Marion Agnew

Yes, I'm aware that it's already October--we're not even in the FIRST days of autumn anymore. However, the weather is very summer-like (and too dry!), so summer's experiences have been on my mind. Also, September was a full month. Besides extending the summer "I want to be outdoors" feeling as long as possible, I had a couple of events. Early-ish in the month, I shared a book signing with David Giuliano, Marathon-based author of The Undertaking of Billy Buffone (Latitude 46), at Indigo Thunder Bay. It was fun to see friends and spend time in the local branch of the national chain.  I'm on the left Later, I hosted a stop on the Northern Tour for Rod Carley's new novel, Ruff , also from Latitude 46. We had a great chat at the library about all things creativity, Shakespeare, midlife crises, plagues/pandemics, and everything old being new again.  Rod signing copies of Ruff Between and among those events and the regular Activities of Daily Living, I'v...

"Things" doesn't mean just physical things, right? Right. A representation of a physical thing: more light, as seen through a window in our walk-out basement. 1. Gratitude for all the light. Yes, Daylight Saving Time inspires a lot of feelings in a lot of people. And DST isn't necessary for experiencing more light, because the sun in relation to Earth is doing that all by itself. Regardless, it's lovely to have lighter evenings, besides having more light in general. I've even taken down the artificial lights we put up around the time of the DST change in autumn. It's officially Spring! (Don't look out the window--we're getting more than a foot of precipitation today.) 2. An extra dose of smugness. All our tax preparation documents are with the accountant. I like to get them done and off my desk so that I can be ready for whatever the email brings during these longer days. It feels like a Big Deal, likely a Bigger Deal than it needs to. Regardless, ...

It’s tax season, which means piles of paper with numbers on them, on various horizontal surfaces. One measure of abundance and joy And January is also a time for end-of-year reflection and beginning-of-the-year inspiration energy.  "It's February," you say, and I say, "Okay, yes, I see what you mean." January's possibilities might have evaporated by now, this February. But have others appeared? Also: as I am trying to remember, what even is pandemic time? Regardless, the juxtaposition of the two energies (numbers and inspiration) is weird—helpful in some ways, not so much in others. Here’s the thing about numbers: they measure some things really well. Money coming in and going out, for example. The number of words written, the number of pitches/pieces/novels/poems/whatever you wrote. But they don’t measure everything.  We all know about smart goals: specific/measurable, or is it meaningful?/attainable/r-something/t-something. (I "did my own research,...

Good morning! Look at this:  Pretty, huh. Yesterday, I participated (online) in a workshop from the North American Association for Environmental Education , entitled "Nature as Inspiration and Transformation: An Intro to Nature Poetry." I got to spend an hour with Aimee Nezhukamatathil, author of World of Wonders , to be published by Milkweed (one of my favourite publishers) in August. Here's more: Interesting, though possibly less "traditionally pretty." The workshop, though: it was wonderful! Especially because I'm generally intimidated by poetry, both reading it and writing it. And I have an appreciation of others' scientific expertise, which I emphatically do NOT have. And yesterday, I was reminded that all writing starts somewhere, and a sense of wonder--both in the sense of "awe" and in the sense of "curiosity"--is a great starting point. Also: the power of starting small. Of keeping journals wher...

All Lit Up, a resource all about Canadian publishing, has a Writer's Block column, and a week ago, I was the featured author! Go here to read about REVERBERATIONS, my office, my rituals and routines, and my lifelong quest. (Hint: it relates to notebooks.) My advice for dealing with writer's block While you're there, check out all the other treasures of All Lit Up , which serves as a hub for readers interested in Canadian writers, a bookstore for those who don't have one in their own town, and a community for those interested in Canadian writers. Many thanks to Signature Editions, a Canadian publisher who makes things happen for their authors. I'll just be over here preparing for the Centre for Health Care Ethics panel presentation this evening , which I'm so looking forward to!

So last night, I participated in a special signing and fundraising event at the Thunder Bay Chapters location. For every copy of my book that I signed, I gave an amount to the Thunder Bay chapter of the Alzheimer Society . For the purchases everyone made between 6 and 8 PM, the local store gave 15% to the local Alzheimer Society (at no extra cost to the consumer). It was fun! I signed some books! And I bought some things! And other people did, too! And we all raised some money for people in Thunder Bay who need support. Here's what it looked like from my side of the table. People came with stories, and I was extremely glad to have the Alzheimer Society present with lots of information about programs, communication, and even just lots of basics. I'm still processing other elements of the event. So more later. But yep, it felt pretty authory to be there and sign my name!

