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February 11, 2022Making a skating rink, and other tricks for stepping away from a work-in-progress
On a particularly cold Friday morning, I piled my kids in a car with snow pants and skates and a pile of books and we headed to a cottage rental. We all were desperate for a change of scenery, and I was ...
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June 04, 2017Finding Your Material -- and This Time, Billie Holiday
The question is, how does a writer recognize what is uniquely her material? Save herself from wrong turns, dead ends, dead writing?The subject has always been central to me—an obsession—and years ...
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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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July 07, 2014Tending Toward Liquid
Habit makes time relative for us. At twenty, the faces surrounding us have no history except in the present of the gaze we turn toward them. So, young adults, old people, and children seem forever framed ...
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May 06, 2019C'mon Baby Girl, Back that Mac Up...
The first time it happened was a regular Saturday morning. I was sitting down to write at my kitchen table in the middle of chaos. The baby had been up three times that night (and would continue this ...
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October 18, 2019Act Now to Keep Seasonal Creativity Disorder at Bay!
It’s not winter yet, but as we head into fall it’s starting to get darker earlier. It’s also getting colder. Maybe some days you’ve even wished you’d worn a light scarf or gloves as you walked ...
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July 23, 2017handwriting
We live in an age where everything is a click. A click here. A click there. A swipe. A scroll. Another click. We live in an age where everything is fast. We have all of the information that we would ...
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February 10, 2017
The absurdity of literary prizes part 2 of 2
“ I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it.”For my most recent book, I had a reviewer who skewered me for quoting Shakespeare, and then citing it in my end notes. Because, everyone who reads ...
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April 04, 2017
A How-To Guide for Your Poetry Reading
There are a lot of poetry readings across Canada in April, National Poetry Month. I myself have a new book out, and therefore have a lot of poetry readings. All of which has gotten me thinking about poetry ...
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May 01, 2024Read an Excerpt from NORMA, the New Novel by Sarah Mintz
After decades of marriage and domestic responsibility, Norma has lost her husband and gained a freedom that she perhaps isn't quite prepared to handle. She goes all the way in, delving into some of the ...
