Martin BREUL

comics studies, refugee literature, Canadian literature, world literature, contemporary writing, online poetry and publishing, Cold War literary history, trauma theory
Martin Breul’s FRQSC-funded project investigates the life of Canadian writing in socialist German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the exchange between Canadian authors and publishers with the GDR’s literary sphere, specifically its censorial, government-run publishing industry. Martin also pursues the study of refugee comics, on which he completed his M.A. research at McGill. His work in this field examines the interactions between the versatile literary form of the graphic novel and the pressing issues of increasing global displacement and a reactionary shift towards the right in response to this population movement. He is a member of the McGill Refugees Research Group and a tutor at the McGill Writing Centre.
Besides his academic research, Martin writes and publishes poetry, reviews, and flash fiction in print and online. His first chapbook of collected poetry, love poems suck, appeared in 2023 with Montréal-based micropress Cactus Press. He has appeared at readings across Scotland, Canada, and Germany, and is the operations manager of the Montreal International Poetry Prize, housed by the Department of English at McGill.
Ph.D., McGill University (exp. 2026)
M.A., McGill University, 2022
M.A. (Hons.), Glasgow University, 2019
Comics and graphic narratives of war, refugeehood, and trauma; the sociology and aesthetics of online literary culture; the migration of Canadian fiction into the GDR; relationship discourse in contemporary British and Anglo-American fiction.
Reviews
“National Animal: A review of National Animal by Derek Webster.” Montreal Review of Books, 4 July 2024.
“Mechanophilia Book 1: A review of Mechanophilia Book 1 by Sarah Burgoyne and Vi Khi Nao.” Montreal Review of Books, 4 July 2024.
“Good Want: A review of Good Want by Domenica Martinello.” Montreal Review of Books, 4 July 2024.
“Fire Cider Rain, by Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin.” periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics, 1 November 2023.
“(Vice) Viscera, by Willow Loveday Little.” periodicities: a journal of poetry and poetics, 2 February 2023.
“Every Fruit Is a Peach If You Dream About It.” Rev. of Saturn Peach, by Lily Wang. The Common Breath, 1 January 2021.
Creative Work
Poetry (selected)
“Moons are suns are looking for each other.” Plenitude Magazine, June 2024.
love poems suck, Cactus Press, October 2023.
“Boreal Twilight” and “Currents.” Spare Parts Literary, February 2023.
“Flakes.” sage cigarettes magazine, October 2022.
“Atlanticide.” Acta Victoriana, March 2022.
“Glutton.” Variety Pack, issue 7, February 2022, p. 2. Issuu.
“Echoes.” RESURRECTION magazine, May 2021.
“Teenage Squirrels.” Growing Up: Lifespan Vol. 2, edited by Matt Potter, Pure Slush, 2021, pp.
53-55.
“At the Injection Moulding Machine at 3:30am.” Healthy Boy Zine, April 2021.
“Overgrowth.” Riverbed Review, December 2020.
“Mend.” Wet Grain, vol. 1, 2020, pp. 54-55.
“Blood Carpet.” The Honest Ulsterman, October 2020.
“Roots and Seeds.” The Wild Word, September 2020.
Fiction
“Fortune Cookie Wisdom.” The Red Lemon Review, October 2021.
“Steak Serenade.” From Glasgow to Saturn, May 2021. []
“Tabula Rasa.” The Speculative Book 2021, edited by Dale MacMullen and Sam Small, Speculative Books, 2021, pp. 42-44.
- Bourses de doctorat en recherche, FRQ-SC (2023-2027).
- Masterstipendium, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) (2020-2022).
- Mona Elaine Adilman Poetry Prize, McGill University (2021).
- Graduate Student Essay Awards, 3rd prize, McGill Refugees Research Group (2023).
- Nominated for Best-of-the-Net 2023, Variety Pack (2022).