Category Archives: Writing

Talking at Angles

Many television shows were renowned for their dialogue, and in that way Barney Miller is no different. The show’s portrayal of New York policing, with its kinder and gentler approach to dealing with perpetrators and victims, as well as its … Continue reading

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The Astronomers: Excerpt from A Hairy and Fiery Star

The astronomers, their eyes fixed on the distant stars and their nights sacrificed to the demands of their ethereal trade, were the first to report the comet’s imminent arrival. As if the comet had come from below the plane of … Continue reading

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Found Sentences: Customs and Traditions

I’ve written before about the sentences and sentiments that my students will insert into their papers, and this year’s marking was no exception when it came to complicated nonsense infused with the gift of meaning. While writing about Thomas King’s … Continue reading

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Even the Stars are a Mess

They were years of frustration, endless eons of disappointment spliced with rare bursts of pleasure, like the sudden explosion of a present for his birthday, or the sight of horses hanging their long heads over a fence, all in a … Continue reading

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My Writing in my Writing

Although I never made note of it before, I noticed when I was editing my latest book—The View from Vancouver—that I had slipped in references to my other books. At first I made little of it, and presumed I was … Continue reading

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Nepotism and the Publishing Industry

The writing community industry is small enough in Canada that even someone like me, who is tangentially related to the literary world, can often see names I recognize in literary magazines. I also check which books are published by which … Continue reading

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Teaching Farley Mowat

Farley Mowat occupies a curious position in Canadian letters. He is a kind of Ernest Hemingway of the north, but in the academic world of English study, he is never dressed well enough to be invited to the party. Some … Continue reading

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Writing as a Logical Series of Steps

The inevitability of plot is one of the easiest aspects of writing. As a storyteller you shove a metal key into your characters, wind them up like a toy, and watch them perform series of proscribed motions. Many of the … Continue reading

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From The History of Planeville

For them, Amy was what their grandparents would have called a witch, and they imagined invisible tendrils of control, a delicate understanding of human desire and the torrid expectations of jealousy, a look which could pass information that language could … Continue reading

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Found Sentences: Our Past and Present Future

Usually the student sentences which stand out for me are more than merely comical. I am also less interested in those errors which some see as comic, especially in terms of laughing at the student’s expense. I am much more … Continue reading

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