Ontario book news, interviews and more

Don’t Think About It All at Once

Here’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. A friend recently advised me what a friend had advised her: don’t think about it all at once. She was referring to the world after ...

Literary Perturbations: Math, Rhythm, and the Unforgettable Sentence

I want to write about perturbations created by literature, how when you’re reading something that connects to you, you can feel shaken, disoriented almost, like everything in the world has suddenly ...

A Piece of Fiction Is a Piece of Consciousness– a Conversation with Dr. Keith Oately

This summer, I pestered Dr. Keith Oately. He’s a Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Toronto, and the author of three novels and many works of non-fiction. He’s specialized in, among ...

A Literary Will

There have been many articles written lately about literature’s power to improve empathy, to lead us to happiness, and there have even been essays that suggest that reading can make us better people. ...

An Interview with Bibliotherapist Susan Elderkin: the Science of Better Living Through Literature

I’ve used books to help me survive every difficult period in my life, and I can always remember the book that got me through. I read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s ...

On the Sensory Pleasures of Putting Pen to Paper

A few months ago, I lost a pen. A beautiful fountain pen with one of those squeezy ink chambers that you fill from an old-school inkpot. The pen had been a university graduation gift from my parents and ...

Everyone Loves Differently - Loving Science from a Safe Distance

I heard a story about Richard Feynman, the Nobel Prize winning physicist. Or maybe I read it. I can’t remember, and I can’t track it down now, but I love the story a great deal, and I think that it’s ...

The Lucky Seven Interview, with Austin Clarke

There is only one Austin Clarke — a writer who, at this stage in his career, has gone beyond mere awards and honours (of which he holds many) to become part of the very fabric of Canadian culture.So ...

The Greatest Joy of Writing Is to Occasionally Be out of Your Mind

Writing these posts over the past month has reminded me of something. It seems obvious but I’d forgotten: When writing short pieces for regular publication (in this case, every other day), my writing ...

Do Not Wait for Inspiration

Do not wait for inspiration; that bus is on an irregular schedule.I’ve been asked several times now what was the inspiration or vision for my recently published novel, and I often see disappointment ...