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February 20, 2019Poetry School: Rilke’s advice against advice
My aversion to the poetry workshop grew quickly many years ago. Let me correct that: my aversion to the untutored, undisciplined poetry workshop.Although I’ve been writing poems off and on since I was ...
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February 12, 2019Poetry School: The insincerity of Louise Glück
In my invitation for you to join me this month at Poetry School, I promised to offer up morsels of wisdom about writing poetry from an assortment of essays on the topic. Today I dig into an essay by American ...
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October 05, 2021Poetry Should "Be Surprised By What it Says": David O'Meara on Why Poems Shouldn't Try to Be Poems
Canadian writers know Ottawa-based poet David O'Meara not only for his acclaimed collections but also his contributions to the community. From serving as the founding Artistic Director for VERSeFest ...
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April 07, 2023Poetry Tours: Funding
Last time on the WIR blog, I talked about tips for planning a poetry tour, including tips on building a tour from existing events. In this post, I hope to share some resources on funding a poetry tour, ...
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February 22, 2017
Poetry vs Prose part 1 of 2
”Why does Dane use words like poetry and prose yet refuse concepts like genre?”I've been accused of citing quotes unnecessarily, so I'll merely remind my readers of a very Canadian statement, “The ...
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February 23, 2017
Poetry vs Prose part 2 of 2
“But what does this have to do with poetry and prose?”What is poetry? What is prose? If the medium is the message, and the primary medium for most written poetry and prose is the page, why don't we ...
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October 16, 2020Poets Becoming Novelists: On Trusting Leaps and Fragments
I finished the first draft of my novel in mid-March – in the first week of isolation. I hadn’t grasped the gravity of the pandemic then, so I was grateful for the sudden reprieve from the real world. ...
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March 31, 2020Poets in Profile: Beatriz Hausner Talks Rimbaud, Growing Up with Poetry, and Canada's Need for International Literature
Toronto-based poet Beatriz Hausner's forthcoming new collection, Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (available April 16 through Book*hug) is an examination of humanity's long-standing love affair with, ...
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April 16, 2020Poets in Profile: Conyer Clayton on John Berryman, Seeing the Big Picture, and Finding Acceptance
Originally from Kentucky, poet, multi-disciplinary artist, and gymnastics coach Conyer Clayton is a freshly-minted Canadian citizen who now calls Ottawa home. Her debut full-length collection, We Shed ...
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July 22, 2020Poets in Profile: Elana Wolff on Alice Oswald, Perfect Couplets, and Glorious Misunderstandings
Toronto-based poet Elana Wolff should be no stranger to the Canadian poetry community. Her previous five books of poetry, all published through Toronto-via-Montreal mainstay Guernica Editions, have garnered ...