My author copies have arrived! Surely it will appear in stores soon. When it does, I'll share that information here and through other social media. I'm feeling lots of feels, as apparently one does when one's book appears in the world. Gratitude, mostly--for all the support along the way. Not only from friends, writer colleagues, and other individuals. Also, support from public funding through the Ontario Arts Council , and from the private company, Signature Editions , that is my publisher.* I'm also feeling hope. Hope that perhaps somewhere another daughter who wrestles with guilt and fear might find she's not alone, and that life after the most difficult transitions can bring gifts. * Just pointing out that Signature is also supported with public funding, as are all private companies that take advantages of "incentives" and "rebates" or information provided by governments, or perhaps use roads and public utilities, or whose owners e...

Issue #146 of The New Quarterly is now available in print in bookstores and by order from their website.  Because "Atomic Tangerine" appears in that issue, my "writing space" post also appears on their blog this month. You can see it--an example of judicious photo cropping-- at this link . They make selections of their current issue available for free to non-subscribers for brief periods online; you can read all the back issues by subscribing to their newsletter. Thanks, TNQ, for taking such great care of my piece and ensuring that people are able to read it.

The past few days have included several writer-full conversations touching on "where are you going to publish this?" I've written a little recently ( here , here , and here ) (okay, maybe more than "a little"?) about matching written pieces to the needs and interests of particular publications. Sharing finished pieces is an understandable need/desire/obsession/step in the process. Most of us tell stories FOR READERS--first for ourselves as readers, and then for other people. One recent conversation held a new slant. A writer who's still in the early stages of a project has received suggestions from a person whose interest in the project is driven by business and publication. That's great--that's what the person providing input is supposed to do, it's her role. And there's nothing wrong with the suggestions, either--except that they may not work well with the story the writer WANTS to tell. Which got me thinking about writing pieces fo...

I'm a planner, I admit it. In fact, I was planning so hard last night, trying to see how I could make the most of my morning hours, that I couldn't sleep. So I overslept this morning, and everything ran  late. Go figure. And yet: Eisenhower (or someone) possibly said, "Plans are worthless; planning is everything." My day has gone more smoothly than it would have, even though I forgot one key ingredient (a piece of tech, naturally) that I need to do the work I planned to do this afternoon. But that's OK. Through the years, I have learned to punt, metaphorically. (And not in the sense of going out in that type of boat known as a punt, but in the sense of kicking away the football on 4th and long.) So: planning or plans? Of course, all this planning/punting relates to revisions. (What DOESN'T relate to my current work, whatever work it is I happen to be doing at the time?) Yes. I'm revising. Or rather, I'm taking thousands and thousands (many te...

Dear Esteemed Literary Journal: Thank you for considering my recent submission. As I said in my submission cover letter, I appreciate the time and effort required to read it--and to do all the other tasks involved in managing a literary journal these days. After reading the form rejection letter accompanying your rejection, I'm really grateful you chose not to publish my piece. I submitted it to you because your journal has a really good reputation. But I submitted against my better judgment. I really, REALLY shouldn't have. I was dubious after subscribing for a year, when I didn't particularly enjoy reading any of the issues. They weren't cohesive, unique, or even interesting. Only one short story made me sit up and say "Hmm." No "wow" at all. So I should have known better to start with:  My work and your journal just aren't a good fit.  But, as I said, your reputation...well, it's enticing. And you say you're open to new-to-you ...

A couple of weeks ago, local artist/director/activist/writer/arts-supporter Michael Sobota reviewed Best Canadian Essays 2014 for the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal . Theoretically, the review will appear online, but who has that kind of time? It's impossible to read the whole review in the photo above, so I'll pull out some important points. "I read the entire book in two days."   (Not a trivial undertaking--16 essays on many different topics.) "The collection is full of challenging ideas, reflective memoirs, political and sociological examinations of current subjects and some really, really fine writing." He cites Naomi K. Lewis, and her reflection on anti-science policymaking in Canada, and Sarah De Leeuw's examination of film festivals as particularly relevant and engaging pieces. And yes, he says nice things about my essay, "Words," as well ("beautifully structured, vulnerable and wise"--wise? I wish!). Thanks, Mich...

The month is flying by. This was going to be the month AFTER the month that disappeared. However, this one is set to join October on the "months in 2014 that went by in a blur" list. On the up side, I've been churning through my to-do list and meeting deadlines. But sometimes, my brain is mush, and sometimes, I click through to Facebook, and sometimes, I take those quizzes. You know the ones: "what kind of old person will you be?" or "what animal is your spirit animal?" So far I have learned * In Narnia, I am most like Mr. Tumnus. (Time to investigate more aggressive hair removal.) * The word that best describes me is "cultured." (Like yogurt? So, more "curdled"?) * The first impression I create is "innovative."(This devotee of habit, this creature of routine?) * My spirit animal is the whale. (A good friend told me this when I was 27.) * The type of angel wings I have (Who knew there were different kinds???) is...

