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April 11, 2014
Revision
It’s a risky thing to put a poem out of sight in order to let it germinate or steep, whatever the science of hope might call the process. Some poems only turn up posthumously and are declared masterpieces ...
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October 22, 2018
Uncomfortable Questions
One of the most common questions any writer from a marginalized background gets is “who did you write this for?” A variation of that is “what audience did you have in mind when you wrote this?” ...
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April 10, 2015
Revision and Sedgwick and Surprise
In my head my posts this month were going to unfold more linearly than they seem currently to be doing. I imagined each post, in advance of writing it (and an advance of writing any of the posts) as a ...
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September 27, 2022The Joy of Literary Festivals – And Dreams Coming True
It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of September and that the time I have been privileged to spend with you on this Open Book platform is almost over. Looking back at what I have shared with ...
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September 11, 2019"I Like it When Characters Disobey the Narrative Around Them" Seyward Goodhand on Breaking Rules & Surprising Herself
Seyward Goodhand has been creating fresh, eerie, fascinating short fiction for years (racking up nominations for honours like the Journey Prize, CBC Short Story Prize, and a National Magazine Award in ...
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August 30, 2016Telling a Story That Works: Part Two of Stephen Thomas in Conversation
Yesterday I posted Part One of my interview with Stephen Thomas about his book, The Jokes, out this March with BookThug. The Jokes is technically a book of short stories, but to call it a book of short ...
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October 22, 2021RIDING THE WAVES
Marigold stood, held up her fist and struck a defiant pose as she recited William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus.” Out of the night that covers me,Black as the pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever ...
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November 27, 2024Shenaaz Nanji's Latest Addition to the Alina Series Explores the Beauty in Connecting Different Cultures and Communities
With over a dozen books for children published and admired internationally, Shenaaz Nanji is an author who has found a distinct way to capture the minds of young readers with her imaginative and poignant ...
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February 02, 2024Facing (the Failure of) an Empty Event
There’s a particular kind of feeling to describe preparing and planning for a literary event, only to show up and find the room empty, or nearly empty. You keep looking at the door hoping the passers-by ...
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February 28, 2017The Lucky Seven, with Molly Peacock
Molly Peacock, a Torontonian by way of New York City, is an acclaimed poet and the series editor for The Best Canadian Poetry in English. Her newest collection, The Analyst (Biblioasis), begins with ...
