A Poet’s Nanaimo
The Family of Things
Susannah M. Smith’s novel, The Alchemy of Paradise, begins with an epigraph by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche:What have you truly loved thus far? What has ever uplifted your soul, what has dominated and delighted it at the same time? Assemble these revered...
Three Small Things
Recently, I suggested that women in an online writing circle gather three small objects to write about. It’s a tactile approach to writing and memory that brings about some fascinating and satisfying results.With three objects, there can be a beginning, middle, and...
Writing as Devotion and Delight
The word “discipline” is often mentioned when it comes to describing a writing practice. I prefer the word “devotion.”“Our methodology is not as important as our devotion,” Betsy Warland says in Breathing the Page: Reading the Act of Writing.My writing practice, to...
Staff Picks for Invertebrates
“Welcome to Russell Books: an indie bookstore on an island in the Pacific Ocean, where anemones dispense life advice and staff recommend books to mollusks,” reads Guernica Editions’ description of Zoe Dickinson’s debut book of poetry: Staff Picks for...
Twenty-Five Days
It’s been ten years since I had cancer which makes it time to celebrate that milestone of Ten Years Cancer Free!Following a biopsy on my shin which revealed that the lump was spindle cell sarcoma, my GP in Nanaimo told me there would probably be some treatment and...
Bringing Poems to Life
Thank you to Derek Hanebury, host and MC of Electric Mermaid “live reads” for inviting me to be the feature reader on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 6 p.m. Pacific. If you’re in Port Alberni, B.C., Char’s Landing at 4815 Argyle Street is the place to go. Otherwise,...