How could it have been a year already? The Best Place on Earth is one year old today! I remember that this day last year was just as gloomy and miserable as today is. I remember feeling anxious and a little bit crazy and not as joyous as I had wanted to feel (that elated feeling came the following day, at my launch, which was hands down the best party I ever had) I remember that that morning I struggled to zip up my parka, which was starting to feel pretty tight on my hugely pregnant belly. I also remember…
Browsing CategoryMy father
Why I Choose to Only Read Books by Writers of Colour in 2014
When I came across, “Why I Only Read Books by Women in 2013,” by Lilit Marcus, I wished that I’d thought of it. The meme of listing ten books that made the most impact on us had just gone viral on Facebook and I was saddened by the number of lists dominated by white, male writers. When I wrote my own list on FB, I listed only books by women. Not because I wasn’t influenced by male writers. I was. Hugely. Chekov, and Garcia and Nabokov all blew my mind when I was growing up. But because everyone already listed…
Unravel the Tangle
My piece, “Unravel the Tangle,” which I wrote about my father and his poetry, was published in Room Magazine this month. After the essay about my mom (“Yemeni Soup and Other Recipes,” published in Grain) garnered so much attention last month, I was pleased to see the tribute to my father finally in print. I had wanted to write about my father for years, but wasn’t sure how. It felt too big, too raw, too difficult, even thirty years after his death. The title of the piece, Unravel the Tangle, is a line from one of my father’s poems. My…
CBC The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers
I am so excited to be on this week’s Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers on CBC. I recorded the short segment the morning after my launch, which meant that I could hardly sleep that night. Not only was I still buzzing from the amazing evening, I also had a case of ESL anxiety, which comes over me sometimes when I need to answer questions on the spot. I worry that my grammar will fail me, my vocabulary will abandon me, I’ll forget how to speak English and end up sounding inarticulate in a distinctly non-writerly way. Of course, as often…
Reading at Draft on Sunday, April 22nd
On Sunday, April 22nd I’ll be participating in the Draft Reading Series. It’s an afternoon event, starting at 2:00 PM (and I’m reading first!) at the S. Walter Stewart Branch of Toronto Public Library (170 Memorial Park Ave.1 block north of Mortimer Ave, 2 blocks west of Coxwell). I’ll be reading with my lovely and talented friend Eufemia Fantetti (who recently won second place in Accenti Magazine writing contest!), as well as Susan Glickman, Amy Lavender Harris, and Lola Lemire Tostevin. April 22nd also happens to be the anniversary of my father’s death, and I can’t think of a better thing to do on that day.…
I Got Myself a Book Deal!
Holy shit! I got myself a book deal! My book of short stories, The Best Place on Earth, will be coming out with HarperCollins in 2013. I have a contract signed, an editor assigned, and a cheque with my name on it. It’s for real. People ask me how it felt, getting that email inviting me to the HarperCollins offices for a ‘chat.’ Did I scream? they ask. I totally screamed. I also cried a little bit. I played Matisyahu in my office really loudly and did a silly dance. I called my mom, my mentor in Toronto (Camilla Gibb), my mentor…