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July 10, 2018
Did You Really Go Through All That?
I stole the title of this post from a scene late in the film Sideways, but I could’ve taken a similar line from nearly anywhere—for instance, the second of Orhan Pamuk’s Norton Lectures (collected ...
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June 30, 2020Alex Pugsley Gets to the Heart of Halifax in His Debut Novel
In certain stories, the setting itself becomes a character, containing all the rich history and moody dynamics of the people who occupy it. Such is the case with Alex Pugsley's debut novel Aubrey McKee ...
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April 08, 2014
Touch of Class
The other day, I agreed to read one of my own poems at a sixtieth wedding anniversary. There were fewer trees on the main street of the small town just north of Toronto than the last time I’d been there, ...
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March 14, 2017The WAR Series: Writers as Readers, with Christina DeRoche
Christina DeRoche and Ellie D. Berger are the editors of The Parent Track: Timing, Balance, and Choice in Academia (Wilfrid Laurier University Press), which examines the intersection between parenthood ...
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April 28, 2020Literature in Isolation
“When this is over, remember how important books and movies and television and music and public radio were to your experience and your ability to get through a really hard time.”—Elisabeth de Mariaffi In ...
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April 23, 2014
More Revision
A friend confesses that he could spend the rest of his life revising a handful of the same poems. One change leads to another. It’s like a glassblower unsure whether to make a swan or a squirrel, the ...
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November 04, 2017Next up, erotic noir
This evening we'll be talking about erotic noir, and I'll be interviewing Stacey Madden, author of Touching Strangers published by Now or Never Publishing Company. You may wonder, what's Listerine got ...
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May 11, 2017
The Poet Series
“I don’t like bad dialogue.” “What kind of dialogue?” “Shit that sounds like no one would actually say it.” “Like what?” “Like expository dialogue, ...
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October 08, 2014Shifting Gears
Dear Open Bookers,It’s a pleasure to be this month’s Writer-in-Residence. I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with you over the coming weeks!Monday morning, I arrived at the Banff Centre ...
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May 27, 2016The In Character Interview with Susan Perly
In Susan Perly's Death Valley (Wolsak and Wynn), war photographer Vivienne Pink is tasked with taking pictures of servicemen about to head into active combat. While the men contemplate their uncertain ...