Casting a Light on Whiteness

Mark Anthony Jarman’s new collection of short fiction (his fourth) is not about snow. Yes, it is by a Canadian, it is called My White Planet and the title story is set in the Arctic, but Jarman is more interested in the cultural kind of whiteness. He sees it in white things: a kitchen, a toaster, a shag carpet. He happens to mention the coincidentally “white” species depleted as a result of that consumerism: polar bears, bald eagles, white pines. The connection suggests cause and effect: the materialism of white culture spoils the planet.

This is not a revelation, and Jarman does not treat it as one. His style is not to explain, but to illustrate and imply. His style itself is his distinction. An ear for language and an eye for detail have earned him several awards, accolades from most reviewers and his current editorial job at The Fiddlehead in New Brunswick. He writes with immediacy and verve, cutting out the unnecessary to leave only the most...