality for those committed to following the latest fad of the day. Geoff Carter, a veteran teacher of thirty years’ standing, tried hard to win over...

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Unique Places #3 – Canada’s Last Frontier Town

Unique Places #3 – Canada’s Last Frontier Town

Jonathan Bennett makes an unplanned trip beyond the Arctic Circle to Iqaluit, a city on the margins—equal parts capital, construction site, and reluctant frontier outpost. There are few places left in the world that still feel like frontiers—real ones, not the type...

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Author

  • Nigel Scotchmer

    Nigel’s peripatetic path in life gives him, he believes, a unique perspective on the world around him. He has worked at many occupations over the years from driving a truck, writing welding standards, to being an international salesman,\ accountant and business owner. Brought up in a family that believed that Antigone in the Greek myth was correct to stand up and die for her belief that fairness and truth were more important than the ranting raves of the unthinking mob – his father accepted the consequences of refusing to fire a homosexual in the 1950s – Nigel believes irony is the greatest tool for both encouraging equity and our enjoyment of life. Since irony involves the interplay between emotions, reality and chance, its appreciation can provide meaning to the often inexplicable world in which we live. He said, when interviewed for this summary: “No, we can’t all be heroes, and too often we make the wrong choice, for the wrong reasons – but at least irony can bring peace to us by helping reconcile the warring elements.” Nigel loves literature – especially books and poems that deal with universal themes such as love, war, and justice – and is now happily retired from the world of business. Ironically, (like countless retirees before him!), he says he has the ambition to be a great writer and is currently writing fiction full-time…. Visit him at https://nigelscotchmer.com/