being a woman
the sergeant’s daughter
here’s a piece of creative non-fiction i wrote about (not) belonging. sometimes i wonder if i don’t belong because i’m a woman but that’s a dark thought on this beautiful sunny day. i think it’s the tired talking. here’s the link: http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/09/stories-of-belonging-writing-challenge.html#mid=20589651&offset=41&page=3&s=hits%20DESC,%20id%20ASC
on being a (wo)man
dear imaginary readers of the blog, it’s been a misogynistic couple of weeks. you know, Ursula Le Guin’s essay on being a failed man is thought provoking. as an older woman, she was born just as women were considered persons. she tried to live as a man and now she’s old, and considering living as an old … Read more
a singular woman
Mavis Gallant has died at age 91 in Paris. a short story writer who was born in Canada, she lived her adult life in Paris. she wrote about expats living in Europe and themes of alienation/loneliness emerged. the stories of people living in-between cultures and their often shabby personal lives. i’ve read some of her … Read more
and this is what writing is all about
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
drizzle, drazzle, frazzle. PS thanks to Sarah Johnson for above.
vulnerability
i reworked an old essay of mine titled “MEmory” and shortened it so i could submit to CBC Creative Nonfiction contest. it was difficult to do for a variety of reasons, mostly emotional. it’s an essay about my grief after my Mom died and, in it, i’m as honest as i can be. this kind … Read more
i avoid personal stories
and i don’t know why beyond fear. and conditioning. but every once in a while my stories show up inside my fiction and it’s always a surprise. it happens when i’m in flow. yesterday i wrote about changing my mom’s dressings for the first time, hands shaking. oh, i placed the scene inside a story … Read more