First published in 1995 to promote and legitimize the submerged cultural urge of Canada, "Broken Pencil" has brought together the best of the independent and alternative arts community who would not otherwise be heard of or touched by the country's collective consciousness. Featuring a selection of outcast short stories too weird or uncomfortable for serious literary journals and too visceral and punk rock for contemporary mainstream palettes, this collection culled from the magazine introduces the best of Canadian underground fiction and beyond. Ragged and lacking the traditional refinement of metaphor, magical realism, and perfect epiphanies, these pieces breach the surface with sharp, offensive urban fiction where voices are discovered and developed and the words do all the work.