Marion Agnew

First, this happened. Always exciting to have something published in a journal as great as Prairie Fire , to have a respected writer like contest judge Wayne Grady say complimentary things about your writing, and to keep such exciting company. As I mentioned previously, I have picked up a houseguest and have been "on vacation," which is a stay-cation next door, at our camp. Except for showers. But before that, I had a bit of a writing retreat. It wasn't long, but it was useful. I actually started when I left here, because I "primed the pump" by reading through notes on the project, then mulled them over on the six-hour drive, and jumped right in when I arrived. Yes, I'd do it again, and for a whole weekend. I've also learned the hard way that beach read-type books aren't necessarily my preferred summer reading. I bought one with beach umbrellas on the cover because I felt as if I should, but I could predict too much of the s...

So, last week month (really? a month?) when I wrote here, I was sharing the contents of my email spam folder because I had some thing to finish up. After taking on a couple more things, I did finish all the things. And we went to Toronto for a cultural writerly thing and took a break. Which was great. And now we're back, so I write today of the "writer's retreat." Many writers have a lot of success getting away from it all for a weekend to do some focused work on one particular project. Some of the people I actually know who like retreats, being the wonderful and generous people they are, are planning a writing retreat in the fall for like-minded people. The "retreat" concept is a little difficult for me. I've been a working writer for decades and freelancing for ahem also decades. Whether I was writing or editing, working for someone else or myself, I've been on a schedule and deadline. No time for inspiration when your piece is due at 4 Ea...

You know how sometimes you LOOOOoooooooove your inbox, and then sometimes you dread clicking "send/receive" because it might only bring more things for you handle and you haven't caught up from all the previous things yet? Those "dread the inbox" times tend also to be times when it's hard to take a break--when I feel too much pressure to watch cat videos take a restorative walk or swill more coffee drink a nutritious and delicious glass of water. But the part of my email system that never fails to amuse me? The junk mail folder. I won't quote the subject lines directly because I already get a lot of mail and I don't want to encourage anyone. But they're fun to look at. Just today, people want to tell me about the destruction of 'Babylon' America (their single quotes, not mine); previously, they offered enlightenment about why the Bible says 'Obama' (again, their quotes) won't finish his term. Obama-- or so he calls him...

Yesterday was sunny and warm, almost a summer day, with temperatures in the high 20s C/~80F and the right proportions of sun and clouds.  Today is chilly, cloudy, rainy, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. Fog is rolling around out on the bay.  So, a big change in weather--the day to day moods of sun and wind. But not in climate--the view of this part of the world over time. (Setting aside, for the moment, anthropogenic climate change. I'm currently more interested in the life metaphor.) My life in 2015, so far, has had a lot of weather-like changes. Ups and downs, sunny and rainy/snowy/sleety/foggy, "yes" and "no," the occasional "maybe" and "okay" and "just fine," too.  Enough walks along leaf-strewn paths to help me get over--sort of--the significant stumble that sprained my ankle, or the pain from the book I recently dropped on that sprained ankle.  Enough chores and delights that I don't have to keep rak...

I'm just home from a lovely conference of the Creative Nonfiction Collective (Society) in Victoria, British Columbia. Many congratulations to the winner of the carte blanche/CNFC competition, Kirsten Fogg! Kirsten is an expat Canadian currently living in Australia. She's at work on a project about belonging, here:  http://www.thebelongingblog.com/   I look forward to reading her essay, "Nana Technology," in an upcoming issue of carte blanche. It was really fun to have an essay on the shortlist and hear comments from competition judge Charlotte Gill  at the gala banquet. In fact, the whole conference was a really rewarding experience, and I also congratulate the people who organized such a successful event. It was great to spend time with people who write in the multifaceted part of the universe that is creative nonfiction. Throughout the days, I became increasingly comfortable saying to strangers, "where are you from?" or "what are you working ...

It's been a hectic couple of weeks. Events have followed their usual tendency to all happen at the same time. In the midst of the hubbub and hoop-de-do, Friday brought some especially nice news: carte blanche and the Creative Nonfiction Collective, by which I mean competition judge Charlotte Gill, have chosen "Schr ö dinger's Dog" for the contest short list. I think this means that in some multiverse, this essay wins! But seriously, in the particular multiverse in which I live, I also feel like a winner--grateful and happy that this work has touched readers. That's the goal! Many thanks to the contest sponsors: carte blanche and the Creative Nonfiction Collective. I know how much work it takes to run a contest, and I appreciate it very much! You can look at the official announcement here . (And remember that moose sighting? Still waiting on that million dollars.)

Because of the date, I felt the title of this post was required.  I have even MORE good news that is--no joke!--extremely pleasing. Another essay, this one called "Schrödinger's Dog," has been chosen for the long list for the Creative Nonfiction Collective/Carte Blanche contest! Yep, another essay about dogs. But different from   the one before .  The winner of the contest will be announced in late April at the CNFC conference in Victoria, BC. Victoria? In April? Yes, please. (Today's weather in this part of central Canada: ice fog. April's forecast for central Canada: mud.) And in other non-fooling news, today I saw a moose running across the ice. I've never seen a moose in the wild before, in spite of all the horror stories and road signs, and have said so aloud. Often. So, you know, I'm just putting this out there: I've never seen anyone come by and give me a million dollars, either!