By Hilary Turner My Poetry Month Choice: “Western Wind” One of my favourite poems is the early, anonymous four-line poem “Western Wind.” Here is a fellow who works on the land, probably herding sheep or planting crops, torn between two demands that life has placed on him. On the one hand, he has […]
Paradise Found—Right Here at UFV
Rumour has it UFV is a commuter campus lacking a vibrantly engaged community. But on March 13th, 2015, the English department proved that’s not always the case. It seems UFV commuters simply need something to get vibrant about and engaged with. And what brings 60 or so of them out to campus—on a Friday, […]
Kicking Off Poetry Month in Style–With “The Cinnamon Peeler”
By Ceilidh Hart My Poetry Month choice: “The Cinnamon Peeler” by Michael Ondaatje I didn’t know I liked Ondaatje (still haven’t made it through Anil’s Ghost) until I encountered this poem, randomly, in a Canadian poetry anthology when I was doing my undergrad. I’m skeptical of love poetry generally: quick to nose out cliché […]
Everything a Seminar Should Be–And More
By Heather McAlpine The scene in this classroom is significantly louder and more intense than you might expect: passionate, rapid-fire discussion; challenging commentary; soul-searching questions; uproarious laughter. “Is it always like this in here?” I ask. The class erupts into shouts and applause. “Well,” says John, “yes.” Professor John Carroll’s Seminar in Creative […]
Book Art: Sacrilege or Savior?
It’s Spring Cleaning time. For many book worms, that means clearing out the shelves to make room for summer reading. But what do you do with all those dusty old tomes you never read anymore? Do you banish them to a thrift shop, hoping someone falls in love with them? Will anybody ever fall […]
Mission Festival, Fraser Valley Literatures, East Coast Vs. West Coast, and True Lies
Your friend neighbourhood writer-in-residence Emily PW’s finally back at this whole blog thing. I’ve had some of the busiest few weeks of my life… UFV’s inaugural Literatures of the Fraser Valley Conference was an infusion of brilliant scholarly thought. Speakers represented many of the region’s diverse communities—a testament to the organizers, who really gave […]
East Coast Vs. West Coast Literary Showdown
This interactive literary event pits B.C. authors against Ontario authors in the ultimate literary challenge. Come out and help us guess which iconic East or West Coast authors wrote famous literary passages. If the authors are stumped, they get to call on the audience for help, so we need life lines! The four writers […]
A Book Launch, Class Visits, and Professional Writers
Hey, hey! Emily P-W, your local writer-in-residence, back with an update. What a week! Just seconds ago, I sent off my introduction to the 2015 Louden Singletree, which I’m thrilled to reveal is a fantastic new collection of poetry, fiction, and visual art by UFV students. This issue has a little of something for everyone: […]
Reading Writers’ Minds
If you consider yourself a writer, then you’ve noticed your mind works differently from others’. You already know you see the world through a different lens. But did you ever wonder whether your brain responds uniquely to the task of writing? New research tentatively theorizes that it does—if you’re beyond the novice stage. Together with […]
A Smorgasbord of Upcoming Writing Workshops and Events
UFV’s writer-in-res coming atcha! This was a lovely week of strategizing over the events I’ll be leading in the next couple months and guest lectures. First off, the class visits… My visit to John Carroll’s Seminar in Creative Writing class (ENGL 405) was fantastic. Lively conversation, great questions, and inspired writers. My kind of […]