Steven Mayoff
stevemayoff@mstdn.ca
<p>He/Him Novelist, Poet, Lyricist, Cats, Crosswords & Naps, Montreal-born but living on Prince Edward Island. <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/PrinceEdwardIsland" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PrinceEdwardIsland</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/PEI" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>PEI</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Writer" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Writer</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/CanLit" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CanLit</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Music" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Music</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Cats" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Cats</span></a> <a href="https://mstdn.ca/tags/Montreal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Mon
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My spoken lyric video Some Rise by Sin, excerpted from my upcoming novel Poor Man’s Opera (Galleon Books, 2026) is now up on YouTube. Poor man’s Opera will be released on August 15 by Galleon Books. ©Some Rise by Sin by Steven Mayoff, 2026 #fiction #novel #canlit #satire #dystopia #galleonbooks #sex #brothel #cabaret #lyrics #spokenword #disguises #measureformeasure #shakespeare #reimagining #genderfluid https://youtu.be/5DrMKmPdQgA?si=az7xlv5uOB0ZX-jh
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You can now preorder Poor Man&#39;s Opera direct from Galleon Books. So why don&#39;t you just go ahead and do that. I mean, what are you waiting for? Time is of the essence, trust me. https://galleonbooks.ca/direct-orders/ #fiction #novel #satire #dystopia #canlit #literature #canadian #GalleonBooks
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Poor Man’s Opera has its own page on my web site. Read a description, some blurbs and an excerpt https://www.stevenmayoff.ca/styled-11/ #fiction #novel #canlit #satire #dystopia #GalleonBooks
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The U.S. has a history of long-term authoritarian practices in pockets of the country that have led to what is now evidently a nation-wide regime change to autocracy. Poor Man’s Opera fictionalizes the city-state New Old York’s more condensed transition from a soft autocracy to a far more severe form of authoritarianism. Preorder now at https://galleonbooks.ca/direct-orders/ #fiction #novel #dystopia #satire #transition #RegimeChange #GalleonBooks
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My review of In the Dark Hours by Jeremy Le Page and published by Lost Telegram Press Christopher Shoust appears in The Seaboard Review of Books https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/in-the-dark-hours-by-jeremy-le-page #poetry #review #smallpress #losttelegrampress
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My spoken word video Phone Booth is now up on YouTube. https://youtu.be/Xdgo6N5esAM?si=Wt692fLuKkuMiBrm #fiction #shortstory #phonebooth #canlit #stalker #unrequitedlove #radiodrama #cbc #turnstonepress #allrightsreserved #spokenword #homemadevideo #banff #workshop #unsympatheticcharacter #fattedcalfblues
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My review of The View from Stansberry Lookout by James Gaitis is now in The Seaboard Review of Books https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/the-view-from-stansberry-lookout-james-gaitis?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email #fiction #novel #satire #guernicaeditions #theseaboardreviewofbooks
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My new novel Poor Man’s Opera (Galleon Books, 2026) features a Canada known only as the Northlands that has been annexed by its authoritarian neighbour to the south, the Free Republic of America. I don’t know how all this nonsense here in the so-called real world is going to play out, but it is heartening to see that so far, we as a sovereign nation have not knuckled under to a bully’s delusional demands and are choosing unity in a time of adversity. #fiction #strangerthanfiction #novel #ohcan...
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My spoken poetry video Mount Royal from my ekphrastic poetry chapbook Leonard’s Flat (Grey Borders Books, 2018) is now up on YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q7LlU1vyeBM?si=Vla0e74v-8lN-gs2 #poetry #canlit #spokenword #montreal #painting #mountroyal #family #leonardsflat #glasgow #scotland #antisemitism #ekphrasti
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This spoken word video is an excerpt from my first novel Our Lady of Steerage (Bunim&amp;Bannigan, 2015) and is now up on YouTube #novel #canlit #fiction #montreal #ManicDepression #bipolardisorder #electroshocktherapy #immigrants #judaism #catholicism #mentalinstitution #memoryloss https://youtu.be/jkDDipwcIeE?si=LwnDUbXoZkB-07nV
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The spoken poetry video of my poem Scenery is now up on YouTube. Steven Mayoff (he/him) is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist living on Prince Edward Island, aka Abegweit, home of the Mi’kmaq for thousands of years before any of us settlers showed up. I am proud and humbled to call this island my home and grateful to share it with the First Nations community. #poetry #canadian #mirroring #scenery #thepretenders #middleoftheroad #epigraph #chrissiehynde #canlit #möbiusstrip #sha...
