Geez! Celebrating Aiden Enns and the End of an Era in Winnipeg

Winnipeggers gathered to say thanks to Aiden Enns on May 25—thanks for a job well done in creating Geez, a magazine described as protesting the "unholy alliance between church, state, market and military" that also celebrated the "spiritual dimensions of biking, energy efficiency and canning pickles."

This year Enns gave up the magazine to a new group of editors based in Detroit, as I wrote about in the Winnipeg Free Press in January.

In fact, it was my privilege to write about Geez three times, including being (I think) the first mainstream journalist to write about the magazine soon after its creation in 2005 (in the Winnipeg Free Press and Mennonite World Review).

Five years along, I had a chance to check in and see where things were at with the magazine. Helpfully, the editors of Geez posted a copy of my article in the Free Press on their website.

Together, the three articles offer a snapshot of the beginning, middle and end of Geez (in Winnipeg.)

Like Aiden, I’m sorry Geez never reached the level where it could be financially sustainable. Creating a publication is hard! He’s to be commended for taking it this far, and all the best to the new owners in Detroit as they look to take it into the future.