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February 21, 2017A few minutes with ... Adebe DeRango-Adem
Throughout my month here at open-book.ca I've been sharing my conversations with various members of the literary community. Our last conversation is with noted poet, Adebe DeRango-Adem. To learn more ...
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June 03, 2015And Then They Were upon Her...
If you’ve never heard of Shirley Jackson or read her sensational short story "The Lottery," you should stop doing whatever you’re doing and read it at once.When “The Lottery” was published on ...
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June 27, 2018
Mentors & Allies 5: David Chariandy
When I think about writers whose words have influenced me, those powerful words are usually nothing more than a short line, phrase or fragment that embeds itself in my mind. Writers who have lodged their ...
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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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April 18, 2023Writing the same poem as everyone else, over and over
If you’re in Southern Ontario you might have spent last week soaking in the sun, switching from sweatpants to shorts, and strolling along a river, lake, stream, etc. I walked along my usual path around ...
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April 20, 2016“I am Not Not Romantic,” an Interview with Andy McGuire
In a 2011 interview with Guernica Magazine, poet Timothy Donnelly, in response to a question about the influences he had just named (Keats and Shelley) and whether he considered his work in the tradition ...
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June 30, 2016The Many Colours of Kamal Al-Solaylee
Kamal Al-Solaylee wrote an amazing book called Brown. It's essential reading and its subtitle, What Being Brown in the World Today Means (to Everyone), says why you need to read it much more concisely ...
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May 10, 2023
Class, History, Fiction, and Form Part 4: I Scream of Benigni
I feel a mounting sense of anxiety that I still haven’t said everything I said I would. I have called my shot and then proceeded to chuck basketballs, tennis balls, darts, arrows, and various other ...
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June 26, 2018
Mentors & Allies 4: Hazel Millar
I cannot tell you how many times I have emailed Hazel Millar at Book*hug. Whether it was a question about my contract, a reminder about an event, festival, or reading, or just me blathering on about something, ...
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May 01, 2023Class, History, Fiction, and Form Part 1
It’s Monday, May 1st. If you’re reading this in Canada or the United States, you are most likely working today. I know I am. At this very moment I am probably guiding a group of adult learners through ...