Spring is sprung, the grass is riz.
Anonymous
I wonder where the birdies is.
They say the birdies on the wing, but that’s absurd.
I always thought the wing was on the bird.
April is Poetry Month. When this anonymous ditty shows up in my brain, it is always in my mother’s voice, laden with her Scottish accent. I don’t remember her ever reciting the 3rd and 4th lines.
And along the lines of persistent mothers, Scottish or otherwise, I invite you to listen to Douglas Stuart (author of Shuggie Bain) reading his short story, “A Private View” in the April 20th, New Yorker—which breaks me even further, because of the Scottish voice and sprinking of particular expressions my mother used. “Would it kill you to …” or “A penny for your thoughts,” or “it’s high time you …” Not for the faint of heart.
Watermarked
This month’s installment is “The Tree,” a story inspired by a Zoom free-writing circle. I can’t remember the prompt, but I got stuck on this image of a young girl, stuck in a tree and needing help she didn’t want to ask for—the value of free-writing. Danny Ramadan, the 2022 Haig-Brown Writer-in-Residence, gave me some tips. Several revisions later, here it is, installment four of my short story collection. It is one of my favourite ones. I hope you enjoy it.
Words on the Water
I had a terrific time at Words on the Water. Terrific venue at the Campbell River Maritime Heritage Centre. Maria Reva, a Canadian Ukrainian, shared how Ed Young’s 2019 piece, “The Last of Its Kind,” inspired her Booker-nominated, Endling—just got it from the library. You may know Ed as a prize-winning scientific writer for the Atlantic who has written many outstanding COVID pieces. In addition to hearing the amazing Michel Crummey and Vincent Lang, I met a few new-to-me authors.
Conor Kerr is a Canadian poet and author of Ukrainian-Métis heritage who claims he had to become a “fancy university boy” because he was too klutzy to work in the trades. (Frank feedback from his friends—don’t we love our friends who are willing to give frank feedback?) His Giller-nominated book, Prairie Edge, asks what would happen if, in the spirit of reconciliation and land reform, bison were reintroduced to the Edmonton river valley. It’s funny and sad and absurd. An eye-opener to existing under the pall of cultural prejudice. His latest book, a poetic novella, is Beaver Hills Forever and is on my to-read list.
“You could hear a pin drop” moment came when Tracey Lindberg, a Cree lawyer and author, read “A Hex for Colten”, a chapter from the POV of the boy, Promise and the confrontation with the NotAWarriors and Newest Tribe from her book, The Cree Word for Love, Sâkihitowin, illustrated by works from George Littlechild. Shame, remorse, and anger swirled in the silence of the wood-beamed hall. But Tracey has training in stand-up comedy. We were brought together again by her humility and grace–a lesson in seeing all people as part of humanity in all situations.
What am I reading?
I’ll be dipping into Endling by Maria Reva and Birdie, the book Tracey wrote before The Cree Word for Love, Sâkihitowin. What are you reading?
I’ll see you in May when I’ll have some stories about my first swim meet. Or, I might be too traumatized to share!
Thanks again for reading.