Kathy Shaidle
Kathy Shaidle (7 May 1964 – 9 January 2021) was a Canadian author, columnist, poet and blogger. A self-described "anarcho-peacenik" in the early years of her writing career, she moved to a conservative, Roman Catholic position following the 11 September 2001 attacks, and entered the public eye as the author of the popular RelapsedCatholic blog. Citing some points of friction with her faith, Shaidle relaunched her blogging career under her FiveFeetofFury blog. Her views on Islam, political correctness, freedom of speech, and other issues ignited controversy. Literary career. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Shaidle studied at Sheridan College . Beginning in the mid-1980s she worked in Toronto, eventually taking up a post at the "Catholic New Times" magazine. In 1991, she left the publication to write full-time on government grants, only to discover a few weeks later that she had developed lupus erythematosus. Her four-year illness provided the subject matter for her 1998 essay collection "God Rides a Yamaha". In the early 1990s, Shaidle published two poetry chapbooks with the Toronto indie press Lowlife Publishing, which also published works by Lynn Crosbie and Maggie Helwig. Her book-length poetry collection, "Lobotomy Magnificat", was nominated for a 1998  Governor General's Award. Critic Wendy McGrath, writing in the "Edmonton Journal", praised the poetry for how it "effectively relates sacred images or text to present day events and images." In contrast, the Montreal "Gazette"'s reviewer was critical of the book's "diet of smart phrasing... and fabricated insights." Blogging. Shaidle wrote the blog Relapsed Catholic (2000–2007) and a column for the Catholic weekly "Our Sunday Visitor". She left the latter post in April 2007 after the newspaper refused to publish a column she had written criticizing Earth Day. In September 2007 she began a new blog, Five Feet  of Fury, a reference to her petite stature and combative writing style. Shaidle also guest hosted and moderated the popular Canadian conservative blog, Small Dead Animals. Defamation. In 2008, human rights lawyer Richard Warman sued Shaidle, Ezra Levant, Kate McMillan of Small Dead Animals and the "National Post" over links to comments criticizing him at a Canadian internet forum, freedominion.ca. The "National Post" settled with Warman soon after the suit was launched and, in June 2015, Shaidle, Levant and McMillan all settled in exchange for undisclosed amounts and the issuance of public retractions and apologies. Other work. Also in 2008  Shaidle and journalist Pete Vere wrote and published "The Tyranny of Nice", a critique of the Canadian human rights tribunals. Shaidle's writing also appeared in outlets such as FrontPage Magazine, Pajamas Media, Examiner.com and Taki's Magazine. She appeared on the Michael Coren Show, The Agenda (on TVO), the Charles Adler Show, The Political Cesspool, Vatican Radio, MSNBC, and Pajamas Media Radio.