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March 20, 2016
Should I Write a Novel?
I can’t even count the times when folks have asked me what I'm writing about—or more precisely, what novel I'm writing. And when I indicate that I am putting together a poetry collection, suddenly ...
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August 28, 2020
Should Memoir be Considered Non-Fiction?
One of the things that makes this question so interesting is that the answer isn’t as obvious or cut-and-dried as it first appears. It varies from country to country, for one thing, changes from culture ...
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May 14, 2009
Should Professors of Poetry at Oxford Be Without Sin?
A friend of mine, a Jamaican man, told me many years ago that he disliked going to bars in England, where he’d been a student. Why? Because if a man put his hand up under a woman’s skirt, he was likely ...
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October 14, 2015
Should You Hire a Book Publicist?
In my last post, I wrote about some of the questions authors might want to get clear on when it comes to publicising their books, especially when it comes to understand a publisher’s commitment to promoting ...
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February 18, 2023
show and tell – a catalogue of the small animals that live in my house
**This is the result of an exercise I did this week. The exercise was to find objects around the house and write about them. It's a good one for when my brain is moving slow, which it has been. In looking ...
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September 02, 2018
Show Me the (Writing-Grant) Money!
Hello, and Happy September! Thanks to the excellent folks at Open Book for inviting me here, and thanks to you for tuning in, lovely readers-who-I’m-guessing-are-mostly-also-writers.All right, let’s ...
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October 19, 2022
Sid Sharp's Graphic Novel The Wolf Suit is a Gloriously Dark Modern Fairytale about Deceptive Appearances & Community Connection
We've all heard the term "wolf in sheep's clothing", but what about the opposite? Award winning Toronto artist and writer Sid Sharp's funny, deliciously dark, and gently thoughtful graphic novel The ...
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May 31, 2020
Signing off.
Horrific day to be posting this last entry. The violence and harm inflicted on Black people is enraging. Seeing the failure of some to recognize this terror—or worse be complacent and perpetuate it—can ...
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April 14, 2020
Simina Banu Explores Love's Messy Aftermath in Her New Collection
When the acrid smoke of a painful breakup finally clears, what can be salvaged in its wake? It's in this new wasteland of junk food, lies, and other detritus that author Simina Banu's debut full-length ...
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June 30, 2021
Simon Rolston Examines the Complex History and "Fraught Literary Territory" of Prison Life Writing
Prison life writing—personal nonfiction written by imprisoned people—can be considered a unique genre under the larger umbrella of memoir. Complex, politically and emotionally charged, and at times ...