Magnificent Octopus

I spent the warm months of early autmumn sitting on a bench in the rocky garden, writing. In appearance they were notes for a possible book,...

"You know," he said, almost dreamily, "I sometimes think that the only things really worth talking about are the things peopl...

If you're in the Montreal area and interested in meeting downtown (in person) every 2 months or so (starting at the end of May) to discu...

With dusk begins to cry the male of the Waiting-insect; — I, too, await my beloved, and, hearing, my longing grows. — from Kokinshu , by ...

We were enclosed in Audio Booth 4, basically an audio recording cabinet floating on foam and designed to be sound-neutral. Words spoken in B...

"Can it be storytime? I'll read you the story. Only, I warn you: it's more descriptive than narrative." Apparently also ...

Sometimes I think there are two kinds of readers: readers for whom books are bread and coffee, and readers for whom books are magic mushroom...

"Is that not always the case? Given any two people in a relationship, one will always love more, the other less. Right?" I haven...

Solaris, the opera, has just premiered in Paris , music by Dai Fujikura (sung in English), based on the classic science fiction novel by Sta...

The Upside of Your Dark Side: Why Being Your Whole Self — Not Just Your "Good Self — Drives Success and Fulfillment , by Todd Kashdan ...

Those who claim to know her, or know of her, have talked of poems whose syntax and diction twist language into new shapes, forming tiny brig...

Yes, my hotel has a library. And there's a fireplace in the library, but not pictured here because there are strangers sitting beside it...

I'm in New York City for a few days...

Duras, in Écrire , deplores that too may books are lacking in freedom. She admonishes writers for acting like cops, whereas writing is a bre...

Ah, love. This is how the story ends: To the accompaniment of Victor's snoring, Ali-Baba reviewed her life and swallowed the pills. T...

I've been watching some of Andy Warhol's screen tests on Youtube. Some of them are very boring. Indeed, I lose interest in most o...

I can recognize a disciple of La Sape from miles away. This watchman is a master at applying the foundational principles of the society, inc...

Georges Simenon was born on Friday, February 13 — 102 years ago. Last Friday, A Different Stripe posted a great quote about it: "It...

Do you use an online dictionary? Have you ever "liked" a word, or shared it on social media? Have you ever commented on a dictiona...

The kind people at House of Anansi Press , have been sending me some lovely books over the last couple of months that I haven't had a ch...