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September 08, 2014
On the Handmade (Part 2): Q&A with Christine Mcnair
(Part 2 of 3. I'm reposting the introductory text from Post 1 to set up the context for Christine McNair's response.)It’s been said that the hand-written letter is becoming lost to us, or that for many ...
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March 05, 2020
On Illness
When I was eleven, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine. It was my ballet teacher who first noticed that something was amiss; I could see it in the curiosity and concern that splashed ...
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March 27, 2020
On Emergency Landings
A few years ago, I boarded a crowded plane to Asia. As I reached my aisle seat, I was dismayed to notice that the guy next to me had his arm all over our shared armrest, spilling over to my side. He was ...
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July 15, 2015
Q&A with Paul Vermeersch
Paul Vermeersch is the author of five collections of poetry, most recently Don’t Let It End Like This Them I Said Something (ECW Press, 2014). He is also a visual artist and the Senior Editor at Wolsak ...
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June 30, 2015
Lollipops (Take 2)
Keep going, the poster read. Your legs will forgive you…eventually.On Sunday, I ran my first half-marathon. It might not seem like a big deal, but there were hills and it was hot. So hot in fact that ...
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June 07, 2015
Chopsticks
Last summer, I made chilled noodle soup.Why? I was writing a short story that took place in North Korea, and I was stuck. The plot, for some reason, had twisted into a Gordian knot (if you know what I’m ...
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September 08, 2014
On the Handmade (Part 1): Qs and a Response by Phil Hall
It’s been said that the hand-written letter is becoming lost to us, or that for many of us, it has already disappeared. I’ve heard too that longhand itself is no longer being taught in our schools. ...
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April 22, 2016
“I Imagine the Mind Like a Cleared Field,” an Interview with Chad Campbell
Chad Campbell’s Laws & Locks is an ambitious debut collection of poetry that is part family history and part memoir. Charting the Campbell family's emigration to Canada in 1827 and shifting to the ...
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October 14, 2015
Should You Hire a Book Publicist?
In my last post, I wrote about some of the questions authors might want to get clear on when it comes to publicising their books, especially when it comes to understand a publisher’s commitment to promoting ...
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September 20, 2019
Humour and Coping
We’re living in a discombobulating era to put it mildly. Recently my son sent me a text that read, we didn’t eat the rich soon enough. My children regularly make flip comments about the end of the ...