Search
-
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 ...
-
February 18, 2021Fired Up About Consent Author Sarah Ratchford on the Books That Brought Them Tears, Lessons, & Laughter
The rallying cry often heard in conversations about consent is the simple truth: consent isn't just sexy—it's mandatory.And it's a topic that we're finally discussing with young people, with the hope ...
-
December 17, 2025Read an Excerpt from HIDE AND SIKH, the New Memoir from Sunny Dhillon
After leaving his job at The Globe and Mail in 2018, Sunny Dhillon published a blog post explaining his decision. It struck a nerve, circulating widely and inspiring conversation about race, belonging, ...
-
October 03, 2017The Writer in the World: Introduction
The reader became the book; and summer night was like the conscious being of the book— Wallace StevensI became a book a long time ago. Or perhaps I am possessed by the memory of the experience of ...
-
May 14, 2009
Should Professors of Poetry at Oxford Be Without Sin?
A friend of mine, a Jamaican man, told me many years ago that he disliked going to bars in England, where he’d been a student. Why? Because if a man put his hand up under a woman’s skirt, he was likely ...
-
November 30, 2021Daniel Scott Tysdal Examines the Darkness, Strangeness, & Flickering Hope of Life in the 21st Century in His Spectacular Debut Story Collection
Daniel Scott Tysdal is a beloved creative writing professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a decorated poet. And of course, Tysdal is also an Open Book columnist and the subject of one ...
-
March 11, 2019Writing and illustrating children’s books: All the surprises
The process of writing, illustrating and publishing a children’s book can be filled with surprises—good and bad! For example, I’m always surprised by how much my heart explodes when a friend sends ...
-
October 22, 2016
Beautiful Chapbooks
Chapbooks are versatile. They can take a multitude of forms and serve a multitude of functions. It’s generally a lengthy process for a regular book to make its way into print, but a chapbook can enter ...
-
February 02, 2021Michael Grant on His (Naked) New Play & Creating a Fictional Small Town Across His Works
Norm and Ruth were just trying to get their marriage back on track. A simple idea: to head back to a place they knew they'd been happy and see if they can re-capture the spark there. But the struggling ...
-
February 10, 2022Excerpt Month: Witty, Tough, Flirty, and Wise - Don't Miss a Glimpse of Leon Rooke's Rank Songbirds
As we continue with our February spotlight on excerpts, we would be remiss if we forgot our poetry lovers. Today's excerpt, from CanLit icon Leon Rooke's Rank Songbirds (Porcupine's Quill), will give ...