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April 03, 2014
Voice
Maureen McLane’s book, “My Poets,” goes beyond poetics and criticism into a kind of channeling of the poets themselves: her versions of their work, her obsessions with their obsessions. She not ...
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October 11, 2023Vulnerability is a Writing Tool
My most reflexive apology is, “I went to theatre school.” Usually delivered with a shrug or a knowing smirk as if to say I can’t help it, it gets a laugh from the creative set about 82 percent of ...
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February 03, 2023Warm Up with a Glimpse into Marie-Andree Gill's Heating the Outdoors, a Collection of Heart-Piercing Micropoems
One of Quebec's most celebrated poets, Marie-Andrée Gill is a member of the Ilnu Nation who engages with the oral storytelling tradition in her award-winning French language work. Also an acclaimed Radio-Canada ...
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March 25, 2023Was It Worth It?
Was it worth it? I get asked this a lot.I think they are asking if putting in all the time, effort and emotional labour to write a vulnerable and raw memoir about trauma, is worth it. Like, if I say yes, ...
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May 07, 2020
Watching a Storm.
There was one anecdote that for some reason didn't evolve into a story in my collection Coconut Dreams. My young sibling characters, Ally and Aiden, are in the garage of their quiet suburban townhome. ...
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February 07, 2018Watercolour Illustrator Qin Leng Shares her Dreamy and Inspiring Workspace
Yesterday we introduced you to Jessica Scott Kerrin, author of The Better Tree Fort (Groundwood Books). Today, we are thrilled to welcome Qin Leng to Open Book, whose beautiful watercolour illustrations ...
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October 25, 2021WE MOVE
While doing life, Nigerians use the slang “we move” to capture the dogged determination needed to plow through difficult situations. It’s a clarion call for better.Over the years, I have come across ...
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October 31, 2018
We've always been here
My time here is drawing to a close and I’d like to express great thanks to the Open Book team for inviting me to this space for the past month. It’s been a real pleasure and an immense honour to have ...
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May 29, 2022
Weird is the New Normal
“People are strange,” Jim Morrison of The Doors famously sang, “when you’re a stranger.” He would know. This is the man who, despite his reputation for wild antics on stage, sang some of his ...
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November 01, 2017
Welcome to 16 Shades of Noir!
Hello Toronto Open Book readers! I am extremely honoured and delighted to be your writer-in-residence for the month of November. During this time, I, accompanied by a hugely talented (and widely varied) ...
