Some people are writing more than ever, others aren’t writing at all. Some editors are overwhelmed with submissions, others are extending their deadlines for contests and themes because submissions are down. Writers’ responses to the pandemic are as varied as any other group. As floundery…as dedicated…as anyone. One thing
Because I forgot my key one day, I had to wait in the neighbourhood library for Mister BIP to finish work, before I could go home. I suppose I could have waited in the subway station. But it was only a 20-minute walk. Of course I walked: wouldn't you? One
It's not meant to be complicated. "I hope to help you think about your writing, and to approach the task with more confidence, excitement, and hope." That's Alice Mattison's intent. But of course it is complicated. Which is why there are countless books about the craft of writing. Viking -
"If we’re lucky, art can help us through our wolfishness."* And it does, indeed, help Virginia get through her wolfishness. As does her sister, Vanessa. And the painting of Bloomsberry. What's this? A children's book about Virginia Woolf? But we all know how THAT story ends. And, yet,
"Create dangerously, for people who read dangerously. This is what I’ve always thought it meant to be a writer." So says Edwidge Danticat, in the early pages of the work inspired by Albert Camus' essay and, also, inspired by countless tales of courageous reading and writing and living.
