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Crow illustration by Ken MacDonald for And So Forth by Morris Panych
"AND SO FORTH"

A meditation on ego,

regret,

and the impossibility of making a graceful exit when the play goes on without you.

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“Morris Panych’s new novel And So Forth sucker punches with laugh out loud originality on one line then cracks your heart open on the next. It is unlike anything I have ever read. Who knew an inside look at death could be both funny and tragic...” —Sheila McCarthy

About the Book

AND SO IT BEGINS...

AND SO FORTH

When the curtain falls on the life of a bitter, self-absorbed actor, he leaves behind two resentful children—Sophie and Ambrose—and one final act of cruelty: his entire estate bequeathed not to them but to his office geranium, Henrietta. Under the dutiful care of his accountant and executor, Martin, the plant thrives while his heirs plot to destroy it and claim what they believe is rightfully theirs.

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But for the narrator, at least, death is only an intermission. What follows is a surreal and darkly comic odyssey of nonstop reincarnation as the actor’s consciousness stumbles from one absurd existence to the next, moving through a kaleidoscope of strange forms and creatures. Each transformation strips away another layer of vanity and delusion, forcing him to confront the wreckage of his life and bringing him one step closer to the kind of human he never really got a chance to be.

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Witty, mordant, and unexpectedly tender, And So Forth is a meditation on ego, regret, and the impossibility of making a graceful exit when the play goes on without you.

3D cover of the book And So Forth by Morris Panych
Buy

BUY YOUR COPY

AND SO FORTH is now available for sale from these and other major retailers online, as well as special order at your favourite local bookstore.

Book cover image of And So Forth by Morris Panych

5.5 x 8.5 inches

Black & White interior w/ illustrations

216 pages

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Paperback Edition: 978-1-03-836065-6

Hardcover Edition: 978-1-03-836066-3

Ebook Edition: 978-1-03-836067-0

Featuring Illustrations
by Ken MacDonald

Forest illustration in black and white by Ken MacDonald
Spiderweb in a forest illustration in black and white by Ken MacDonald
Slug illustration in black and white by Ken MacDonald
Crow sitting in a forest illustration in black and white by Ken MacDonald
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WHAT’S BEEN SAID

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1.

“I’ve known Morris Panych for over forty years and enjoyed his work as an actor playwright and director and now have just added author to the list. Like the author, the novel is darkly funny, wildly inventive and unexpectedly heartfelt. It’s a breathtakingly original story about the messiness of living, the even messier business of dying, and the hope that we might still get something right on theway out. Do yourself a favour and start reading.”

—Colin Mochrie

weathered paper.jpg

“Morris Panych’s new novel And So Forth sucker punches with laugh out loud originality on one line then cracks your heart open on the next. It is unlike anything I have ever read. Who knew an inside look at death could be both funny and tragic. Try to put it down.”

—Sheila McCarthy

2.

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3.

“Humor is the cornerstone of this story: the old man’s scathingly sarcastic commentary on his children’s hapless attempts to get their hands on his money perfectly counterbalance more tender moments, like the few days the old man spends as a pet frog to a lonely awkward boy. A deeply unpleasant man to everyone around him in life, the protagonist remains engaging not just for his hilarity, but for his moments of pathos, which pop up with increasing frequency as the story continues.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Few writers have shaped Canadian theatre with such precision and dark humor; Morris Panych has been an inspiration to me as a playwright, and I look forward to seeing how his singular, audacious voice, with all its wit and insight, will inhabit the novel.”

—Anosh Irani (author of The Parcel)

4.

ET CETERA...

Previous Published Works

Morris Panych's renowned and not forgotten stageplays can be purchased from Talonbooks.

AND ON IT GOES...

UPCOMING EVENTS

THE SHOPLIFTERS

Tarragon Theatre

March 2 – March 28, 2027

Visit: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/tarragon-season-26-27/the-shoplifters/

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The Barber of Seville

Vancouver Opera

February 13 - 21, 2027

Visit: https://www.vancouveropera.ca/whats-on/2026-2027-season/

About the Author

THE REMAINS...

MORRIS PANYCH

Morris Panych is one of Canada’s most acclaimed playwrights and directors. The winner of two Governor General’s Literary Awards for Drama (The Ends of the Earth and Girl in the Goldfish Bowl), he has also received fourteen Jessie Richardson Awards (Vancouver) and five Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto). His plays—including Vigil, Gordon, The Trespassers, Lawrence and Holloman, and Girl in the Goldfish Bowl—have been produced throughout Canada and internationally in more than two dozen languages. Over his distinguished career, Panych has directed more than one hundred productions across Canada and the United States, spanning theatre, opera, and dance. He makes his home in Toronto.​

 

Read more about Morris Panych:

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AND SO IT WAS...

The Archives

Explore the old records of my past productions and creative work on my surviving websites.

Preview image of the website kenandmorris.com
Preview image of the website 2x2ltd.com
And So It Was
A black and white illustration of a crow on a branch pulling on a worm by Ken MacDonald
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