The imagined Stephen Harper

Two writers talk about the Prime Minister.

Sheila: Stephen Harper is your favourite artist? Do tell.

Nathaniel: I have often imagined him sitting around sipping tea with my bohemian friends, encouraging us, over a span of weeks to get real jobs. But he’d do it slowly. Like after about a month of living with us, he’d go ,”I’m going to this job fair this afternoon, sounds like it might be cool.”

Sheila: But what makes him your favourite artist in life, as opposed to the Stephen Harper in your imagination?

Nathaniel: Well, he’s musical for one thing. Everyone knows who is he, so he could probably sell a lot of art. He sort of controls the lives of artists all over the country. So in a way, I guess, he is my favourite artist because he simply has to be. Maybe that makes no sense. Maybe what I’m saying is, he seems so anti-art that he simply has become an artist through sheer avoidance and contempt.