Mosaic, a science publication for the (UK's) Wellcome Trust, recently published a narrative summary by Michael Regnier  about Alzheimer's and research. Here's the link (and check out the resources listed at the bottom, too). Aside from my ongoing interest in Alzheimer's (links to my personal essays "Home" and "All I Can Say" are on this page ), the article is interesting because of the way it's written: It uses detective fiction as a frame. Here's a link to a description of the writing process. Fascinating stuff, for so many reasons. As Regnier says in his "how I wrote this" extra, it's hard to imagine a time when detective fiction didn't exist. A semi-disturbing element of the story (not its main focus): the nature of competition in scientific research, and the fallout thereof. The idealistic side of me wants to believe that competition in science is somehow "pure" and disinterested--that all involved ar...

As I may have mentioned (a time or two) (often) (repeatedly), I have an essay in Best Canadian Essays 2012 . People up here in Northwestern Ontario are fine folks, and a couple of them have asked me about it. The anthology is available for purchase at Northern Woman's Bookstore , for one thing. For another, I'm currently featured blathering about my essay at Literary Thunder Bay , courtesy of its purveyor, Joan Baril. Susan Toy scooped that interview to her new site, Canadian author Reviews and Interviews . Finally, a review is due to appear in the local paper, the Chronicle-Journal , this weekend. That is plennnnnnty (for now).

January is technically more than halfway over as of today, but since I haven't sent out the Christmas letter yet, I'm still going on the assumption that we can still call 2013 "the New Year." Seriously, late December and early January are traditional times to take stock, though of course I feel the urge in September as well, when school starts. In any case, I've done that. I've updated my creative writing plan and set new goals for 2013 -- the first quarter, anyway. And because it's a stock-taking time of year, others are considering the same topics. For example, here is an excellent essay by Jane Friedman, with the intriguing title, "How Long Should You Keep Trying to Get Published?" So many excellent ideas, worth pondering. Here are a few: * The value of reading: it gives you a good sense of what is (a) being published and (b) appealing to you. * The value of questioning: questions can help you decide if it's time to change course....

Stress, exams, deadlines, holidays, parties, shopping, spending: that's what the end of the year typically brings to those of us living in North America. And then there's the looming new year and all its expectations: Lose weight! Get fit! Make more money! Life balance: yeah, right. "You have to balance client expectations with personal needs." "Too much work and no play." "Family time, couple time: they have to balance out." If it's helpful to you to think of balance, great; go right ahead. But at any particular moment, I don't particularly want to be "balanced." I want to be enthusiastic, passionate, productive, energetic -- or contemplative, resting, processing, mellow. Intense, tense -- relaxed, loose. Or something completely different, something that can't be measured on a binary scale. Like I want to be listening, witnessing, watching, looking, tasting, luxuriating, sharing. For me, balance does...

Writers get rejected. That's how it goes. Someone else is picked for a project. A different style of work is a better "fit" in some intangible way. Your work wasn't quite what they were looking for. Recently, I've heard "no" again, after a spell of silence. I didn't enjoy it -- but I did enjoy hearing something. My family upbringing trained me to say, "Well, that's a setback, but I can get back on track" -- and resume doing whatever I was doing, only more of it and for longer hours. But not this time. Instead of powering through a blue period by pretending I didn't get rejected or otherwise relying on willpower, I'm reframing , which is a fancy-pants way of saying "looking at things from a new perspective." Rejection is information. I can learn something from it. At the same time, I don't have to kill myself trying to figure out "what this means." A rejection might tell me that 1. before I sen...

In March 2010, I received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council to support the creation of a short story collection. Since then, five of the ten works I proposed in the collection (and revised extensively, thanks to the $upport) have found homes. * "Iceberg," The Blind Hem www.theblindhem.com , May 4, 2012. * "Improvisation," chosen as part of the Liar, Liar project of Northern Mosaic, an integrated arts organization based in Thunder Bay. * "Walking Out," South Dakota Review 49.3 (Fall 2011).  * "MacDonald Variety," Prairie Fire 32.3 (Fall 2011). * "Thirty-Two Faces," 11th edition of Ten Stories High , the annual anthology of short fiction published by the Niagara Branch of the Canadian Authors Association. I have nattered around before about the difficulties I get into when I try to apply the mindset and metrics from "writing as a day job" to writing fiction and essays. However, taking stock is one activity...

In the mailbox yesterday: That, my friends, is the cover of the South Dakota Review, issue 49.3, which contains my story "Walking Out." South Dakota Review is going through what it calls "an ambitious transitional phase," so now would be a really good time to subscribe or submit ! Of course, you should read a sample issue before submitting. Why not this one ?? On the "subscribe" page, you'll find that the "most current" issue is only $10. Less than the cost of a movie ticket, and many more hours of entertainment. Thanks, South Dakota Review!