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October 29, 2016
L.M. Montgomery, Ontario, and Poetry
Today I gave a reading from How to Draw a Rhinoceros from the pulpit of the Historic Leaskdale Church, a somewhat unlikely location for my first public reading from this book. The occasion was LMM Day, ...
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August 11, 2022
"Never Patronize or Hide Things" Nancy Vo Shares Her Philosophy of Writing for Kids & Her New Picture Book, Boobies
Why are we still so uptight about boobs? Long after Canadian women won the right by precedent (if not technically by law) to be topless in public anywhere men can be, we've still got debates raging about ...
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August 03, 2021
"Be Patient...and Develop a Thick Skin" Deborah Kerbel on Literary Events, Breaking into Picture Books, & Cover Reveals
In 1923, 32-year old Frederick Banting received the Nobel Prize for Medicine, remaining to this day the youngest Nobel laureate in his category. His contribution, now one of the most well-known medical ...
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October 13, 2022
The Legend of Howard Stroud
Sometimes when I’m feeling sad or needing inspiration I think of Howard. I met Howard in 2016 when I travelled out west to research the family homestead and to walk the same land my mother did as ...
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June 29, 2020
If You Care About Education, You Need to Care About Copyright
Unless you’re a writer, you probably don’t think much about copyright law. But if you are a parent, or care at all about education, copyright needs to be on the top of your mind.A quick overview:Authors ...
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March 17, 2023
An Unconventional Interview: The Paintings of Jeffery Donaldson's Ode to Art Galleries, Momento, Speak Out
A plain white room with some squares hanging on the walls fills with people, many of whom stay and stare. Maybe some are even weeping, or laughing, or huddled in deep discussion about what they see. An ...
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October 27, 2022
On Being Creative
It’s my belief we are all born creatives. As soon as I remember being a child, I felt strong stirrings of creativity. It was constant. I was always colouring and drawing, exploring the many uses of ...
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October 26, 2016
Favourite Literary Podcasts
I spent much of the day preparing to record a podcast, the third episode of On the Line: Conversations About Poetry (http://www.therustytoque.com/on-the-line). It’s a podcast designed to operate like ...
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October 29, 2019
"When You Start Really Going with Writing, it Feels like Flying" Jess Taylor on the Freedom & Healing of Short Fiction
Jess Taylor's 2015 collection Pauls announced her as an innovative, creative, and fearless voice in Canadian short fiction. This fall she returns with a new book of stories, the memorably named Just ...
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September 01, 2020
When Your Father is Your Biggest Fan
I don’t believe that any father was more proud of having a son for a writer than my own dad. Whenever I met somebody who knew him—it might be a waiter in a restaurant—the person would say, “Oh, ...