title: The Book of Festus
author:  John Wall Barger 
description: <span><i>The Book of Festus ...</i>is undeniably Joycean. Just as Bloom in<i>Ulysses</i>simultaneously wanders the Dublin of his mind and the Dublin of June 16, 1904, Festus simultaneously traverses the Halifax of his memories--the "city of himself"--and the contemporary Halifax of his misplaced bike ... Festus has an acute understanding of Nova Scotia's past--a past where First Nations' culture was overwritten by European colonialism, and where Black Canadian communities suffered terrible discrimination ...</span>
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  ![cover.jpg](image/cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE MEAN GAME
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  THE MEAN GAME
  
  
  John Wall Barger
  
  
  ![](image/pplogo.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ALSO BY JOHN WALL BARGER
  
  
  Pain-proof Men
  
  
  Hummingbird
  
  
  The Book of Festus
  
  
  CHAPBOOKS
  
  
  The Vnfortunate Report & Tragicall Tidings of Leslie Barger
  
  
  Samovar / Dukkha
  
  
  Dying in Dharamsala
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2019 John Wall Barger
  
  
  All rights reserved
  
  
  Palimpsest Press
  
  
  1171 Eastlawn Ave.
  
  
  Windsor, Ontario. N8S 3J1
  
  
  www.palimpsestpress.ca
  
  
  Printed and bound at Coach House Printing in Ontario, Canada. Book design by
  Dawn Kresan. Edited by Jim Johnstone.
  
  
  eBook: [tikaebooks.com](http://tikaebooks.com)
  
  
  Cover art by Paul Klee. Front cover: “Adam and Little Eve” (1921). Back cover:
  “Where Eggs and the Good Roast Come From” (1921).
  
  
  Palimpsest Press would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts and the
  Ontario Arts Council for their support of our publishing program. We also
  acknowledge the assistance of the Government of Ontario throu