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March 31, 2023April Writer in Residence Manahil Bandukwala Explores the Woman Behind the Taj Mahal in Her Masterful Debut Poetry Collection
One of the most iconic landmarks in world history, the spectacular Taj Mahal, was famously built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife. A romantic story; a favourite tourist ...
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April 01, 2024Jody Chan's New Poetry Collection Challenges Systemic Failings in Community Care
Writer and therapist Jody Chan has had plenty of experience with systems of mental health treatment in Canada, and the ongoing shortcomings in care for citizens who are ill and look to these entities ...
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April 04, 2024Ellen Chang-Richardson Confronts the Past and Perseveres in Their Debut Poetry Collection
While an author may carry scars from the past, and from wrongs done to their family and ancestors, they are not always visible or clear. Sometimes, they even become so familiar that the author finds them ...
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September 19, 2024Readers Will Be Enrapt by the Siren Songs in Victoria Mbabazi's Powerful Debut Poetry Collection
With two notable and very promising chapbooks already published, Victoria Mbabazi's debut poetry collection has been eagerly anticipated. And now, with the publication of The Siren in the Twelfth House (Palimpsest ...
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March 01, 2020
Blogpost #8: TRENDING CURRENTLY: Top 8 Diverse Middle Grade and Young Adult Themes I’ve Observed
Dear Reader:This is my final post as the February 2020 Open Book Writer In Residence. (And, did you catch that this is the 8th blogpost and I am listing 8 middle grade and young adult themes? Didn’t ...
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November 09, 2015At the End of the "DEBRIS" Tour - Notes on My First Rodeo
It has been a few days since my last WIR post, but I promise that this is not because I was just playing video games and drinking beer in my Annex hobbit hole. In fact, I’ve been away at the Wild Writers ...
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June 05, 2023"Tender and Smart, Sometimes Savage Poetry" A Conversation with the 2023 Griffin Poetry Prize Finalists
This week, on June 7, poetry lovers and publishers will be gathered, waiting to hear one of the biggest announcements of their year: that evening, the winner of the $130,000 Griffin Poetry Prize will ...
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November 27, 2015On "Fiction" - Writing from Real Life
Over the past while I’ve noticed a number of situations where an author is asked about the autobiographical or non-fiction elements in their books. It has always been something that people are interested ...
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February 16, 2020
Blogpost #4: START TO FINISH, The Story Behind the Story 2- A Likkle Miss Lou
In this second instalment of my START TO FINISH, The Story Behind the Story series, I focus on my latest picture book A Likkle Miss Lou: How Jamaican Poet Louise Bennett Coverley Found ...
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May 25, 2017Talking about Poetry with the 2017 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award Nominees
The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers (administered by the Writers' Trust of Canada) has an all-star list of past winners and nominees, including names like Madeleine Thien, Jeramy Dodds, ...