21 May 2011
When Raboy passed
the torch to the audience, a young woman went up to the microphone to ask
Vidal, “What is the most important thing in life for you?”
Vidal thought for a moment before saying a single word, “Anaesthetic.”
Anaesthetic there had been and anaesthetic there would be.
18 May 2011
THERE IS NO ROOM
FOR SECOND PLACE.
THERE'S ONLY ONE PLACE,
AND THAT'S FIRST PLACE.
-- Inscription on Davis soccer ball gravestone, Hope Cemetery, Barre VT.
17 May 2011
The artist Ai Weiwei, who has not been seen since he was apprehended by Chinese authorities on April 3, 2011, has been permitted a visit by his wife, the artist Lu Qing.
13 May 2011
I find myself wondering if there might be a storytelling session for children in English one of these days -- an Heure du conte en anglais. All of which is reason to be encouraged by the organization of the Forum itself -- and by the evident care taken to be inclusive.
12 May 2011
In these poems there’s much ado about walking and climbing, using one’s legs in muck and water, and leaving behind one’s footprint in the sand. We can take the walk to mean an entire poetic apprehension of the poet’s experience in the world. Yes, I quite like that.
11 May 2011
Bringing the art world together to condemn Ai Weiwei's disappearance.
10 May 2011
"Written in a gracefully accessible prose and enlivened by a wry wit, unaffectedly modest but confident in tone, alert to resentments and undercurrents, on this subject which she knows so intimately and thoroughly, Leith’s book is a necessary read. Besides, I am indexed. And one feels one has arrived when one has been indexed." -- Kenneth Radu
6 May 2011
For those who cannot be there, and for those who can.
5 May 2011
Weekend Forum on Quebec writing at the Grande Bibliothèque.
4 May 2011
“The world is changing, and we’re trying to change with it.”
4 May 2011
Pitched battles between publishers and librarians are not going to help anyone survive the digital revolution.
21 April 2011
I have to speak for the generations who don’t have any way to speak out. Before they speak out the first sentence, they are crushed. I also have to speak out for the people around me who are afraid… So I want to set an example: You can do it. And this is OK, to speak out. -- Ai Weiwei
19 April 2011
After 60 years of absolute power, the Chinese Communist Party is more fragile than the world thinks – and has trouble dealing with any criticism or challenge, especially from its own people.
18 April 2011
What was it Christ said? Unless you be like little children, you cannot be great poets.
16 April 2011
The real poetry happening on this continent? The playoffs.
16 April 2011
Quebecers are less than excited by le livre numérique.
12 April 2011
"The change from print-books to e-books is happening even faster than Heather predicts." -- Bruce Batchelor
11 April 2011
Looking forward to getting together with the other festival participants: Todd Denault, Sheree Fitch, Paul Kropp, Rabindranath Maharaj, Andrew Potter, Ami Sands Brodoff, Claire Holden Rothman, Alexander MacLeod, Nigel Thomas, Charles H. Mountford and John Whitt.
7 April 2011
Some writers will choose not to self-publish. They may prefer not to spend the time it takes to edit, publish, market and sell their own work. But if they do wish to self-publish, it is now possible to do so without losing face and without losing money. That’s the game changer.
5 April 2011
"We are living through an extraordinarily dynamic period of change from which no one will escape unscathed." -- Mike Shatzkin
3 April 2011
“The First Emperor could never have dreamed that 2200 years later, his terracotta soldiers would travel to almost every corner of the world, while he still rests in his mysterious underground palace.”
