Search
-
October 28, 2016
Poetic Inspiration IV
This is the fourth in a series of posts highlighting inventive poems that have broadened my sense of what poems can be and do, and sparked me to stretch further in my own work. (The previous instalments ...
-
October 15, 2016
Literary Tourism
Every time I visit London, I stay in a different area. This time, I’m just a few blocks from Chancery Lane, in the heart of Dickens’ London. I suppose all of London is Dickens’ London given the ...
-
October 07, 2016
Ampersands and
The symposium that I’m attending in Glasgow is part of a larger festival that has poetry popping up all over the city in various forms. Last night, I got to see some glorious visual manifestations in ...
-
October 23, 2018
Bad Reviews and Broken Hearts: How to Deal with All the Feelings
First: Spend several years working on you—I mean, a manuscript. Revise each draft based on feedback from your therapist—I mean, editor. Get Tinder—I mean, get publishing deal. Agonize over each ...
-
July 26, 2019
The Truth About the Slush Pile
Sit down and write a manuscript. Craft it for many months—maybe, even years. Print off manuscript at your mom’s house. Carefully wrap it with your hopes and dreams. Place it in an envelope purchased ...
-
October 22, 2023
Writing For Ghouls
It’s spooky season, and here in Atlantic Canada the ambiance is that of a flooded crypt. The smell of wet fallen leaves, rainy days that feel heavy and dark as night, smoke on the air indicating warmth ...
-
May 06, 2016
Comics in Parkdale - the Draw of a Good Comic Book Store
My interest in superhero movies has plunged to zero in the past couple of years, but I’ve found myself steadily reading more comic books. Thinking about this just after the recent Authors for Indies ...
-
October 21, 2016
Adventures in Letterpress
Lately, book news has taken an optimistic turn. It’s been reported that millennials prefer paper to electronic books, and that sales at independent bookstores are steadily rising. Hooray on both counts! ...
-
October 10, 2016
Poetic Inspiration I
Rather than simply providing a list of books that have inspired me, I want to go into a bit of detail on specific poems or series of poems or poetic innovations that have made my synapses crackle, broadened ...
-
October 18, 2023
Eclipsed by the Source
“It’s not all dark.” - Roger Waters, “Eclipse”They say the original is always better. In our era of reboots and revivals, when adaptations or sequels fail to capture the scope of their source ...