Montreal Tastemakers: Q&A with author Toula Drimonis

As the annual Salon du livre de Montréal kicks off this week, we recently sat down with Montreal author Toula Drimonis about her new book entitled We, The Others.

The Main

The Main

November 24, 2022- Read time: 4 min
Montreal Tastemakers: Q&A with author Toula Drimonis

As the annual Salon du livre de Montréal kicks off this week, we recently sat down with Montreal author Toula Drimonis about her new book entitled We, The Others.

The Main (TM): It’s a pleasure to meet you. We’ve been readers of your columns for years and were inspired by your latest work addressing the recent rise of anti-immigration sentiment in Montreal and beyond.

What was it about all the news recently that inspired you to write this book?

Toula Drimonis (TD): Primarily personal reasons: my dad died in 2013 and I was thinking of his life as a first-generation Greek immigrant and how hard he and my mom worked to give us a better life. But also, as a journalist, I was noticing a troubling increase in anti-immigrant talk here and across Canada. I wanted others to pay attention to it too.

Member-only story

Unlock Montreal’s stories. Join The Main community.

Read this story free.

Enter your email to unlock your first article and get The Bulletin — our weekly roundup of food, art, and local culture.

  • 5 free articles per month
  • Save your favourite places & guides
  • Weekly newsletter The Bulletin
  • Stay connected to Montreal culture

Become an Insider.

Join a community that supports independent Montreal stories and celebrates the people shaping its culture.

Subscribe
  • Unlimited access to all stories
  • Exclusive features & local insights
  • Special offers and event invites
  • 10% off in our shop
  • Support local storytelling

Already a member? Sign in

Related articles

Everyone dunks on Griffintown. Here's what they're missing.
The Main

Everyone dunks on Griffintown. Here's what they're missing.

Griffintown's become Montreal's favourite punching bag for anti-development sentiment, but its messy, diverse rebirth is actually turning into something good.

Things to do in Montreal this November
The Main

Things to do in Montreal this November

The best things to do in Montreal during November bring enough festivals, holiday markets, and cultural programming to make you forget the cold.

When rubbing shoulders with death is your full-time gig
Salomé Maari @ URBANIA

When rubbing shoulders with death is your full-time gig

"In my first months working in funeral services, I immediately realized it was going to profoundly change my perception of life."

How Mile-Ex launched (and lost) Montreal's warehouse pop explosion
Max Honigmann

How Mile-Ex launched (and lost) Montreal's warehouse pop explosion

From 2006 to 2016, Mile-Ex's DIY spaces launched Grimes, Mac DeMarco, TOPS, and one of Montreal's most productive music scenes. Then it was all killed off.

Radical proximity is the antidote to digital exhaustion
Prachi Khandekar

Radical proximity is the antidote to digital exhaustion

A new wave of gatherings in Montreal—dinners with strangers, life drawing, and apartment galleries—is bringing back the risk and reward of unscripted human contact.

If you want to understand Montreal's dance scene, start with Ferias
J.P. Karwacki

If you want to understand Montreal's dance scene, start with Ferias

Guthrie Drake and Alina Byrne built their dance community on borrowed time, clandestine spaces, and the belief that range matters more than genre.