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June 12, 2020
Why are Canadian kids’ books so darn good? (And they are!)
We Canadians are pretty good at downplaying our accomplishments. “Cutting down the tall poppies” and “familiarity breeds contempt” should perhaps be emblazoned on our coins and flag.So it may ...
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February 10, 2021Treaty Words Author Aimée Craft on Why She Wants Her Young Readers to Know They are "Part of Something Bigger Than Them"
At the heart of Anishinaabe/Métis lawyer Aimée Craft's wise and engaging Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow (Annick Press, illustrated by Luke Swinson) is a question: Just what is a treaty? ...
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February 04, 2021A.G. Pasquella Shows Readers the City's Dark Side in His Compulsively Readable Toronto Crime Novels
Toronto's dark side takes centre stage in A.G. Pasquella's Jack Palace series. Season of Smoke (Dundurn Press), the newest instalment in the series, sees Jack backed into a terrible corner when his past ...
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March 18, 2021The Chaos of Creation and Why I Chase the Rupture Point
When I write, it feels like I am on the inside of a spinning wheel that never stops. The wheel lets itself loose from the chassis and throws itself, willingly, down the hillside. The after effects of ...
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April 10, 2021Raise your shields: performance boundaries for poets
Thanks so much to everyone who reached out to say that Thursday’s post resonated with you. Today we’re building on our poet boundaries by extending them from the Internet to the stage—before, during, ...
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May 04, 2021Governor General's Literary Award Shortlists Announced, Including Another Nomination for The Dyzgraphxst by Canisia Lubrin
This morning, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the Governor General's Literary Award shortlists. It's an exciting set of lists, with strong representation for independent publishers, including ...
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June 10, 2021GG Winning Poet Arleen Paré's New Collection Examines the Impact and Legacy of Early Friendships
Arleen Paré's First (Brick Books) appropriately takes us back to the beginning: both the beginning of identity and connection in the search for a friend from long ago (the first one she ever made), and ...
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October 15, 2021MUSE ON THE LAM
Today’s post is about what to do when your muse goes AWOL. When your muse is a contrarian like mine is, getting them to show up for work often requires lengthy debates. Who has that extra time?The ...
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October 21, 2021Read the Late, Great Don Domanski's Poem "Homeworld" from His Final, Posthumous Collection
Governor General's Literary Award winning poet Don Domanski, who passed away in 2020, is remembered for his ability to combine epic themes of environmentalism and metaphysics with his trademark intimate, ...
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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 ...
