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May 20, 2023The Joys and Challenges of Writing for Adults AND for Kids
I’ve had May 2 circled on my calendar for months and months—it marks the pub date of my debut picture book, Dear Street. As the launch approaches, I’ve been thinking about how different the processes ...
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October 27, 2017How My Version of the Canlit Community Sustains Me
Two months ago, one of my best friends was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. She is a mother. She is a prolific, brilliant writer. And she was my very first writer friend.We first met working ...
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November 29, 2017So You Want to Write About Race
Somehow I have become on expert on writing race.This was not something I planned for. When I started publishing, I was writing fiction about Chinese Canadian characters, about families who had been invisible ...
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September 27, 2017How I Learned to Write What Scares Me
Three years ago, I wrote a poem.Back then, a few very big things happened in my life. My marriage died. I found a new publisher. And, perhaps most importantly, I started teaching.For my entire publishing ...
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September 14, 2016Profile on Show and Tell Poetry Series, with a Few Questions
Show and Tell Poetry Series is a new reading series in Peterborough that features local emerging and established poets from Peterborough and beyond, held at Curated in the Charlotte Mews (203 Simcoe ...
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June 30, 2021Brain Fog: An Essay
Brain Fog: An Essay[1]“I am…” I type.But then a thought fords the sentence. My fingers hover above the keyboard, like soldiers awaiting a command. I have… forgotten something. But what?I can ...
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October 17, 2022
My Abuser Died
Trigger Warning – Sexual Violence, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Trauma.I have pondered the title of this thread for weeks now, wondering if I should lead with a softer opening. Something like, ‘the ...
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September 14, 2020Short is Beautiful
Don’t get me wrong, I like to lose myself in a big, fat novel. My first and still-favourite author is Charles Dickens. Not long ago I managed to get through Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and a couple ...
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March 04, 2018
Oh, the horror!
Here's some self-gossip for you: A few years ago, in the months leading up to the release date of my book, I was pleased to take part in Naked Heart, Toronto’s LGBTQ literary festival, and to read as ...
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November 22, 2018Getting to Know Acclaimed Poet & Novelist Katherena Vermette, Author of the New Collection river woman
A new book from Métis poet and novelist Katherena Vermette is a big event – both her poetry and her prose have resonated deeply with readers and critics alike (earning her numerous honours including ...