Writer in ResidenceTag

May 2019 writer-in-residence Alisha Sevigny on Conservation, Editing, & Dancing Her Heart Out

Even though winter seems to be stubbornly holding on, we're excited to get in a summer frame of mind with our May 2019 writer-in-residence, Alisha Sevigny, author of the irresistible young adult novel, Summer ...

Writer at Work: Criticism is Care

When I began the “Writer at Work” series for Open Book, I wanted to explore what it means for me, a poet and a writer, to be at “work.” As a woman of colour and an emerging writer, I have many ...

Writer at Work: The Steadfastness of Beauty

Last fall, a few days after my book, Port of Being, was sent to the printer, I met with Juliane Okot Bitek, whom I had asked for a blurb. During that rainy day at a pub, Juliane and I shared our parallel ...

Edward Carson, Our Poetry Month 2019 writer-in-residence, Talks about the Power of Titles

April is National Poetry Month and we are so excited to celebrate all things poetry here at Open Book. And of course part of that celebration means finding a fantastic poet to come on board as our April ...

Writer at Work: “Identity is a pain in the arse” (On Zadie Smith)

Last month, Zadie Smith said: "identity is a pain in the arse." She said this at a festival in the context of a discussion about identity politics and her (white) partner, Nick Laird. Here's a snippet ...

Writer at Work: Speaking with the Dead

A couple of weeks ago, I had the honour of speaking on panels at Room Magazine’s Growing Room Festival. During a Q&A session with the audience after the intersectionality, diaspora, and Asian-Canadian ...

Writer at Work: A Book Is A Community

Yesterday, my first book of poems, Port of Being, was shortlisted for the 2019 BC and Yukon Book Prizes (BCBP), for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. I expected to feel happy but I feel disbelief. The ...

Writer at Work: Where I’m Writing From (On Dionne Brand, Black Earth Rising, and Writing with “Love”)

Books that change us challenge us and console us. They break our hearts, they make us think, but most of all, they make us see people as people. Aside from being a generalized and sentimental statement ...

Writer at Work: Journaling, Instinct, and Self-care

Before last week, it had been months since I cried. This is unusual for me. I cry often when I’m alone, especially when I’m writing. Last week, I opened the Word doc that is my journal. Counterintuitively, ...

Writer at Work: Reading Tarot for Story

You do not have to believe there is a divine order to read the Tarot. You do not have to believe that your future can be read to read the Tarot. You do not have to be spiritual to read the Tarot. You ...