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April 20, 2015
The Proust Questionnaire, with Carey Toane
Journalist, poet and librarian-in-training Carey Toane is our May 2015 writer-in-residence! She has lived all over the world and returned to Canada shortly before the publication of her first poetry collection ...
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August 26, 2014
The Dirty Dozen, with Sandra Ridley
August 25, 2014 - Poet Sandra Ridley is Open Book: Toronto's September 2014 writer-in-residence. Get to know her by checking out her edition of our Dirty Dozen interview series!Sandra's most recent book ...
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June 10, 2016On Writing, with James Laxer
Three men shaped one of the most influential decades of North American history. John A. Macdonald, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson, each an icon in his own right, all contributed in ways that are ...
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April 30, 2017
Failed Dreams
In my new poetry book Beautiful Children with Pet Foxes, there’s a series of poems called “Dream Specimens,” based on actual dreams that I’ve had over the years. I had some fun with these poems, ...
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July 26, 2019The Truth About the Slush Pile
Sit down and write a manuscript. Craft it for many months—maybe, even years. Print off manuscript at your mom’s house. Carefully wrap it with your hopes and dreams. Place it in an envelope purchased ...
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March 01, 2020On Photography
Writing, for me, often begins with an image. By this, I mean not an imaginary image that appears in the mind’s eye, but rather an actual photograph I stumble across in my daily life. A certain picture ...
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March 12, 2020On Family Secrets
Why does my writing tend to focus on family secrets? In particular, on children trying to unearth secrets tied to their parents’ pasts? I’m often asked these questions during interviews. The first ...
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March 19, 2020On Consolation
1.It’s early February, as I write this in my journal. I’m in Hong Kong at the peak of the coronavirus crisis. At least, it may be the peak. A week ago, I saw in the news alerts on my phone that a ...
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March 23, 2020On Road Maps
Before beginning a project, is it worthwhile to do a detailed outline? Or is it preferable just to dive in? I’ve tried both approaches. In writing my first novel, After the Bloom, I outlined extensively. ...
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October 18, 2023Eclipsed by the Source
“It’s not all dark.” - Roger Waters, “Eclipse”They say the original is always better. In our era of reboots and revivals, when adaptations or sequels fail to capture the scope of their source ...