July 20th, 2009

An honour and a privilege

I have ever maintained that the short story is thriving, as challenging, fantastic, funny, depressing, thrilling, shocking, entertaining and inspiring stories continue to be produced in this country at a fantastic rate. I read frequently and vigorously–journals and collections and online stuff–and still there’s a million things about this tricksy form that I’m trying to understand.

This spring and summer have afforded me some marvelous opportunities to try to learn this craft. The first was teaching grades 10 and 11 to write short stories. Anytime you want to call everything you think you know into question, just try telling it teenagers. Even before the kids started their questions, the act of putting together my thoughts and beliefs about how something ought to work in a story showed me a lot of my limitations, and opened up doors I never knew existed. Of course I want to think that my teaching served the cause of the short story by showing kids how fun it is to try to write them, and how much can be gained by reading them. In addition to that, though, I do think that my own contributions to the genre will be shaped by what I learned from teaching.

The other thing I’ve been up to lately is acting as a judge for the Journey Prize 21. Obviously, it was a huge honour to be asked to take on this role, but also a huge privilege to get to immerse myself in some of the best work done in the form this year in Canada, and to then to discuss that work deeply with my inspiring fellow judges, Lee Henderson and Camilla Gibb. This was, once again, an opportunity to interrogate what I think of as a “good short story,” why I think that, and how that might be limiting.

I plan to write more about this process around the book’s release (October 6; the winner will be announced at the Writers’ Trust Awards in November). This little post is just to say that I hope you are as excited about the upcoming anthology as I am–it’s full of wonderful, challenging, weird, etc. stories that inspired us, and might inspire you, too. And also to say that I think I’m a lot smarter than I was six months ago.

Our still lives posed / like a bowl of oranges
RR

June 8th, 2009

Blogging the NMAs

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that my short story “Linh Lai,” originally publishing in The New Quarterly did not win the National Magazine Award for which it was short-listed. But Friday night’s shindig was still an amazing good time, not least because I got to sit with the TNQ crew, and chat with assorted other cool folks. 

Rosalynn Tyo (left) and Katia Grubisic were nominated for their work on TNQ’s Montreal Issue (they didn’t win, either, I’m afraid–boo! it’s a fantastic issue!)

The TNQ table, from left: Chair of the Board Kathy Berrill, editor-in-chief Kim Jernigan, Managing Ed Rosalynn, me giggling with Katia.

My and my glamourous friend Corinna vanGerwen, nominated for editorial work in Style at Home.

Other highlights include the food: chocolate fountain, smoked salmon wraps, spicy popcorn (not in that order, but in that order in my heart!) The crazy cool opening video collage of magazines–I wonder if that will eventually be available somewhere… Also, The Carlu where it was held was really glam (watch that link, though; borderline porny music plays when you open it!)

Although I can’t say I was 100% thrilled not to win, the fiction winner Andrew Tibbetts brought the percentage up into the 90s with his acceptance speech, which ended with “and thank you to transsexual sex workers, just because.” He rightly received an additional award, for best acceptance speech. Way to represent, Mr. Tibbetts!

Find the river
RR

June 4th, 2009

Danuta Gleed Citations

These came in the mail today, and as I haven’t seen them anywhere on the web, I thought I’d share. Obviously I’m pleased for *Once*, but also for *The Withdrawal Method* and *Evidence* too–sincere congratulations to Messieurs Malla and Colford, and much gratitude to Merilyn Simonds, J. J. Steinfeld, Rudy Wiebe, and The Writers’ Union of Canada for the following:

*The Withdrawal Method* (Anansi): “Wonderfully imaginative stories that carry the reader from contemporary childhood bewilderment to loving and dying young adults to nineteenth century chicanery or a future world where Niagara Falls has dried up and life exists between detritus and rage. A profound, compassionate voice that creates a world where ‘the streets will be black and wet with melted snow and spangled golden with street lights, and riding back home along them [on your bicycle, you] will tonight feel a little bit like falling.'”

*Evidence* by Ian Colford: “A disturbing, moving, and most of all, insightful look at the life of a wandering outsider attempting to find his place in a world that is often emotionally physically dangerous. The stories in *Evidence* demonstrate a firm control of narrative and language: they are the work of a skilful, talented storyteller unafraid to confront the darkness, confusion, and yearning for sense that is at the heart of our fragmented modern societies.”

*Once* by Rebecca Rosenblum: “A pungent, witty exploration of the lives of working class twentysomethings, *Once* is both highly imaginative and closely observed. The writing in *Once* is assured; the voice, compelling. While these stories grapple with gritty contemporary urban realities, they are enlivened by an almost whimsical hope.”

It’s not confidential / I’ve got potential
RR