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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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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 11, 2014
Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 2)
The internet is awesome. How many arguments have I won simply by using a Google search? Seriously, use the internet properly! Apparently this is a lost art. If you are a more serious writer, or you are ...
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February 06, 2014Profile: Oni the Haitian Sensatian
With questions about the current place of the African-Canadian/Black writer, I reached out to a number of poets in the community for their expertise. The first -- Oni the Haitian Sensation.Oni the Haitian ...
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October 04, 2016
Reconciling a Double Life: Law and Literature
I’m very happy to be spending the month of October as Writer in Residence at Open Book. I’m also happy that it’s a virtual residency as I was able to skip town on the very first day to attend a ...
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February 13, 2014
Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 4 Final)
Step four: Editing and final draftDo you know the difference between a creative writer and a hobbyist? Editing. Can you handle criticism? Can you give good criticism? Can you critique your own work?So ...
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February 12, 2014
Writer's Block Does Not Exist (Part 3)
Step three: writing your draftsFirst draft (punctuation optional)."Have you ever rolled down your windows to smell the aroma of an organic orange plantation on a summer night? Dreaming the ecstasy of ...
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March 16, 2018
An Interview with Justin Million, host/star of KEYBOARDS!
For the last few years, Peterborough poet Justin Million has been hosting (starring in? living? breathing?) a weird interpretation of the poetry reading called KEYBOARDS! As with any reading, poems are ...
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July 13, 2018
Writing What You "Know"
I’m one of countless writers who found his way thanks to this old standby, and having just published a book of stories set in small Southwestern Ontario towns a lot like the ones where I grew up, it’s ...
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July 30, 2018
The Part of It You Don't See
If you’ve been reading my dispatches over the last month, you might have inferred that making a go of it as a writer is hard. Bending reality, memory, knowledge and experience into believable fiction, ...