aloha
it’s summer. there’s a cool drink waiting for me on a lanai.
i’m not done, i mean i thought i was done, but no
a rewrite is required of the final story. a big rewrite. it makes sense, all of the critique, it does. and i agree with it. that doesn’t stop me from wanting to lie on the living room floor and stare at the ceiling, oh no. because this fucking story is gripping me by the ankles. … Read more
bull head
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
floods
floods are bastards. #thatisall
failure
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
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
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
fini
i’m done my final story of this ms. PS send gin. PPS send tonic. PPPS limes, too.
jasper
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
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