A Poet’s Nanaimo

Writing in community is something I’ve done for a long time – at workshops, retreats and in writing circles I’ve offered since 1997. Even during the pandemic, I facilitated weekly women’s writing circles via email and Zoom. It was a way for us to feel connected, part...

If You are Reading This is Sheila Norgate’s a/mem.oir/ish, a book of personal essays published under her own imprint: LIP (Ladies Institute Press). As Sheila told me in a phone conversation, she’s a “one girl band” having written the book, designed it (including the...

I’m a fan of mysteries particularly detective fiction by the likes of Elizabeth George, Peter Robinson, Val McDermid, Michael Connelly, Jonathan Kellerman, David Baldacci, Louise Penny, Kate Atkinson and so many more going back to P. D. James and Agatha Christie....

Nancy Slonim Aronie is the founder of the Chilmark Writing Workshop on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts where she lives.  She’s been facilitating Writing from the Heart workshops for forty-five years at various venues such as Kripalu, Omega and Esalen. In her new...

Artists in Residence (Chronicle Books, 2021) is a book that features the homes of seventeen artists "and their living spaces, from Giverny to Casa Azul." I really appreciate Melissa Wyse’s writing with her enthusiasm for and fresh approach to her subjects. And the...

Patrick Lane often greeted poets in the reception area of Honeymoon Bay Lodge  on Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island, when he led poetry retreats there. He’d also help carry our luggage to our rooms. I was remembering that about Patrick, who died in March 2019, when I...