bull head

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i’m re-reading a collection of shorts BULL HEAD by John Vigna. what a collection. the writer’s unflinching scrutiny of the brutality of small town life in the Crowsnest Pass is something else. beautiful and painful. here’s an excerpt from a story called ‘Gas Bar’: “And then what?” She wipes her eyes and nose on the … Read more

failure

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everything Anne Enright says in this Guardian piece is the fucking best. everything. and i’m printing it off, laminating it, and hanging it on my fridge because it’s fucking true. here’s a section: I have no problem with failure – it is success that makes me sad. Failure is easy. I do it every day, … Read more

the girl with tourette’s

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the girl with Tourette’s is on a roll and can’t stop, pressing her tight lips together. “fuckfuckshitfuck,” she says and apologizes. spitting swear words, sounds, she’s scratching a record uniquely her own. she’s got copropraxic rhythm. marie is her name and she’s small. she moves in short, long, short.  like she’s shoving through a crowd at a … Read more

here i sit with big hands

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here’s an article about Faulkner’s postcards/letters from Europe in the 20s. they’re up for auction. there’s an idea that Faulkner was so influenced by analytic cubist works of Picasso and Braque that his writing is an extension into the literary form. FYI analytic cubism is representing a subject from multiple perspectives simultaneously. this is an … Read more

jasper

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dear imaginary readers of this blog, i am currently in jasper trying to finish this last story.  it’s coming along but i’ll admit i’m feeling a bit desperate. it’s difficult to sleep and the drunks come rolling down Patricia Avenue at 3 a.m. and they’re laughing and shouting and singing.  the other night the neighbours had … Read more

dear alice #9

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dear alice, we held the “what alice munro means to me as a writer” panel at the library and it was terrific. i’m sorry you weren’t there. approx. 30 people showed up and we talked about you, your stories, your example of how to live and write. stylistic differences/likes and dislikes aside, the consensus was … Read more

and this is what writing is all about

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this weekend, i snuck away to Fernie on my own, to write. and it was great. there’s nothing like writing yourself around, into, and through a story. and i had one of those experiences, you know the ones, where you write something and it kinda blows your mind. it’s only a paragraph and i won’t … Read more

drizzle

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drizzle, drazzle, frazzle. PS  thanks to Sarah Johnson for above.