Poetry takes the lead...

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This week I had my third meeting with my poetry editor. We have now gone through the entire manuscript. Some poems have been scrapped - others have been polished - others are still undergoing editing. The whole ms is now back in my hands and I have to go through it all section by section: adding, subtracting and basically refining. It's daunting, but I'm finding my way through.

I'm also reading a lot of poetry. Just read Denise Levertov's collection, The Sorrow Dance. I loved it - read it in one sitting. Now I'm reading Lorna Crozier's collection, The Blue Hour of the Day. If you open her book to a random page - you never know what you're going to get. She uses a variety of styles and voices. I stumbled upon her poem entitled, "Why I love Pumpkins." I was curious to see what she could do with pumpkins. As it turns out, she can do a lot with them. It's my new favourite poem.

This weekend I took some time to work on a flash fiction piece for Moosemeat. I err on the side of saying too little in my fiction and people always want to know more. For example, with the story I've just written, I have this woman stalking someone - but I never say why. Maybe that's okay. I did try to include the "why" - but it didn't work - so I'm sticking with the original version.

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently gave a talk at WriteNow@King. Over the next little while, I'll be sharing some of the tips I've come across about writing and publishing.

Here's my first tip: If you're looking for writers' resources check this link out: The Book and Periodical Council (BPC) is the umbrella organization for associations involved in the writing and editing, publishing and manufacturing, distribution, and selling and lending of books and periodicals in Canada. It lists awards, festivals and much more. I can search forever on the net and not find the information that's all listed on this site.

Happy Mother's Day!


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