Happy Publishing Story
A novel that, less than a year ago, was without a Canadian publisher has won the country’s most prestigious literary prize. Esi Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues, about a jazz musician who…
Uplifting
Advance Quotes!
stonishing, shocking, loving…Step into this novel and you will find yourself submerged; wake from it, and you will find yourself transformed. Web of Angels is a rare gift, perfectly named;…
Remembrance Day for Kids
Remembrance Day is a happy day for me because it’s A’s birthday and my life is immeasurably better for being shared with him. It is also our skating & cottage…
Reunion
I spent this weekend with half a dozen families that I know very little and at the same time very well. We meet every year, our bond based on the…
More Inspiration
This falls into the never too late department. Fauja Singh ran his first marathon at age 89. He began running when he was 80 to cope with family losses. His…
Tara Miller: What is Sight?
Jeff and Tara Miller. This photo was taken by Tara Miller (click to enlarge), a professional photographer who works with her husband Jeff, also a photographer. In itself that’s enough–the…
Steve Jobs on Life & Death
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all…
Poet and Mentor
I’ve mentioned Rhea Tregebov here before and am happy to have occasion to do so again. I’ve known Rhea for years, ever since The Writer’s Union of Canada matched us…
The Lizard Cage: A review
Every once in a while, I read a book that I want to tell everyone to read. The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly is one of those novels. These are…
Thoughts on a State Funeral
20 years ago, Jack Layton founded the white ribbon campaign to end violence against women. Now it is a movement across 60 countries. That’s what I learned while watching his…
babushkas: brave, bold singing grannies from the wilds of Russia
In Russian culture, one iconic image is the elderly woman — in Russian, she’s called a “babushka” — sitting on a roadside, selling vegetables from her garden. One group of…