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My spoken lyric video The Ghost of My Own Machine is now up on YouTube. Steven Mayoff (he/him) is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist living on Prince Edward Island, aka Epekwitk, home of the Mi’kmaq for thousands of years before any of us settlers showed up. I am proud and humbled to call this island my home and grateful to share it with the First Nations community. #lyric #spokenword #ghostinthemachine #socialmedia #existential #angst #internet #persona #curate #masquerade #gi...
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My review of Small Histories by Terence Field (Galleon Books, 2026) is now on The Seaboard Review of Books. #bookreview #newbrunswick #canlit #novel #fiction https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/small-histories-by-terence-field
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My review of Progressive in Polyester by Heather Babcock is now on Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/9003532140 #essays #filmcriticism #bookreview #movies #socialcommentary #feminism #saturdaynightfever
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The video for the launch of Poor Man&#39;s Opera (Galleon Books, 2026) with me and Keith Burgoyne at Bookmark on October 13 is now up on YouTube. It&#39;s 55 minutes, so make yourself a cuppa or pop some popcorn and strap in. https://youtu.be/3vbaJDwInO4?si=GgEtOgK-9KP4N0ve #novel #fiction #canlit #booklaunch #interview #reading #dystopian #satire #canada #language #slang #lyrics #music #measureformeasure #shakespeare #authoritarianism #autocracy #galleonbooks #poormansopera #genderf...
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Just a quick thanks to any and all of you who watched the YouTube video of the Poor Man’s Opera launch at Bookmark, moderated by Keith Burgoyne. 40 views so far, which is by no means an earth-shattering number, but still way more than any other video I’ve posted on YT and absolutely exceeds my expectations. #novel #fiction #canlit #booklaunch #interview #reading #dystopian #satire #canada #language #slang #lyrics #music #measureformeasure #shakespeare #authoritarianism #autocracy #galleonbooks...
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My spoken lyric video of Highway 61 by Bob Dylan is now up on YpuTube. Copyright Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan 1965 Steven Mayoff (he/him) is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist living on Prince Edward Island, aka Abegweit, home of the Mi’kmaq for thousands of years before any of us settlers showed up. He is proud and humbled to call this island his home and grateful to share it with the First Nations community. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #spokenword #lyrics #bobdy...
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My review of Night Terminus by Ellis Scott appears in The Seaboard Review of Books https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/night-terminus-by-ellis-scott #fiction #canlit #mortality #aidsandhiv #mentors #travel #novel
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The spoken word video, a second excerpt from my upcoming novel Poor Man’s Opera is up on YouTube. ©Poor Man’s Opera by Steven Mayoff 2025 Steven Mayoff is a Canadian novelist, poet and lyricist living in Prince Edward Island. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #spokenword #canlit #novel #fiction #galleonbooks #poormansopera #genderfluid #dystopian #sex #satire #politics #citystate #authoritarian #medicalprocedure #secondclasscitizens #literarymusical #cabaret #brothel https://youtu.be/z6Yh...
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My spoken lyric video Kitchen Sink Opera ( from my upcoming novel Poor Man’s Opera) is now up on YouTube. ©Kitchen Sink Opera by Steven Mayoff 2025 Steven Mayoff is a Canadian novelist, poet and lyricist living in Prince Edward Island. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #lyric #spokenword #canlit #novel #fiction #galleonbooks #poormansopera #genderfluid #dystopian #sex #satire #politics #citystate #authoritarian #medicalprocedure #secondclasscitizens #literarymusical #cabaret #brothel http...
