Riot of Blue

I discovered this late breaking riot of blue in the neglected backyard yesterday...followed by thoughts of Joni Mitchell.

White Feather, Blue Skies, Yesterday Morning Revisited

Found this on my front step yesterday morning as I collected the newspaper. Went inside with it and listened to a few versions of Blue Skies while thinking about the symbolism of the white feather, its arrival. Still letting it sink in. Walking with the moment of the arrival of the white feather, humming Blue Skies through the day. Most partial to versions by Ella and by Susie Arioli at the moment.

Shy

A number of years ago I wrote an essay titled, Shy which was published in Prairie Fire. I've thought that at some point I'd like to expand it into a book, but at present that seems a long way and several books off. However - I was delighted to notice (thanks to the magic of the Facebook status line) that this is a subject other people are also interested in. Naomi Lewis tracked down my essay from PF (I apparently neglected to transfer it from my last computer as it died a slow death a year ago) and asked if she could use it for an anthology she's planning. Sounds fascinating!

Here is the call for submissions from her website:


I am compiling essays, stories and poems for a literary anthology about shyness.

I’m amazed by how surprising, even unpredictable, it is who does or does not consider themselves shy. And each person who claims shyness defines it differently. Even psychologists can’t agree on what shyness is; some call it a personality trait, synonymous with introversion, or introversion’s dark side, and some see it as the warning sign of a mental illness. Millions of children and adults are medicated for social anxiety disorder – a disorder that’s only existed since the 1990s. Is shyness a flaw to overcome? Is it a gift? Does it stem from fear, from a preference for solicitude, or, as Freud claimed, from narcissism? Do we embrace it or try to beat it down, and how does it affect the decisions we make, the directions our lives take?

October Events

Even though September is slipping through my fingers, and I'm making wild pacts with myself to say no to everything that crosses my desk for the next several months, I'm looking forward to some lovely events that will take place in October.

The first is the 20th Anniversary show my partner, Robert Lemay, is having at Wallace Galleries in Calgary. Hard to believe he's been showing there for 20 years! The opening is October 3, from 2-5 pm and we'll be there. If you're in Calgary I'd love to see you....

As for me, I'll be giving a brief reading at LitFest this year in Edmonton at the PEN Writers Cabaret, October 15, at 7 pm. Details here. I'm looking forward to reading alongside and hearing Myrna Kostash, Su Croll, John Paul Himka and Tony Cashman.

I'll also be reading in the Canadian Literature Centre's Brown Bag Lunch Series at 12 noon, University of Alberta, Arts and Convocation Hall Building on October 21. I'll be reading a little from each of Calm Things and Red Velvet Forest and a small excerpt from my work in progress.