April is the Cruelest Month
Angel, Passy Cemetery (photo by Ron Davis) April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. T.S. Eliott – The Wasteland Eliott was right, at least as far as my family is concerned. On Easter Sunday, April 6, 1996, my brother…
Read MoreAdjusting to the new – scroll vs codex
Now that the Kindle has finally been released in Canada, people there are chewing over what it might mean to them, and to publishing. Ian Brown is not convinced it’s a good thing and says so in the Globe and Mail. Others are excited about the new technology, in the way many people are with…
Read MoreA Simple Life….Beloved
Photo by Ron Davis – Newfoundland A couple of nights ago I watched the tail end of a television show about a serial killer. In this episode the serial killer in question was a goth rock star who had lost himself in his stage persona. At the end of the show a woman’s voice-over quotes…
Read MoreWhen you want to give up
There comes a time when every writer wants to give up, to crumple those pages into tight little balls and toss ’em in the basket, or better yet — burn ’em. In fact, when I’m teaching I often tell students this in the first class, so they won’t be blindsided when it happens to them.…
Read MoreFrom this broken hill…
I recently heard of an internationally acclaimed author whose work I admire IMMENSELY, having his newly finished novel turned down. (And no, I’m not going to name names.) I don’t know why the book was turned down, although I can’t imagine it was because it wasn’t well written. This man is simply incapable of writing…
Read MoreChaos vs Stillness – Writers' Habits
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said “One must have chaos in oneself in order to give birth to a dancing star.” Well, that‘s a poetic and hopeful concept for those of us who come from chaotic backgrounds. However, I’m not convinced that the life of such a tumult-born star can be sustained and nurtured in the…
Read MoreThe God of Small Things
“Four basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.” – William Zinsser A friend of mine is taking a writing class with William Zinsser, author of On Writing Well. I was surprised when she told me several of her classmates quit the class when Zinsser gently insisted on talking about the process of writing,…
Read MoreWe don't do that here
Last week I was down in Trenton with an organization called People & Stories, a reading and discussion program that (according to their mission statement) “creates unique access to literature. Adults and young adults who have had limited opportunities to experience the power of literature work in small groups led by a trained coordinator. Participants…
Read MoreToday the trees are coming down
The old silver maple God is the experience of looking at a tree and saying, “Ah!”- Joseph Campbell This morning I woke early, made a cup of strong, fortifying coffee, and went outside to say goodbye to some friends. In about an hour a troop of men with chain saws will come and cut down…
Read MoreYou're wrong! I'm right!
I will not stand and fight all night. I will not shout, YOU’RE WRONG, I’M RIGHT! A few years ago, my Best Beloved and I had an argument. It was a real corker, a rip snorter. Tears were shed and doors were slammed and some very unhappy things were said. My Best Beloved had, some…
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