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November 27, 2023I think I have a manuscript
This is what I said to myself about four years into publishing my poems in journals, magazines, and through chapbooks. Sifting through folders to put poems into a single Word document, I saw the page ...
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April 10, 2019Ian Thomas Shaw on Drawing on his Work and Travel in the Middle East to Write His Debut Novel
Ian Thomas Shaw's debut novel, Quill of the Dove (Guernica Editions), follows French journalist Marc Taragon, a seasoned pro who has been reporting on and from the Middle East for decades. Just as he ...
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February 20, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (Final)
Part 3: Writing as academic practiceDid I mention these are strictly my opinions?First, I am not saying that English, or English Literature, or Creative Writing degrees are not legitimate degrees. (With ...
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February 18, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (part1)
Whoo! I'm exhausted writing that title. As stated in my first entry this month, all my posts are my opinion and are not necessarily shared by any members or staff of Open Book Toronto. Before we start, ...
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February 19, 2014
If One Can Argue Against Traditional Non-Academic Literary Schools, Then One Can Reason Against a Purely Academic Model (part2)
Part 2: writing as an isolating practiceI have a pen pal relationship with a writer from Connecticut. This exact subject has come up in our emails. In 2013, BBC had a series of audio documentaries that ...
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November 08, 2017In conversation with Margie Wolfe, publisher of Second Story Press
For almost 30 years, Second Story Press has been at the forefront of publishing books that champion feminism, social justice, and diversity. Orchestrating these efforts is publisher Margie Wolfe, who ...
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September 18, 2025In Defense of Procrastination
The procrastinating author is a time-honoured trope. For me personally, I’m at my most productive with other tasks (vacuuming, crocheting, washing dishes, doing laundry, clearing up clutter) when I ...
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May 07, 2018
In Praise of … Book Reviewing
I still remember where and when I got into the book-reviewing racket. It was the late 1990s in Halifax, about a year after I graduated with my journalism degree from the University of King’s College. ...
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May 14, 2018
In Praise of … Rewriting. No, Actual Rewriting
Everybody says to do it. No matter where my writing life has taken me, the message, the orthodoxy, the shibboleth, has always been the same. Journalism profs have said it. Writing manuals spell it out ...
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June 24, 2024In Praise of Chapbooks
The first time I heard the word “chapbook” as a new poet, I was pretty sure I misheard things. It was a word that everyone working within poetry seemed to know—and because of that, I felt shy asking ...