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My spokenpoetry video Thief, excerpted from my poem cycle Youkali Cycle, is now up on YouTube. ©Thief by Steven Mayoff 2024 Steven Mayoff is Canadian novelist, poet and lyricist living on Prince Edward Island. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #spokenword #poetry #canlit #swingingbetweenwaterandstone #galleonbooks #love #lust #cathedral #romance #youkalitango #rogerfernay #kurtweill #cabaretmusic #lottelenya #utelemper #youkali #thief #faith #stainedglass #dream https://youtu.be/RZ7XAkFLL...
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I am a published fiction writer and poet and a lyricist who has written a 28-page libretto, adapted from my own 10-poem cycle. I am seeking a composer who writes or at least is influenced by pop, jazz, classical and cabaret styles. The libretto tells a simple love story with a gender-bending twist and the atmosphere of a waking dream. The language is heightened and poetic. There are simple stage directions that hint at the possibilities of staging. To get a better idea of my writing accompli...
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My spoken lyric video A Foorm of Forgetting is now up on YouTube. © A Form of Forgetting by Steven Mayoff 2016 Steven Mayoff is a Canadian novelist, poet, and lyricist living on Prince Edward Island. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #spokenword #lyric #memory #milankundera #ourladyofsteerage #forgetmeknot #happilyeverafter #testamentsbetrayed https://youtu.be/iUBLALRNt7U?si=XUlUjr3gc_L4gJjI
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My spoken lyric video 9/11–24/7 is now on YouTube. Steven Mayoff is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #lyric #spokenword #911 #politics #terrorism #security #dembones #power #axisofevil #georgewbush #worldtradecenter #pentagon #twintowers #shoebomb #homelandsecurity #freedom https://youtu.be/JS_947361Hg?si=gDFHW7O3lWVuB0fH
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I am pleased to announce that my upcoming novel, Poor Man’s Opera, whose narrator is a gender-fluid Tarot reader and unofficial advisor to a powerful political figure in the futuristic city-state of New Old York, now has an official release date which is August 15, 2026. A Charlottetown launch is now in the works and I’m hoping for launches in Toronto and Moncton as well. Dates will be announced as they become confirmed. Poor Man’s Opera will be published by Galleon Books. #canlit #novel #fic...
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My review of There is No Decent Place to Stand by Jeremiah Prenn (Galleon Books, 2026) is in The Seaboard Review of Books. https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/there-is-no-decent-place-to-stand-jeremiah-prenn
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An early and insightful review of Poor Man’s Opera (Galleon Books, 2026) by Dr. Amy Tucker on her substack The Third Shore. Big shout out to Christopher Shoust of Lost Telegram Press, who helped get me this review and is actively looking for others for this book. Let that sink in. One publisher is helping promote the book of another. That is true outlier community spirit and the rest of the publishing industry at all levels should be taking notes. https://thethirdshore1.substack.com/p/some-ris...
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The spoken word video for the 3rd excerpt from my upcoming novel Poor Man’s Opera is now up on YouTube. Steven Mayoff (he/him) is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist living on Prince Edward Island. His web site is www.stevenmayoff.ca #canlit #fiction #novel #speculativefiction #satire #politics #measureformeasure #shakespeare #spokenword #galleonbooks #canada #autocracy #tyranny #toronto #montreal #citystate #citizens #citizenry #ruler #power #corruption https://youtu.be/xJCGV...
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My spoken lyric video Prayer for the Blessed Order of Castrati is an excerpt from my upcoming novel Poor Man’s Opera. Steven Mayoff (he/him) is a Canadian novelist, poet, lyricist and librettist living on Prince Edward Island, aka Abegweit, home of the Mi’kmaq for thousands of years before any of us settlers showed up. I am proud and humbled to call this island my home and grateful to share it with the First Nations community. #canlit #fiction #novel #speculativefiction #satire #politics #lyr...
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The more clips I watch of Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan talking about their new book, “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump” the more Caligula looks like Andy Hardy by comparison. Little Boots vs Little Hands. One made a horse a senator, the other made his whole country look like a horse’s ass. One declared himself a god and the other… um, yeah ditto. #caligula #andyhardy #trump #maggiehaberman #jonathanswan #nyt #regimechange #littleboots